Schwabisch Gmund - Germany
 

We'll be travelling the rail line between Karlsruhe and Ansbach, and would like to stop at one of the towns along the way for lunch and a look-about, perhaps Schwabisch Gmund, which is about half-way.

Can anyone provide me with some information on this town? I searched the Fodor's forum, but came up with very little. The official web site for the town is in German, which doesn't help me very much.

The other stops along the rail line would be Pforzheim, Muhlacker, Vaihingen, Stuttgart, Aalen, Ellwangen, Crailsheim, and Ansbach. Would anyone recommend any of these other little towns over Schwabisch Gmund?

Thanks for your replies. Peace, Robyn :)>-

Hi Robyn,
I will put in a plug for Stuttgart since I live here :-) (but please note that it isn't a "little" town - more like a good-sized city). One caveat is that I have not actually been to Schwaebisch Gmund, but I haven't heard anyone say that it is an absolute must-see. Vaihingen is a suburb of Stuttgart and I would choose Stuttgart over Vaihingen. I have friends in Pforzheim and I honestly don't think they would suggest that you stop there...central Pforzheim was largely rebuilt after WWII and so is relatively modern. I have not been to the other places on your list.

If I was going to make a short stop in Stuttgart, here's what I would do...

Get off the trian at the Hauptbahnhof. Go to the tourism office at the foot of the Koenigstrasse (right across the street from the train station) and get a city map - they speak English there and can probably give you something with a short walking tour.

Walk up the Koenigstrasse (modern but very pleasant pedestrian shopping street) to Schlossplatz. Take a look around Schlossplatz and the Neues Schloss. Head through the small arched tunnel on the far side of the Schlossplatz to Schillerplatz. Eat lunch outside at the Alte Kanzerlei on Schillerplatz looking out at the Altes Schloss. Go have a look around the Markthalle, our gorgeous indoor market. If time, go check out the Bohnenviertel (more lunch options here). Peek in at the Stiftskirche (rebuilt after WWII). Head back to the train station.

If you have more time, Calwer Passage is another neat shopping street with an old-world feel.

Just my two cents!

That would be "train" of course. I don't know what a "trian" is but apparently my brain does.

Thanks for your reply, hausfrau. Stuttgart sounds interesting, and full of history. Our main concern is finding a town with a train station easily accessible to the center of town and lunch possibilities. From your description, it sounds like the train is not too far a distance from the Schlossplatz.

Does anyone have any experiences in Scwabisch Gmund?

Peace, Robyn :)>-

I spent a couple of weeks attending a language school in Schwäbisch Gmund in 1990. It was a nice little town, as I recall, with a quite lovely square right in the middle. I think you'd enjoy having lunch there. I think I'll take a look at the town website and see if it jogs my memory.

Schwaebisch Gmuend (2 umlauts): Their virtual tour of the town has an English version. http://www.schwaebisch-gmuend.de/147...mp;sprache=eng. All the rest of their stupid website is in German, unfortunately...

Ellwangen might be worth a closer look, too: http://www.ellwangen.de/content/extern/england/
http://www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de...lk/ellkthe.php

I just looked at the website and was reminded of how many beautiful buildings are in Schwäbisch Gmund. I had forgotten.

Click on the place where it says "Stadtrundgang" for pictures of different buildings and sights.

I lived in Crailsheim 1983 - 1985 while in the army. The army has left this area but i went back to visit in 1999. Great little town with a local brewery and nice resturants. Many english speaking people and seemed glad to talk me and my daughter. Lots of things to do and easy to acess the town from the bahnhof. Me and my wife will be in that area the march 10-18 2007. Have fun

For what it's worth, I frequently had business in the area in the late 70's, early 80's, stayed in Ellwangen, often ate in Aalen. Both were nice towns which would not have displeasured me to spend 2 hours in, for lunch. No current info, of course, but Crailsheim didn't look much different (certainly none the worse) 2 years ago than 25 years ago, so I wouldn't think those two were any the worse, either. Wonderful memories of excellent spatzle, schnitzel, soup, salads. I particularly recommend leberknodelsuppe, and gulaschsuppe.

We stopped ended up in Schwabish Gmund last Oct by mistake. If I were you, I'd choose Stuttgart but it's not a little town. Stuttgart is a vibrant city and well worth a visit.

Robyn,
Yes, the Schlossplatz is no more than a 10-minute stroll up the Koenigstrasse from the train station. In warm weather there are also several restaurants along the front of the Koenigsbau overlooking the Schlossplatz that have outdoor seating, but I am partial to the Alte Kanzlerei on Schillerplatz because you can sit and admire the oldest surviving buildings in Stuttgart.

Sorry - that should read "Alte Kanzlei" not "Kanzlerei." I have a tendency in German to add a few letters where they are not needed!

Do not worry. It is german to most of us. Lucy.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I think at this point we might be leaning towards Stuttgart. Since we will only have 2-3 hours, we wanted a town that had an accessible city center from the train station. Stuttgart sounds like just that town. Peace, Robyn :)>-

Another vote for Stuttgart as I was just there 3 months ago for my fourth visit to the city within 10 years. It's a rather well to do city with lots of commerce and pedestrians, so it'll be exciting as it feels like a happening place when you wander around. Hausfrau is spot on with her recommendation to walk towards Schlossplatz and Schillerplatz. You can even wander a block further south if you have time as you passed the Stiftskirche along the Kirchestrasse and make a left onto Stiftstrasse to go to Markthalle (on the left side)which is a well known indoor market. Alternatively, you can walk further south to the open market on Marktplatz. The Rathaus (cityhall) on Marktplatz has one of the few remaining Paternost elevators in Germany for you to try. Oftentimes there is a large bric a brac market on Karlsplatz if you're into that sort of thing.

Here's a bit of info for some restaurants that I visited most recently including the busy outdoor terrace restaurant "Fransiskaner" right by the entry to Markthalle.

ARCHE:
Informal place to eat under the restaurant’s front awning across the street from the wellknown Markthalle on Stiftstrasse. Very popular in the evening for good value dinner dishes with indoor & outdoor seating (great for less smoky environment). During the day it is outcompeted by the Fransiskaner restarant across the street. The mediterranean waiters may need polishing on their waiting & communication skills, but food quality is solid for the price.
Food:
Zwiebelrostbraten 8.50 euro(I've had plenty better Rostbraten with fried onion topping in Berlin).
Maultaschen 6 euro (wonderful giant German tortellini stuffed with meat in broth ).
Great place for those who are craving for good, inexpensive STEAKS (13-18 euro) which I didn’t try.


FRANSISKANER Markthalle Restaurant:
Two level outdoor terrace restaurant, great for people watching next to the Markthalle entry, right across the street from Arche. Properly attired German waiters seem to provide better service though restaurant is busier and more hectic than the Arche.. Prices are similar as Arche and it draws a lot more people for many reasons.
Food: excellent Geschmelzte Maultaschen (caramelized onion sauce) , comforting Kaesespaetzle (cheese pasta). I tasted the local Weinschorle & Apfelbirnenmost(apple pear juice with alcohol) which were just OK. I had a strong preference for the Trollinger -Lemberger cuvee wine over the weak bodied Dornfelder wine, but it is actually a place for beer. Our table was so jammed together with the neighbors’ that we could hear everything they said, eventually we had a friendly chat with them.

AMADEUS: enter from Dorotheenstr or from Kalrplatz through an arched entry into a building courtyard. Nice atmosphere for indoor seating but also has a large outdoor terrace seating inside the building courtyard.
Food: Swabian maultaschen, Zwiebelrostbraten, Thai noodle with coconut. I didn’t eat there but stopped for a beer instead.
A nice place for a Sunday brunch amidst the locals.

If you decide to extend your stay into dinnertime:

ENTERTAINMENT:
STOCK 1: A couple people from the conference took me to the Erste Stock on Stein street ,small bar venue on the erste Stock (second floor) where they had an incredibly good English rock band singing original songs, but it was too crowded to be comfortable (wall to wall people). I would’ve never found this club entryway, it’s right next to an entry to a local swinger’s club, good thing they knew where they were going.
HOLLANKE : This is a place that we escaped to after the rock band, it’s a coffee/hot chocolate/espresso bar with live jazz vocal music sung by a talented beautiful singer (seems to be a regular there).
RENITENZ Theatre: German comedy & chanson, served hard liquor, wine & soda with small round tables set in 4 rows around a nice semi circular stage below a restaurant.
STIFTSKIRCHE Evening Performances: saw a fantastic choir group performance from Freiburg as part of an evening concert series at the Stuttgart‘s main church. I didn’t expect to enjoy it that much till I heard their voice from heaven, I was glued to the hard wooden bench.
RATHAUS: I had to try riding the Paternost elevator in Rathaus. It has no door and it doesn’t stop, everyone jumps in & out. Homemade Maultaschen served in the,so so basement restaurant below the Rathaus, better choices elsewhere.
LOUNGE BARS along Theodor Heussstrasse (south of Buschnerstrasse): jammed with students. Some have bouncers to prevent overcrowding (indoor outdoor seating) . I wished I could stop for a drink because they look like a lot of fun.

DAX - WOW! What great information you have provided. Between you and hausfrau, you've both convinced us to do lunch and a quick walk-about in Stuttgart.

I think what did it for my husband was you mentioning the Franziskaner, which just so happens to be his favorite beer (Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, brewed in Munich).

While there, we will be sure to raise a glass of beer in thanks to the both of you. Peace, Robyn :)>-

Dax etc, do a GTG in Germany.

That would be a good challenge as Germany is rather big, but perhaps hausfrau, HSV, or logos wants to undertake that challenge. At least they are all in 3 different corners of Germany.

As for myself, I'll be in Hamburg April 6-8, then Berlin April 8 -12, then on to Zurich. Anybody will be in the same area around those times?

very few people are aware that schwabisch gmund germany is the silver center of germany. there are numerous silver factories located mostly in the residential section of town. there is schooling available for those wanting to learn silversmithing trade. do not pass this up. [email protected]