Loving Germany

After our last post which included our visit to the town of Biberach we received a few messages from my old police colleagues telling us how we could find out further information. Unfortunately we tired to get information but no one seemed to be interested in what happened during the war years. The brochure of the history of Biberach that was given to us by the tourist information had no mention of the 2nd world war or of what had happened in the area during that time. It would seem that Biberach has moved on.

It was with immense disappointment that we decided to leave Biberach without seeing or hearing what we came here for.

Thursday 16 August

We were in desperate need for diesel having chased the cheapest litre on the way down here has now left us with an empty tank and we end up paying more than we really wanted to, we never learn.

Topped up with fuel and shopping done, more beer, wine and vodka we left Biberach and headed along the motorway to Tuttlingen.

Using the motorway is the easiest option, we don’t see as many of the towns and villages driving on the motorways but it’s quicker and less stressful.

Our stop for the night was another free Stellaplaz right by the river. A few campers here already and by 9pm the Stellaplaz was overflowing with at least 10 motorhomes parked in the carpark next door.

A quick walk into town and we spend the rest of the afternoon lying on a blanket on the grass next to the river. The town didn’t really have anything to offer, but the outside space along the river is amazing. Boating, cycle paths, fitness equipment, kids playground and tons of space for lazing around.

Friday 17 August

Keith and I are getting worse at getting up in the morning, we still go to bed no later than 10pm and usually asleep by 10.30pm so we’re getting our full 8 hours sleep a night. Some mornings we wake about 8am, 2 cups of tea in bed and plan where we’re going for the day, why we don’t do this the night before is beyond me. By the time we’ve had our breakfast, wash or shower it’s gone 10.30am, all the neighbours have left hours ago and the new batch are moving in.

Today is no exception, it’s 11am by the time we set off. Our destination today is the Black Forest. We take the motorway to Freudenstadt with the intention of staying there for the night. The Stellaplaz is on the edge of town and after a walk around we decide not to stay and continue to Baden Baden taking the D500 route.

The D500 is one of Germany’s most scenic roads which meanders for 60km between Freudenstadt and Baden Baden. The road is full of twists and turns and is a bikers paradise.

Once again Keith is dreaming he’s driving one the many high-end sports performance cars that we saw wizzing past us as he throws Eugene around the bends. Of course we have to stop to let the dreaded brakes cool down, but in all it was a good drive.

We saw lots of interesting wooden houses along the way.

Our spot for the night is a free carpark next to the funicular train in the National Park on the outskirts of Baden Baden.

For 2 euros each we take the funicular train to the top of the mountain, you can see for miles. At the top there are a couple of mad paragliders waiting for the wind so they can throw themselves off the side of the mountain.

We decide to walk the 4.5 km back down to the carpark. The walk was not so easy, it’s all down hill on a steep pathway and plays havoc on the old knees lol.

We’ve got the whole carpark to ourselves and settle outside Eugene with a few beers and our frying pan pizza for tea. As it starts to gets dark we can see the squirrels in the trees scurrying around, then the bats come out and then we can hear the thunder in the distance. An hour later it hammers it down, but at least it’s now lovely and cool.

Saturday 18 August

We decide to stay in the area for another day by 11am we’re ready for a walk into Baden Baden. It’s 2.5km all down hill and it’s a lovely walk through the fountain park.

Baden Baden is one of Europe’s most famous spa towns with mineral rich waters which have cured the likes of Queen Victoria and Victoria Beckham. The town has some beautiful buildings and the river runs around the edge.

The town is full of very expensive shops and restaurants, which resulted in us taking a 2 mile wander to find the cheapest meal, burger & chips with a beer costing 30 euros, eeekkk.

We catch the bus back to Eugene. There’s another camper that’s joined us in the carpark and it has an English registration. When the owners come back I say to Keith I’m sure we’ve met those people before. Sure enough it was Mike & Audrey Cunningham who we met briefly one morning in Italy back in April. Mike & Audrey have been travelling for almost a year and are in their last few weeks before going home. We spent the night in the carpark chatting with a few bottles of wine and before we knew it it was 1am, blimey that’s the latest we’ve been up for a very long time and tomorrow we’ve got no change of being up and away by 10am.

Whilst sitting and chatting we could hear the owls screeching its a lovely sound.

Sunday 19 August

Surprisingly we don’t raise our heads until near 10am, and after a quick Skype with Jodie & Shaun we finally got on our way by lunchtime.

We’re not going to far today.  We stop of off at Gaggenau to empty the toilet and a quick walk around the park.  There’s a thermal spa here but we give that a miss at 12.50 euros each.

We press on to a carpark on the river Rhine near the town of Worthy a Ryr.

Keith looks on google maps and says he can see a lake nearby with sand, so off we go on the pushangs.  Germany has some great cycle paths and this town is no exception, except we manage to find ourselves off the cycle path and down a very long dirt track.  Near an hour later we find the ‘lake’ a quarry which is surrounded by gravel which is fenced off and no swimming signs.

After nearly 3 hours cycling we get back to the carpark, get the blanket out and lay under the bridge to have a snooze only to be shocked when a train went overhead, the noise was a bit scary.

Monday 20 August

Today we’re heading to Heidelberg. It’s an easy drive using the motorways until we actually hit the town. They are carrying out extensive works on the roads and railway lines. There are numerous diversions, but thankful they were all clearly marked out and we reached our parking sport without to much trouble. Our parking is a free spot at a sports centre and we took the 30 minutes cycle into the old town.

Heidelberg is located on either side of the Neckar River and is known as one of the most important university towns in Germany and judging by the amount of pushangs here there are a lot of students. There are bikes absolutely everywhere, so much so we had trouble finding a place to put ours whilst we popped into the tourist office. There are bikes on every street and locked to every piece of street furniture that is secured to the ground.

After some lunch and a stroll around the town we decided to take the hike upto the beautiful Heidelberg Castle.

We could have taken the funicular train, but we’ve already been on one this week so we decided to walk up the steep hill and 320 steps to the top. Exhausted, hot and sweaty by the time we got to the top.

We decided not to go into the castle itself or the castle courtyard at the cost of 14 euros for the both of us, but instead walked around the walls. It’s a beautiful castle and those parts that have been restored has been beautifully done. The views from the castle are stunning, you can see the beautiful stone bridge and the skyline is full of beautiful rooftops with the hills and mountains in the distance.

Keith has been going on about getting some Ladahosen so we pop into a shop to have a look, so I offered to buy him a pair, he soon changed his mind lol.

Our stop for the night is a Stellaplaz near the town of Ladenburg costing 10 euros for the night.

We’ve absolutely loved being in Germany and we’ve got another 2 weeks before we need to head down into France.

We can also share some exciting news with you. Back in April Keith and I decided that once we’d finished our housesit in the south of France in February we would end our trip where we started which is in Australia. Our plan was to arrive in Australia around the 20th of February and stay for 3 months, have a road trip, do a few house sits and most of all it would be a surprise to Jodie & Shaun when we turn up on their doorstep. However in June Jodie & Shaun Skyped us with a surprise of their own, they’re having a baby, yeahhhhhh.  The funny thing is the baby is due around the 10th February, wow it couldn’t have been planned better. So we’re home for 4 days in February then off to meet the new member of the Toms/Sawbridge family, we are so excited.

Thanks to you all for following on our trip.  Don’t forget to like our facebook page and you can follow us live on Polarsteps where Keith has posted some great photos on this app.

a la perchoine

Shirena & Keith

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