Bavarian surprise

Monday 15 July 2013

Up and at it this morning, and on the road by 09.00. We had been recommended a place to visit en-route to Bavaria by an Italian man we had met at the noisy Aire in Cochem. It was a fair drive away 265km but all motorway save the last 4km. It was a fairly uneventful drive other than a nasty smash up we saw on the opposite carriageway an artic lorry had piled into the back of one of those road maintenance vehicles with an array of lights on the back giving the direction to pass on. How on earth he missed the signal we will never know but the whole thing looked a mess with the maintenance vehicle on its side. Sobering!

So, we arrived at our destination 'Rothenburg ob der Tauber' at about 12.30 and had some lunch. The site is great, just a car park on the outskirts of town but in sight of the ancient town walls and its towers. It has a service point and even electricity. Yes it costs €10 but not bad for the location. 

As we were not so far from the town we decided the Brompton's could take the day off and we walked into town across the main road and into a small fort built into the wall on the East side of the town. We spent some time wondering around,  it was clear the building and the walls for hat matter have been renovated but is all in remarkable condition and so interesting. A labyrinth of passages and levels lead to gun emplacement and storage rooms. 

The book says, if you want to sample the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, visit Rothenburg and it is quite correct. It sits on the river Tauber and its origins go back to the 12th century. Little has changed in the town since the 16th century and the walls still surround the Gothic Cathedral and array of beautiful timbered gabled houses painted all manner of colours.

Walking around the town was a delight, they really have got the tourist trade sewn up and most of the shops are geared up for ways to extract your cash from you. The town and its streets were awash with Chinese and Americans, oh and a couple of happy Brits! The best shop of all was Kathe Wohlfahrt the biggest Christmas decoration's shop in the world.

The outside of the shop bears no reference to the size of the shop behind the rather normal looking facade! Although there was a bright red vintage type bus parked outside with masses of presents stacked on the top tempting the passer by in. To enter we went passed a counter and down a few steps and WAM full on Christmas. Tinsel town has nothing on this place. It was very well organised into themes of course and they had whole rooms devoted to a single colour or type of decoration. It went on and on and on until you thought you must have come to the end but no, it  opened up into a stairway and a view of a huge room with the biggest white Christmas tree I have ever seen. It was covered in thousands of baubles and lights.

Now, when we were in Brugge we went into the same company's outlet there and we saw a nutcracker soldier which we thought would be great for Christmas in lieu of a Christmas tree in Bertie. We didn't bring any decorations with us at all.. We didn't buy it then as it was a bit expensive and an extravagance . Well, they had the full range here and we got talking to a lady who talked to us about them and showed us what to look for. She recommended one which was of Bavarian King Ludwig II. He was very handsome in his blue uniform. As we intend to visit his Castle Schloss Neuschwanstein later this week it seemed wholly appropriate and. Nice memento so we had him. We also got a few other lovely contemporary decorations to brighten Bertie up over Christmas in Calpe.

The shop also sells fantastic Cuckoo clocks and not so fantastic Steins (you either love them or you hate them), all manner Christmas table wear and decorations. We had a lovely time despite it being near 30c outside.

After walking around the shops we made our way to the walls of the town and climbed the steep wooden stairs to the covered ramparts. It was great to walk along the rooftops of the town. It certainly gave us a good idea what it must have been like in medieval times. The town really have done an amazing job of renovating what they have and creating a worthy attraction.

By now it was nearing 16.30 and were really tired from our day. Nothing for it but 500ml of Pils for him and 330ml for her. I can tell you it was very welcome to sit in the shade of the umbrella sipping at the cool thirst quenching nectar. What a great day we have had, we are so lucky.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Another longish drive 260km to the town of Isny. Now, Isny is where Dethleffs are made and therefor the place where Bertie was made. We have arranged to join a tour around the factory for Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the tour is in German but hey, at least we get to see how they are made.

On the way to Isny, we stopped off at another stunning walled town called Dinkelsbuhl. It boasts to be one of the best-preserved medieval urban complexes in Germany. The walls surround the town on four sides and has fantastically preserved towers along with gatehouses. Quite frankly the town was unspoilt original and idyllic.

Walking through the gate with tall tower the street ahead gently revealed itself and the row of subtle coloured tall wooden gabled houses. Walking down the street was a young couple arm in arm wearing traditional clothing. 'Got to get me some of them leather shorts'! The strange thing though was it all seemed rather quiet and most of the shops were closed. Turning the bend we neared the town centre and square. We saw a party of Chinese tourists being shepherded around and thought one of them had a megaphone because the commentary was so loud. We thought it was rather rude and inconsiderate. To our embarrassment it had nothing to do with them and further into the square there was a crowd of people listening to the opening address of the local mayor opening the town's festival. 

We watched for a while whilst young girls swirled around in formation they looked very beautiful in their summer coloured dresses. It was nice to see and the people were clearly enjoying it. Beer can be drunk at all times of the day on festival days and despite it only being 09.30 several were. Good for them. We left them to it and carried on on our walk around the town and made our way to the town wall on the opposite side of the gate we entered the town in. We then followed the wall around keeping the wall to the right, seeing some of the most beautiful views of this special town. Hopefully the pictures do it justice.

The remainder of the journey was uneventful other than the change in the landscape. As soon as we jumped off the motorway it was clear that we had had a shift and there were how hills and lush green fields, forests and what looked like the mountains peeping above the horizon. What a gorgeous drive that last 20 or so km was.

We arrived at the Dethleffs free campsite at about 2 O'clock and plugged in Bertie to the free electrics. They even have showers and toilets so we will be here for three nights for sure. The rest of the afternoon was spent having a siesta and keeping out of the heat of the day, well into the 30's but surprisingly cool in Bertie. 'bless him'. 

A little funny,

Kevin - 'Do we need Lidl'?
Petra - 'Yes, we have no Banana's'
Kevin - 'Did you really just say that'?

Ausfhart in German means exit off a motorway, it is not a name of a very large town?

DOWNLOADED AT THE GOLDEN ARCHES SO NO PICTURES AVAILABLE UNTIL WE GET SOMEWHERE WITH GOOD INTERNET