Thursday 28^th July

How to fill in the day; that is the question? Firstly, you sleep in and don’t get to the dining room for breakfast until 9:30am. We had our usual small breakfast but this time there was no jam to have with toast, just that chocolate / hazelnut spread, liverwurst spread, cream cheese spreads and a jar of vegemite! Then, by the time you’re ready to trot out the door of the hotel it is about 11. David went out looking at a hobby shop while I continued my novel. He returned with a couple of model fire brigade vehicles for his train layout. (We have noticed that any reasonably sized German town has a prominent fire brigade building and to this point David did not have one, or vehicles, for his layout.)

We then set off to wander about the streets basically looking for prices on some items we may buy duty free, if available, at an airport and a 2010 Soccer World Cup shirt for our son. We wandered up to the Eschenheimer Turm, a medieval tower that seems to have survived the war bombing and now houses a restaurant and bar, back through the Zell, where we had lunch, and the Romerplatz. We purchased some chocolates, fruit and some reproduction train plaques as we wandered back to our hotel along the riverbank. It is a pleasant spot.

After an afternoon rest, we took off determined to eat dinner somewhere else, just for a change. We discarded an Italian restaurant overlooking the river as too expensive. They wanted 35E plus for mains, which we think is ridiculous especially for Italian food. The menu at the Intercontinental didn’t inspire and was only fractionally cheaper. Over the road is the second Intercontinental building and it had a more reasonably priced Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, they served bread and warmed basic pizza pieces with a bowl of marinated cherry tomatoes, fetta and green olives. This was washed down with an oversized glass of apple juice that neither of us could finish. So we had begun to feel full before our meal arrived. It was ok but not nearly hot enough. However, they did serve a large platter of vegetables with it so we were satisfied. When we got our bill, we were informed that,” It doesn’t contain a tip but you can leave one at your discretion.” Now, that is rude. We didn’t.

We have been surprised by the number of Muslims and beggars we have seen this time; they were absent in April. I guess then it was too cold for beggars. As for the Muslims, they seem to like this hotel and the foyer often has them seated about. I feel for the women. The men are dressed in short sleeved polo shirts and modern slacks and the women are burdened with hot, drab, unfashionable and heavy clothes leaving only their faces to feel the cool air. They never seem to smile much.

The remainder of the evening was spent organising the packing. Whilst we are taking a few extras home (gifts / souvenirs), and considering what we posted, we still find that there’s more kilos than expected. We may need a reassessment in the morning.

Wednesday 27^th July

We left Heddernheim about 9 as expected and had a smooth half hour’s run to Friedberg picking up a full tank of cheaper petrol as we entered the town.

Rain made it difficult to present the van well at McRent but I guess they expect that especially when we did not have to wash the van although I notice another couple’s van was spotless on the outside. We passed the inspection although we will lose our 1000E insurance excess because of the accident, but we knew this.

This couple ended up sharing a taxi with us back into Frankfurt. A local taxi driver (a pushy type) was at McRent to greet us and offered us a deal. For 50E we could get to the Frankfurt central station so we asked him if he would to it to our hotel nearby and he agreed. To go by taxi / train / taxi would have cost us around 30E and been more of a hassle. The other couple, Americans, paid the standard fee, which I suspect was 50E. We all piled into the taxi and had a pleasant although rather long and roundabout trip (the taxi driver was thwarted by roadworks and took us halfway to Darmstadt) to Frankfurt, dropping the couple at their hotel closer to the airport as they had an 8am flight out the next day. Our arrival in Frankfurt was greeted by reasonably heavy rain which, fortunately, tapered off as we reached our hotel.

The American couple were an interesting pair. It was the second marriage for both of them, having 5 children, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild between them. They have been 8 times to Europe, about every second year since her son was working over here in the 1990s, and stay about 4 months, each time. They are campers and did their first cruise last year and, like us, were not impressed. Usually they stay in the free or 10E campervan areas where possible. She found showering in a van the same size as ours a challenge she does not really enjoy. They must be well off. They retired to Florida and then downsized to an over 55s apartment. This gives them the freedom to lock up and go for as long as they like. Fortunately, they have friends in Germany who store their table/ chairs and bikes ready for the next trip. Unfortunately, as far as David is concerned, we don’t and he wants a train layout and not to live in a unit block so it make sit more difficult for us to go away for long periods.

Our hotel gave us a much less attractive apartment this time. We are at the back of the building overlooking a laneway so our view is the walls of the building behind us. It is a modern one but the laneway can be noisy at night and in the early morning and we have no view of the River Main. It is also smaller. It is now peak season and we are paying the same as our first stay here so we figure that explains it. This time we didn’t have an issue with the door locks. Instead it was the kettle. After our first cuppa, we found the kitchen bench top flooded. So we rang the main desk and asked for a new kettle. The next one tripped the main circuit breaker, turning off the lights. We tried it twice; the effect was the same. So we rang the desk again and they sent up the same teenager to check it out as they obviously didn’t believe us. At his request, we tried it twice more and twice more the breaker tripped. So he tried it in a different power socket; again no lights. Then he rang the desk and they said it was because we had our computer plugged in. He removed our computer plug and tried again despite David telling him it would make no difference and me assuring him that David was an electrician and so knew what he was talking about. The breaker went again. He then went off to get us our third kettle.

David went out looking for magazines at the railway station bookshop while I put on a load of washing, rested and read a novel. We had given McRent 7 novels and so took 4 as replacements. David returned empty handed, as he half expected. We had dinner in the dinning room, which was empty, except for us and a couple outside at the pavement tables having drinks. The food is fine (You do get vegies with your meal!), although not cheap but the menu is limited. So basically it was a quiet, orderly day.

Tuesday 26^th July

We turned clean up day into a leisurely affair with a sleep in until 9am. I really needed it. Then, after breakfast, we organised our ‘stuff’ so it would be easy to vacuum out the van including inside the cupboards. David went to procure the bread rolls and a treat to look forward to after the cleaning and then we set off in search of the service station with a vacuum cleaner. Fortunately, the first one we tried had one and was easy to find. For 50c you get 7 minutes but the cleaner is a cumbersome affair especially with the cramped room inside the van.

Getting back was a little more challenging. You could not do a left U turn as the tram line cut right down the middle of the road separating the two rows of traffic. Either side of these lanes were a mass of one-way streets that looked a nightmare on the map. We continued to drive south away from the camping area until I spotted, high to the right, an inconspicuous black and white sign showing how to do a U turn. David missed seeing it. It was a case of turn right and there was a U turn lane that allowed you to return, cross the tram tracks and turn north. From there all we had to do was follow the signs to the camping ground.

The rest of the day was predictable and unexciting although we did manage to wipe over most of the outside of the van, even though we didn’t have to, but it was merely a lick and a promise. There isn’t much point really, as we have had at least three light showers today. It actually gave us something to fill in the day, would you believe?

We used our awning as a dining room today to keep food crumbs out of the van and discovered, at this late stage, that it is a shade awning only, secured at three places along the top so that the awning leaks between them. (David really doesn’t like using awnings if we don’t really need shade protection in hot weather as we don’t leave it out at night and he gets sick of putting it out and pulling it down.) One of the “between” spaces is right over the door! In wet weather, you are forced to close the door up tightly or see rain dripping into the van.

This seems like another design flaw in European campervans and caravans. We also dislike the windows they install here. You have to push them out fully to release them and they catch in only a few settings. So in heavy rain, this can be awkward. To open or close windows this way means you have to have rollup flyscreens. They use two way ones that incorporate flyscreens and pleated blinds but this means they are subjected to too much work for their design to sustain. We much prefer our design at home where the flyscreen remain in place and you have a winder to wind the windows in or out to any setting you wish. This means you need curtains but I much prefer the look of curtains to plain blinds anyway.

The caravan over the road must be strangely designed too. The man comes outside with his kettle of water and plugs it into the electricity cable on its hose reel outside the van! The van must not have any power points. Another van opposite us has two large, removable water containers, not a inbuilt water tank. The son drove them to the amenities block about 25m to fill them up and take them back to the van. Yet these vans are new, modern and virtually indistinguishable from the style we have at home.

This park has the oldest and most dilapidated “motorhome” we have seen. It is on a three-wheeler vehicle and the roof has disintegrated to the extent that sheets of corrugated iron are placed on top and held there by rocks. The floor is starting to rot out and is held in place by concrete blocks and no inspection would ever allow that amount of rust in the body. Naturally, it doesn’t go anywhere and, frankly, I don’t see anyone living in it so it is just an eyesore despite the ladybirds and sunflower once proudly decorating its sides.

Like many camping grounds we have come across, this one once would have been quite good but neglect has rendered it overgrown with weeds and with poor roads. Tarting up the amenities inside with modern tiles and basins needs to be accompanied by improvements in the exterior and layout. But am I going to tell the rude man here that? Not likely! We are charged 3E a day for electricity here, which is a rip off although, overall, this site is cheaper than Nuremberg. (Nuremberg was a ridiculous 31E a night while here is under 26E a day.) Where we have had metered electricity it has cost us about 1E a day. Apparently, there are metered sites here but we haven’t seen any near us. Still, twice now I have had well over my 4 minutes of hot shower water. As I have said before, I can cope with a lot provided I get my hot shower!

We were going to have a basic dinner from the ‘restaurant’ (if you can call this outdoor collection of trestles and benches that) here tonight but it wasn’t open so we made do with the last of cheese, fruit and wine. After all, we had had afternoon tea. After breakfast tomorrow, the cupboards will be bare. I am pleased that there is not much wastage. I gave a little oil, dried herbs, half a clove of garlic and a tin of tomatoes to a Spanish woman in a van near ours. Besides that, we have left over sultanas, toilet paper and paper towels. I guess someone will take them in the morning. The remaining small amounts of salt, sugar and washing powder we discarded, as I needed to wash out the containers ready to return them.

The test tomorrow is whether we can fit all our stuff into our suitcases as get them back to the hotel via the train without our backs giving way. Neither of us has been able in the confines of the van to keep up our back exercises and David, in particular, is feeling it. We are hoping to be able to walk straight onto the correct platform at Friedberg, without the up and down stairs we were subjected to on our arrival there. Then we may just get a taxi to our hotel.

There is a distinct advantage in using the same hotel as we found in Vancouver in 2008 provided, I guess, that you are reasonably happy with the hotel. At the end of our travels the last thing I want is to cope with finding a new hotel and not knowing how it operates. After all, we have been doing that almost daily for 3 months with new towns, new camping grounds, new shops and new activities. It is comforting to know that the lovely “small breakfast” waits me in Frankfurt and I know where we can find a good roll of walnut bread etc.

Of course, we will be going to a new hotel in Singapore but that suits as I did not like our first hotel there and it will open up site seeing in a different part of Singapore but in an area we are vaguely familiar with from our travel through it on the bus. This time we will get a taxi there and back. That make sit easier too. Besides, I will be too excited about getting home to worry about a hotel.

Monday 25^th July

Our taxi to the post office to post off our parcels of books, brochures and magazines arrived quickly this morning and the parcels were despatched without much ado but with much cash. While it cost 220E, which makes these items very expensive, they are the souvenirs David treasures the most from our trips and he will not throw any out. Of course, you have to wait in a queue; all post offices around the world seem to be the same. The taxi driver was helpful, although we suspect he deliberately took us on a long way round. I asked him what he thought of all the English words appearing in Germany and he just shrugged. It was a phenomena of the last 10 years he said and some people hate it but he realises it will probably get worse.

We bought fresh bread rolls and once again did the long trip back to the camping ground. The trains run about every 5-7 minutes on a weekday. Fantastic service! That’s the advantage of a small relatively modern city where most people appear to live in units. At least, I suppose, the walk back to the camping ground gave us some exercise before sitting in the van for several hours to Frankfurt. However, I had not slept much last night. I was woken, just as I was drifting off, by loud fireworks in about three spells. Then my painkillers wore off and my poor knees would not let me sleep except in short spurts. Two days walking around for hours on hard surfaces in Nuremberg, on top of all the walking done these last three months, had taken its toll. So I was rather tired when we left Nuremberg and spent a lot of the trip dozing.

It was, however, basically a good run on the motorway but road works were a bit of a nuisance. Luckily, we were not travelling in the opposite direction where road works in one spot caused a huge traffic jam lasting 15km. Before leaving Nuremberg, we detoured via the Nazi Parade Ground I had seen in so many WWII newsreels. It doesn’t look so impressive with all the weeds growing up and around the concrete structure, nor too attractive without all the Nazi flags and banners. It is a sad reminder of how easily people are lead and the power of oratory to whip them up.

We had no difficulty finding the camping ground at Frankfurt. This was the one we had intended to use for our fist night in Germany but were talked out of it by the McRent people. Yes, we have discovered, the owner is very rude and abrupt. Firstly, when we arrived the reception was closed between 1 and 5pm! We could not be bothered translating the sign and someone told us to get a site even though we think we were supposed to call a telephone number first. When David went to pay at 5pm, the owner told him to go away and come back in 20 minutes, as he was busy! Great customer service! Later, when David inquired about bread for the morning and Internet, he was told to go and get them in town, as it was only 10 minutes away!

We had just walked to the local shops, scattered as they are through the suburb of Heddernheim, to fill in the afternoon and get some more exercise. They do not seem to have the concept here of the main street. We had hoped to find a bakery but the only one we came across did not have anything that appealed. Instead, we went into two supermarkets of the unattractive variety and got some dusting cloths, for tomorrow’s clean up, and some Pringles. We purchased some more wine on the way home to have with dinner and reward ourselves after the cleaning is done.

We don’t like cleaning day but usually go to considerable effort. In Canada, they were amazed how spotless the van was when we returned it to them. However, that will not be possible here. There is nowhere to wash the vehicle and what’s the point with the overnight light rain we are having. We have been told that a vacuum cleaner is available at some service stations so tomorrow we will go in search of such a station. There are two nearby but they may not have a vacuum cleaner, which would make our job a more difficult hands and knees affair. Basically, we have to leave the kitchen and bathroom clean, which means the stove, sinks, fridge and cupboards. I would like to vacuum the front cab carpet, although a good beating works ok, and wash the small floor area. So we have chosen a heavily gravelled site to reduce the amount dirt we track into the cleaned van and will eat tea out tomorrow night so we can turn off the fridge after lunch and defrost it.

There is a restaurant here where we hope to get salad and sausage; it is the best we can hope for. Otherwise, the site does not inspire. It was wet and boggy in places with lots of puddles and reminds me of the ground at Garmisch –P., near the Zugspitze. The facilities are worse inside here except for the laundry area. The showers are token showers and all you get for 1.10E is 4 minutes of hot water. David says it is at least hot although they are the most expensive showers we have had, I think. Two nights here, on top of the last three, is not a particularly good end to the holiday but it will make the hotel seem like heaven. In addition, this ground is the closest to Friedberg where we have to return the van by 10am on Wednesday.

Another advantage of here is that it is only a very short walk to the train into town, although you are a fair way out, and we won’t be taking advantage of this facility. The trams and buses are a deep teal green, by the way, – not my favourite colour. The local area, despite some trees and greenery, is not particularly attractive. It is like working-class suburbia with lots of the same style of basic, bland two storey houses or three storey blocks of flats. The walls have none of the old decoration or ornamentation. The windows are just punched into the walls and the walls rendered and painted pale colours. I guess there was a drastic need for houses after the Second World War and they put up these shells. It is not somewhere I would be tempted to live.

Sunday 24^th July

The sun was distinctly absent this morning, which forced our Danes into T-shirts and us into double layers! It is only expected to get to 18 degrees today and was about 8 overnight. The average summer temperature for Nuremberg is 24! There was some light rain overnight too but it held off all day as we made our second assault on the attractions of Nuremberg.

Being Sunday in Germany, we heard bells both morning and evening and the shops were all closed. Some restaurants and café/bars opened to cater for the small number of people entering town and going to the museums which open daily. We could have been in a different city altogether. By lunchtime, there were more people about but it was still very quiet.

Our aim today was to firstly check out the Post Office nearest us as we will be going there by taxi, we hope, in the morning to post home 4 boxes of books and papers. So we walked to the station, caught the train and got off a few stations later and after 5 minutes, task completed, got back on the train and alighted at Lorenzplatz so shortening our walk to the castle.

Around the castle area is an interesting group of buildings including the house of Albrecht Durer, the town walls, towers and the castle itself. It is a relatively steep climb over cobblestones to the castle and when we got into the courtyard to enquire about the tour we overheard several people, including the ticket seller, not recommending it, especially for children. The castle itself had only empty rooms, the tours takes one and a half hours and the museum is full of armoury and weapons. None of this appealed so we contented ourselves with walking around the outside. Historically, it is an important area for the Holy Roman Empire and the German nation. Commenced about 1100AD, the castle was the scene of Diets (assemblies of imperial magnates) from this time until 1491. It was then largely ignored until historians discovered it in the first half of the 19thC. During WWII, it was heavily bombed and took 30 years to restore. It is constructed of a reddish stone called ashlar and, I suspect, that under all the grim the churches of Nuremberg are constructed of the same material. Even today, work is still going on and several places, including the two-level chapel, were closed to the public. The upper level of the chapel was for the Emperor, and it sits directly above the lower level, connected to it by a shaft that allowed both congregations to hear the same service! Now, that would have been interesting to see.

We moved on to the Durer House. Here Albrecht, famous for his praying hands drawing, conducted a studio, printing workshop, shop and training school. It is an attractive half-timbered house with round circles of glass in the windows, which allowed a lot of light into the upper levels. You are given an audio guide in your language of choice and off you go. The person on the guide pretends to be Durer’s wife guiding you through her house as it stands today. She objects to changes made by museum staff and comments on the 19thC attempt to refurbish it as “not too far out” except for that porcelain stove. This is a little strange at first but we came across this way of guiding people through a building yesterday at the Fembo House. A modern extension and stairs has been added to the back to provide exhibition space and here is a magnificent blown up photo of a self-portrait of Durer aged about 29 that covers an entire wall. Seeing it blown up makes the detail even more astounding. Not only are the hairs of his head and beard individually wrought, and you can see the moisture in his eyes and even on his lower eyelids. We were able to buy a very large postcard of this painting later at the German National Museum. Also there was an automated display on Durer’s work. You touched a picture and it enlarged. You touched the ‘i’ button and details about that picture were displayed. It was an interactive and selective way to learn more about the man’s work. Durer travelled widely in Europe and sold his paintings in fairs and from his studio. Many of his works were carefully rolled up into large wooden barrels to be transported all over Europe. Overall, I liked this house much better than the Fembo House (it was more unified) and when I get home I would like to find out more about Durer’s wife. There were hints that she had a very poor reputation during the tour but she seemed to have supported Durer and the running of his business. From her commentary, we learnt the names of numerous other painters and humanists that Durer associated with in his home. This was to come in handy when we visited the German National Museum.

However, first we needed lunch. There were four café/restaurants open near the Durer House because of all the tourists in that quarter so we chose one that had an inside space to get out of the cold. We ordered tea and a hot meal. After 50 minutes wait and long after my tea was finished, I got my roast pork shoulder with crackling (not what I expected) served with potato dumplings. It was either dumplings or sauerkraut; the Germans just call it ‘kraut’ which remains one of the name used for them during the World Wars. The meat was delicious but the potato dumpling was stodge with a strange texture and no potato flavour. Poor David waited 55 minutes for his lunch! How can it take 55 minutes to grill 6 tiny thin sausages and serve it on a bed of warmed sauerkraut pre-prepared in a jar? We were not impressed and neither were several other table occupants who also kept looking at their watches. One German couple even spoke to the waitress about the length of the wait. They ordered after us but got served before us! It pays to complain but David never will and the language is a barrier. We got up and left the table as soon as we finished. To wait for the bill to arrive at our table would have added another 10 minutes to our lost time. Anyway, it confirmed our negative beliefs about German food. If you don’t have a salad (it was too cold today) then you are not going to get any vegetables except potato or sauerkraut! It isn’t that they don’t have these foods. The food served here leaves a lot to be desired and I am glad we have had our own kitchen allowing us to avoid the worst of it. This is surprising as we saw lots of fresh fruit and vegie stalls in the markets yesterday. I would have bought a lot of berries here as they are more plentiful and cheaper than at home, but David didn’t want them and the quantity was too large for one. Furthermore, if this service is typical, no wonder they need to close up shops etc for at least two hours for lunch!

Then we walked back to the German National Museum. You enter via the Way of Human Rights, an avenue of 29 tall, capital-less pillars inscribed with many languages but, we think, the inscriptions cover the UN’s declaration of Human Rights. One can only hope that the Germans are sincere about respecting these, especially in Nuremberg with its history of human rights abuse.

The Museum itself is a conglomeration of what appears to be an old cloister, numerous old buildings and modern structures. It covers German history and culture from the pre-historic to the present. From experience, we know you cannot even attempt to see the whole of such a large museum. We selected the art and design of the Renaissance through to the Baroque as this included Durer’s work. Disappointingly, there is not much of Durer’s work in his hometown. He and his wife were so successful in marketing his work that little remains here. There are two large paintings of the Emperor Charlemagne & a saint done in about 1512. There was the painting of his teacher in his teacher’s old age, which is remarkable for it is one of the first pictures showing people warts and all. Previously portraiture was generally expressionless and done to keep a record of the family virtues so younger generations could emulate them. There is also an early portrait of his mother before Durer’s skill was at its height. There is not much else except work done to his designs (an antler & dragon chandelier. According to Durer’s wife on the audio guide, Durer loved this form of lighting – no thanks!), or by his contemporaries and students. What is even more disappointing is that all the valuable works are under glass! The up side of this, however, is that you can get very close to virtually every item in the museum as long as you do not touch. This is a refreshing change. A closer examination of numerous works showed to us inferior painting to that of Durer. Some of the faces were particularly poorly painted.

Because of the world wars, Germany lost so much and, as a result, even keep and display works known to be copies, a practise which they admit is discredited in other museums but sometimes a copy or another modern impression off an old plate or mould is all they have. I guess, this is also the reason why Nuremberg has so many museums. They now collect anything they can lay their hands on. Unfortunately for the German National Museum, most archaeological finds these days are kept by the local authorities where they are found and are not given up to the national museum so they are struggling to add to their collection. If I were them, I would be dishing out money to acquire more Durers.

What the museum does have is the oldest globe of the world from 1492-3. Unfortunately, it has suffered from time and wrongful cleaning so it is very hard to read. The maker, Behaim was unaware of the discovery of the Americas by Columbus and so they are missing. Furthermore, he worked from inaccurate estimations of the size of the world so it is too small. The islands of the Philippines cover Indonesia as well. I guess what is really interesting is the purpose of the globe’s construction. On it are large areas of minute writing highlighting where treasures such as minerals and precious stones can be found as well as much valued, expensive spices. It seems to have been an advertising exercise to get backers for world trade and conquest!

However, the item I liked the most was, surprisingly, a piece of furniture. It is a writing desk by Plitnzer dated about the early 18thC and a gorgeous creation of inlaid wood, tortoiseshell, mother of pearl, metal and more highlighted by gold gilding. Even very close scrutiny could not reveal the slightest poor join. The hours of skilled and artistic workmanship involved in this piece is astounding and, although this is not generally my ‘thing’, it was more enticing that the most skilled gold goblet in the place. Fortunately, and for a change, they actually had a postcard of this desk. Whenever I find something I like in a museum or art gallery, they never seem to have a postcard of it to take away as a memory, but not today.

To recover our strength we had a cuppa and cake in the museum bistro before trudging back to the U bahn (train) and then the long walk back to the camping ground. It is not a conveniently situated ground but at least the trains run every 10 minutes on the weekend. I was exhausted by two days walking Nuremberg and we hadn’t even done more than the most important sites.

Tonight I waited until about 10pm and got a warm shower. It was hotter than any other shower I have had here but still not a hot shower. Oh, and the shop was open for business tonight at the camping ground! We have discovered you cannot believe anything told to you by a receptionist at a camping ground or hotel. Their accurate knowledge of their local area, and amenities likely to be wanted by travellers, is almost zero.

Saturday 23^rd July

Such a quiet start to the day is unexpected. Being situated where we are, there are no 6 and 7am chimes to wakes us as we have had so often and for the last few days. Our little Dutch boy was so exhausted form his exertions yesterday that he did not rise until after 8:30am. As I poked my nose out the door, however, we were greeted by the two families of Danes soaking up the morning sunshine on their chests wearing just shorts! Oh, sorry, the wives did have on bras! But half naked obese bodies on mass is not a recommended sight first thing in the morning. Obviously, exposed flesh is not just the practice of the Germans and Austrians.

There was a mass exodus of vans this morning resulting in a traffic jam to leave the place. I am not surprised. While I like Nuremberg, I definitely dislike this caravan park. This evening I had a cold shower, after my lukewarm one yesterday evening. This is not likely to win my approval as a park. There is no way to adjust the water temperature. Given the closed facilities (they were open selling pizzas tonight despite what we were told yesterday) and the state of the showers, this cannot claim to have 3-star status. Today, I read that there are 3 free campervan sites around Nuremberg but David does not seem interested in moving into one. He suggests I have morning showers, which is of no help getting me off to sleep in the evening!

Today was exhausting. I think we are getting tired after nearly 3 months on the go. To top up our food supply until we get rid of the van, we had to walk 1.3km to a supermarket. David walked back to the van, put the food in the fridge and walked another 1km to the train station. So while I ended up walking 1.6km, David did 3.6 without either of us getting on the train into town. I sat on the platform and waited for David’s return, slowly freezing. Fortunately, the trains run about every 10 minutes even on a Saturday. However, it meant we did not reach town until 11am after leaving the campsite at 9.

We got off at the main station where I decided to send a penny, well 50c, actually. A free toilet stop is very rare; even in a shopping centre here they want 30c. I put in my coin and the turnstile refused to budge. I gave the box a hit to make sure the coin had gone down and still no movement in the turnstile. So I thumped it! I got 35c change and climbed under the turnstile. There was no one there to help or stop me. Why is it that mechanical and electronic items dislike me and not David? Am I developing a persecution complex?

David and I parted company at the train station. He took off to the train museum while I wandered off sightseeing. Firstly, I had to have a cuppa and pastry. I did look at the Black Forest Cake but it had too much cream so I opted for a snail with a nutty filling. They sell snails in quite a few varieties here and at 2.80E for tea and pastry it is cheap.

Refreshed, I wandered into two nearby churches: St Martha’s Reformed Protestant and St Clare’s Roman Catholic. The first was a squat church, wider than it is deep, which is most unusual. Unusual too are the stained glass windows. There are 8 in all, all the same size with panes arranged 3 wide and 6 deep. We have seen hundreds of stained glass windows but these were the first I can remember where each pane held a separate picture. Otherwise, the church did not excite. It was a dark, dull and depressing interior, enlivened only by possies at the end of each pew. I suspect there was to be a wedding there later in the day.

St Clare’s was also a surprise. You enter through modern glass doors on the side of the church as the altar apse occupies the street frontage. Inside is a modern vestibule followed by a curved area of slabs of green and black glass stacked op top if each other and forming a sanctuary for an old statue of Mary. However, on entry to the church there are more surprises waiting. The church is modern! The pews and spiral staircase to the organ loft are minimalist limed wood. The altar table stands on its isolated in front of plain glass windows. The only ornate features are two altarpieces, one each side of the entry to the main altar table. One is dark and depressing and, naturally, of the crucifixion. The other is light with much gold gilding and, naturally, is of Mary. Is there nothing to rejoice about in the crucifixion? Like most of Nuremberg, this church was partially destroyed in the bombing of WWII and although restored in the 1950s, was rebuilt in 2007, which explains its modernity. An organist was playing the organ and signing along too, which also gave this church more life than St Martha’s.

Later in the day, David & I were to wander into three other churches and disliked them all. Like St Martha’s they were of a greyish stone. Whether this was the actual colour of the stone or just the years of grim, which seem to lie over both the exteriors and the interiors, we could not tell. St Lawrence Church is a Lutheran 3-aisle basilica built in High Gothic (perpendicular Gothic, which we usually love), which was strangely extended in the 15thC so that the altar and choir stall ends make the church disappear into darkness rather than light is the main church area. The elaborate Annunciation piece (1518) hanging in front of the altar is lost in the gloom and the excessive ornamentation behind it.

St Sebald Church houses the silver casket tomb of this saint. It is encased in a black (bronze, 1397) Gothic structure which rests of a collection of black snails for feet! This, the oldest parish church in the city, dates from 1215 and was heavily damaged in the war and rebuilt and has been reconsecrated as a memorial for peace. There are lots of pictures behind the columns of the damage done to the building and then its reproofing, in particular. It seems to reflect the idea we have come across elsewhere that the Nazis were tyrants, the cause of the evil, and I find this particularly difficult to swallow. Hitler was democratically elected and had majority support except for the brave few who resisted within Germany. Furthermore, if you start a war that kills millions and destroys other cities by blitzkrieg, you can hardly complain about your cities and churches being destroyed. There is a lot written on reconciliation and forgiveness in this church but no acknowledgement of the German need for repentance especially as the Roman Catholic Church cooperated with the Nazis. Perhaps this is conveyed in the German text that I couldn’t read but somehow I doubt it.

The Church of Our Lady is another squat church, like St Martha’s, and very similar in its dullness to all the other churches except St Clara’s. They all need a good clean and the painted statues refreshed with bright colours. I guess nothing has been done to them since they were rebuilt in the 1950s. The feature I liked the most about this church was its elaborate carved and painted door arch from the vestibule into the church proper. It would be stunning if restored.

After lunch, we wandered to the Fembo House City Museum. This is a curious home with 4 levels dedicated to both its architecture and that of the city. From the ground floor entry, you are sent in a lift to the 4^th floor and a model of the city before WWII. In the dark it I shard to appreciate the fine wood carving of this model but there is a commentary (we got audio guides in English) as different parts of it are lit up and discussed. It was here that the German problem of dealing with the Nazis was further illustrated. They cannot just blame the Nazis for the Jewish slaughter. At least 4 times in the history of Nuremberg have the Jews been killed and run out of town. After the second pogrom where about 500 were killed, they were eventually allowed back into the city but not granted citizenship for 300 years. Twice since then their main synagogue has been demolished. You get a feel for the size of the old city (now about 1 million people live here), which originally had between 25,000 and 50,000 residents in medieval times. The remains of the 5km of city walls are amongst the oldest in Germany.

When the model talk was over, you are supposed to go down to the third level but we could not find the door or the stairs. We tried the lift and got straight down to the ground floor and were told to go up again and use the fire escape! Well, that was it looked like with its fire escape EXIT sign on a basic white door. Of interest on the next level down is the heavily carved wood decorating the family’s rooms. While beautifully done, it is very dark and not my style. The glass in the windows is old glass, which is very distorting, and mostly in circular pieces set in lead. The commentary says this replaced the bubble (bottle) glass in the circles so the patrician ladies of the house could see something in the street. Apparently, in the middle Ages, they were not allowed to leave the house except to go to church! The only room not completely dominated by wood is the room with oldest surviving Baroque stucco ceiling. From the dark wooden dado upwards, it is heavily encrusted with stucco figures of Venus and cupid and spandrels. It looks strange however as it is all off white; one expects frescoes to be painted in the flat areas and colour and gilding to emboss the rest but not so here. The next level down is much lighter with the wood having been replaced by one owner. Despite this, it is not as interesting as the higher floor and dedicated to Nuremberg’s arts and artists.

Despite its gloomy churches, we liked Nuremberg. It is a lively spot. The city was crowded with people, perhaps because the fresh food market was being held from the Lorenzerplatz to the Museumbrucke (one of numerous city bridges) over the Pegnitz River that divides the town in two. At the Hauptmarkt the crowds had gathered for a concert and food stalls. As at Ottobeuren, the people were seated at long trestles with benches to sit on and all their beers lined up to drink. Food wise, it seemed to be sausages and bread rolls, German pizza or melted cheese on bread and not much more. However, the crowds made it difficult to get a good photo of the Beautiful Fountain or the Church of Our Lady and its glockenspiel. The Beautiful Fountain is indeed beautiful if you like a gilded Gothic tower ornamented with statues, which I do.

We didn’t get as far as we would have liked into the northern section of town, the upper town, which is the oldest and so the Imperial Castle will have to wait for tomorrow. However, we did break up the journey home by stopping for tea and cake just before getting on the train. Having a cup of tea here is a bit of a lottery. If you ask for tea or English Breakfast tea, they ask if that is “Black” and you could end up with Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Assam or Ceylon! You get served a glass mug of hot water and a teabag. They don’t seem to understand the subtleties of tea drinking here. It was after 6pm when we made it back to the van. Such a long day! Then, after all our shopping this morning, we discovered the shop was open to sell pizza! Still, David needed milk for breakfast.

David – Now that our trip is nearing the end, this was one day I’d been waiting for – my visit to the DB Museum, THE rail museum in Germany. As I expected that the information about the collection would be in German, I enquired about a guide in English and was given a pamphlet with descriptions of the various exhibits. This was so brief it was practically useless. It was until I got to the Museum Shop at the end that I discovered an inexpensive book in English that gave a translation of the main descriptions of each exhibit. But by then it was too late.

The museum’s major exhibition covers the history and development of the railway in Germany from the various state owned companies, the amalgamated Reichbahn (DRG), with a large section on the WW2 period, the split into the DDR (east) and DB (west), then the present day. Despite my language problem this appeared to be a good coverage of the topic. The German text and photos were supplemented by quite a number of scale models (mainly 1:10) of locomotives plus passenger and goods wagons of the various eras. There were about 8 original items (mainly locos) displayed in the inside hall, including King Ludwig’s coach, but they were crammed too close together to get a good view.

I enjoyed the models but the language problem made the major exhibition disappointing particularly as I’m not all that interested in the history of the earlier periods. However, when I went across the road to the outdoor displays my disappointment increased substantially. There were very few locos or wagons to see compared to what I had expected. I’m very glad I went to the museum’s annex at Koblenz otherwise I would have seen hardly any of the items that I wanted too. So of the 3 rail museum sites I have visited, Koblenz would have to be the best, followed by Freilassing and then Nurnberg.

Friday 22^nd July

Another cloudy day greeted us and we even had a little rain on the motorway to Nuremberg before the sun made several appearances in the afternoon. We decided we were not enamoured enough with Schwabisch Hall’s church to go back for the postcards. Our photos would have to do.

We thought we knew our way back to the B19 and the motorway but, perhaps, we were sidetracked looking for the petrol station where we put in a small amount of diesel. It was 146.9 a litre and we know it can be as low as 145 cents so we did not fill up. We continued on for a short distance to a Y intersection. Seeing no signs to the motorway, we continued in what we thought was the appropriate direction until it became obvious from the map they we were in fact going southeast when we needed to go northeast! This time we found a roundabout, as David said with irony, ”There are plenty of roundabouts in southern France”! On retracing our steps, we found a sign to the motorway, typical – in one direction but not the other! Following this sign soon made it obvious that we were not headed to the nearest motorway entry point, No 43, but for half the distance, running parallel with it and intersecting with it 9km down the track at point number 44. We had completely missed the B19 but hadn’t a clue what numbered road we were on as no numbers existed. There were some views along the way but not really worth placing on the map as they had and not worth photographing them in the misty conditions.

I had been dreading more time on the motorway after yesterday but, for some reason, there were a lot fewer trucks on the road today. Even the parking areas were half empty and we struck only one 6km section of road works. As the road was mostly two-lane, the trucks stayed in their lane and sedately moved along at about 90kph. We slotted in between them as the other lane took the cars screaming along at 120! The road was not any better than our motorways at home and in places worse so I feel this is a bit too fast. Nearer Nuremberg, David got a little bored and overtook several trucks in spurts and starts that allowed the cars coming up rapidly behind us to get by.

Finding the only camping ground in Nuremberg was easy. We had maps David had collected, and directions he had worked out, but we were entering from a different motorway than he had planned because we had had time to divert into the Black Forest. Still, with these, signs and the notes in our camping directory we had no trouble locating the place in a wood near the large sporting and conference complex that rather resembles Homebush Bay on a larger scale. The campsite looks fine although it is very boggy. They have had more rain than the flat ground could cope with but, by arriving early around lunchtime, we had our pick of the sites and got one with some hard gravel for the van to stand on and not under the pine trees.

After lunch, David took off to visit some model train shops he had sussed out from the Internet and I did the washing! This gives him a chance to get to grips with Nuremberg and the transport system before we spend the weekend seeing the sites, which seem to include ‘1002’ museums! They have one for nearly everything. There is the main museum which rates three stars, plus one for trains (David’s favourite destination here), fire engines, toys, Bible Days, communications, Industrial Culture, Nazi Congress Hall (where the Nuremberg Rally was held), ‘Courtroom 600’ (where the war crimes trials were held), clocks, children’s play, Bavarian hardware, the hangman’s residence, Durer’s house, military garrison, hat making, wheat beer glass making, 1920s-1930s garden sheds, Faber Castell (pencil making) and yes, pigeons. Of, and we have just noticed a museum for dialysis machines! There is a Jewish Museum housed in a Jewish house from the 17thC, which ”testifies to the rich traditions of Franconia’s Jewish culture.” Well, it is something, I guess. Then, of course, there are all the art galleries, too.

You can get a ‘Nuremberg Card’, which gives you free admission to all museums (I think we’ll give the dialysis machines, pigeons and beer glass ones etc a miss) and free public transport for two days for 21E each. If we do more than 4 sites then we’ll have saved money but it will also give us the convenience of just flashing the card and walking in. They also have a two-day city weekend public transport pass for two people for about 7E if we choose not to buy the card. That’s amazing.

On second viewing, the caravan park has not lived up to its rating. The restaurant, self-service restaurant and shop are all closed. The operators have taken a holiday. This is a disappointment because we are a kilometre from public transport here, about half an hour’s walk, and the only shops we know of are near one of the train stations we can use. It is a long way to carry groceries. However, I do not expect them to be open on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday. The washing machines are temperamental and I had trouble with them although they only charge 2.50E a wash, which is very cheap. For 2.50E, the dryer gives you nearly two hours! However, the worst feature would have to be the showers. I tried just before tea and the water was cold. So I waited until David informed me that the water at the hand basins seemed hot and so I went. They were only lukewarm, there is mould in the grout, and the showerhead is so poor you are pelted with water until it hurts. I am not looking forward to another two nights of showers here.

The site is starting to get busy as people come in for the weekend. A noisy Dutch family has just erected a tiny trailer tent and a small tent next to us. There are 2 teenage girls plus a young boy who has to yell every time he wants to say something and runs everywhere as if he is hyperactive while his mum is one of those people who sings out loud or whistles as she potters about! Inside a van and annex, noise is confined but 5 people in the open means you hear every word they say although, naturally, it is all Double Dutch to us! Heaven help them if it rains. Could be an interesting weekend!

I spoke to an Italian woman and her son as they came out of the shower. I didn’t have to wait for them to reply to know they were Italians because they were wearing the bathrobes with the hoods over their wet heads!

We need to renew our car registration at home by getting a green slip from the GIO before the end of the month. David thought he would just do it online from Germany yesterday so it would be all fixed up by the time we got home and needed to drive. Unfortunately, he left one piece of information at home and the GIO website would not accept his application without it. So this morning, he rang them in Australia to get the piece and fortunately was promptly answered. We had visions of sitting on the line for hours as you can do at home and using up all our phone credits but it didn’t eventuate. However, every time he tries to submit his application it tells him that GIO is offline! We are hoping it is just that the time we are doing it here is the early hours of the morning in Australia. In theory, the computer and Internet are wonderful inventions but when they don’t work, and you are relying on them, they can be time-consuming pains.

Later

The insurance is all fixed! Yeah!

As the campsite is filling up, we are proving a very international lot. (It is after 9pm and they are still arriving.) The Dutch are beside us, some Italians in front, two groups of Danes behind, Germans down the road, some Brits, a Belgian couple and an Austrian or two, a few Swiss and even a couple of Fins. In addition, the vehicles are interesting too. We have seen probably our largest motor caravan, as well as one of the smallest old fibreglass caravans with a tiny pop-top. A German couple arrived in a converted armoured army vehicle still in its khaki colours; it is cumbersome and would be dark inside with the small armoured window coverings. Caravans, however, remain the most popular form of accommodation here and, on the whole, the cars seem larger and better equipped to tow them but you still see the occasional worrying combination. Yesterday, we saw one of the smallest Suzukis pulling a 16 foot (?) van! I guess they are confined to motorways.

Thursday 21^st July

Great, a fine start to the day, although by lunchtime it had started clouding over but by then we were headed out of the Black Forest and into the drier Rhine River Valley so ending up with a dry day under 20 degrees.

From the campsite of Lagenwald, we continued on the Black Forest High Road until taking a detour to Oppenau. We quickly regretted this decision as the narrow road was very windy but, fortunately, little used but you never know when a car is going to speed around a blind corner and this happened once. European driver don’t seem to understand the term ‘defensive driving’. Furthermore, it was one of those scenic roads where you can’t seen anything but conifers! However, once committed to this road, the only way back to the main road north to Baden Baden was to continue via Allerheiligen. Here our maps rather misled us as the road was actually wider than it was shown and much more satisfactory. Several distant views were possible from this road but they were all the same only getting closer to the towns on the plain.

Our maps also confused us about Allerheiligen and its waterfall. The waterfall appeared to be up a side road designated for bikes and pedestrians only and numerous kilometres away. We gave the car park a miss and continued on to the spot itself. There we discovered that the waterfall was just a kilometre down a pleasant path from the ruined abbey and its neglected fountain garden. The ruins were set up with a stage for a summer play season and three of the four fountains further on in the complex were working and flowers had been planted in urns decorating the fountain ponds. We saw a model of the place and it must have been something until it was allowed to fall into disrepair in the 18thC. Several large buildings remain in the area set aside as guesthouses and a restaurant. However, all the information was in German so we contented ourselves with a walk through the area and down to the waterfall.

Although only one star, the waterfall was worth the hike. A small stream, constantly fed by rivulets, flows from the ruins to a twisting, violent cascading waterfall. It is not possible to see all the waterfall at once. Instead you climb down sets of steps to keep pace with the changing angle of the falls. The only problem with this is that it is uphill back to the car! We could have saved ourself the effort by viewing the falls from the lower car park road and then driving up to the ruins. Still, we got a couple of kilometres of walking in and it was pleasant.

Mummelsee, a glacial lake just to the north was our next stop. It is a small, circular deep green lake surrounded by dark green conifers. Yes, nothing to look at and all on view so there was nothing to be discovered walking around it. Any views from the far side would have been of the tourist complex aimed at fleecing tourists. The usual cheap junky souvenirs were on sale and the prices at the cafeteria-styled restaurant seemed high. Black forest cake was 2.70E here while we paid just 1.70 or so yesterday. The smell of freshly baked bread was enticing but we had already picked up bread before we left the camping ground this morning. They were cooking the bread outside the shop in a large outdoor iron oven. Besides ice creams, the only other food I saw consumed was, guess what, sausages in white bread rolls – not even margarine or sauce was used. This trip, we wanted to have more of the local experience than we did 35 years ago when we did the Grand Tour but the food most commonly eaten in Italy, Austria and Germany has not been inspiring. To eat interesting and varied meals would have cost a great deal. We do not want to have to spend $A45 plus on lunch each day! Thinking about this brought to mind the pea and ham soup with sausage and roll we had at Eltz Castle at the beginning of our trip. That was nourishing, more balanced and affordable but it has not been a repeated experience. In summer, you don’t feel like soup.

Baden Baden is a large town and best avoided we decided. It is on the tourist coach route and parking looked as if it was going to be a problem. There isn’t anything of major interest there, just the town as a resort. So we hopped onto the motorway for a quick trip up the No.5 north and then onto the No.6 to get us to a jumping off point for Schwabisch Hall. Except that it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t quick! If you think we have too many trucks on the road, then come to Germany! One lane in each direction was virtually end-to-end trucks and semi-trailers. Where there are three lanes, they overtook each other but if there were only two then they aren’t allowed to overtake. With their speed limit of 80-90 (usually), it means that they are not a problem. You don’t have speeding trucks bearing down on you or cutting in on you. However, they are constantly there, noisy and it is stressful driving. Furthermore, we had to pass through a lot of roadwork areas. Sometimes we were limited to 60kph and some lanes were only 2m wide so we had to tuck ourselves in, between the trucks. If you wanted a break or a toilet stop, forget it! Every entrance to the many parking areas had a semi-trailer blocking it while waiting for a space!

All this meant we did not get to Schwabisch Hall until after 3pm. Then we had to find a parking area that took campervans as all the parking areas advertised as you come into town, and telling you how many spaces were free, seemed to be parking stations and none had a motor caravan symbol next to them. As we were driving through, and getting frustrated, I noticed a campervan sign with a U turn symbol and told David to make a U turn which he refuse to do thinking I must have made a mistake. I hadn’t. They were encouraging a U-turn in the middle of a 4-lane road through town! We then had to go right through the town, turn off, make a right turn, do a three-point U turn and retraced our route back into town. This time we were looking for the motor caravan symbol. Not there! So I just told David to swing into the next parking area as I could see cars in there, not a building. Once into the side road, guess what, there was the motor caravan symbol with an offer of 24 hours of parking. Our German neighbour agreed that the signage was atrocious but pointed out that all we had to do was walk over the bridge at the edge of the parking area and we were in the centre of town. All was forgiven!

Schwabisch Hall is a medieval salt town. Hall is the old German word for salt. It is known for it half-timbered houses and I guess we expected another Schiltach but Schwabisch Hall is a much bigger town and definitely swinging. Over the covered wooden bridge was a large paved open area leading to a very modern and stylish shopping complex. Nevertheless, it as not out of place architecturally. From there, we walked into the old town. A hobby shop caught our eye and it had a good selection of model train stuff but nothing David wanted. I found craft papers I have not seen in Australia and, although they were expensive, I bought them. What they did have cheaply was origami papers in nicely coordinating colours and pre-scut strips of paper also coordinating. They will be good for paper weaving and as they are machine cut, they will give a professional finish.

It is an uphill walk to the main Marketplace, which is a really surprising space. The square slopes up away from you and, on the far side, at the top of dozens of steps is the imposing St Michaels Evangelical Church. The Marketplace was set with rows of chairs and the hand rails had been removed from several places up the steps as, in summer, they perform plays on the steep steps as if they were on a flat stage! Entering via a side door, the church was another surprise. This is no simple Protestant church but a church that goes back to before the Reformation. It is drab inside. The smooth grey stone does not appeal and the coloured sections and designs at the tops of the columns and on the vaulting and ceiling are dull. However, it has some very interesting features. Firstly there are several gilded altarpieces and one deeply carved one with wings either side. It is dedicated to the crucifixion and has very expressive faces. In the main, middle portion, the disciples are laying the dead Jesus on cloth ready to wrap his body. Four women, the Marys mainly, are there mourning. What especially surprised us was that we could go right up to all the parts of the church. There was no one there to stop you touching or photographing the altarpieces. Around the church walls are wooden memorial boards that are painted with words and pictures, and, like the altarpieces, date from the 1490s. They are quite unusual when compared to the traditional stone or brass memorials you see in churches but there are also ones with Baroque ornateness and so have the obligatory white cherubs! There is the expected painting of Martin Luther, naturally. On one of the altarpieces, a wing panel had gruesome scenes of the Devil and devoured people that were very munch in the style of Luther’s wood engravings. Finally, we noticed the name Bonhoeffer on many of these memorial plaques. It is the same family as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Christian leader and resistance member who was murdered by the Nazis. Unfortunately, by the time we had finished looking at the church and ready to decide what postcards we wanted, they had closed up the little shop! David had refused to buy a book on entry as the tiny paperback brochure, similar to the ones we have paid 3E and 5E for elsewhere, was 7E! We are going back via Schwabisch Hall tomorrow on our way back to the motorway and now have to decide whether we will pay for more parking and walk back up to the church to get the postcards. We did not see any of inside the church in shops.

From the church, we headed down through the old streets, passed the half-timbered houses and shops to the river. Along both sides of the river, beautiful views of the old buildings can be seen. The river fragments around numerous islands, some planted with wildflowers, so that about 10 bridges cross the river in the town and there is an attractive park with a version of the Globe Theatre in it. This town is into theatre and puppetry as well as musical concerts. It is a place I could happily wander through and even perhaps live in, if only they didn’t speak German!

It is not a language I find attractive or easy. All those consonants together are very off putting. Today I came across a word with 5 consonants in a row! How ever do you pronounce them? I just get tongue-tied. And then, there are those long words made up for numerous words that totally confuse me. As you drive passed them, how do you have time to decipher where the words join and remember the spelling of each part to look it up in the dictionary? Many words we see on signs and in camping grounds aren’t even in our dictionary. I am wondering if they come from vernacular German or are types of abbreviations. Cars, for example, are called ‘PKW’ which stands for ‘personenkraftwagen’ (personal power wagon)! So some parking areas are designated “P – PKW”. Fortunately, you do eventually get to know some basic words.

However, even when you think you know how to say a word, you are usually pronouncing it wrongly. So ‘Hall” is pronounced as ‘hal’ and When we spoke about Ottobeuren to a German couple recently they just looked at us, confused. When they said it, it sounded like it had an ‘l’ in it and was completely unrecognisable to us.

The map from the Tourist Information Office in the Marketplace showed the direction of the caravan park just a few kilometres out of town and we would have found it easily if the exit to the parking area didn’t force up to turn right when we needed to turn left! It meant going out of town towards the motorway, turning right, doing a three-point U turn and retracing our steps. Sound familiar?

At least the camping ground is well grassed with hard surface tracks for the van’s wheels to run on, not expensive and even the token showers, with glass shower enclosures, were lovely and hot. I love not stepping out of the shower into a puddle.

David returned form his shower bemused at hearing Johnny Farnham on German radio! In many camping grounds, they play the local radio station in the amenities block. On the vast majority of occasions, the songs played are in English. I don’t think there is much of a non-English speaking recording industry left in Europe these days.

Wednesday 20^th July

Summer in southern Germany! Ahh! Do you take your wellies and parka away with you in the summer school holidays? Of course not, but here most people produced them this morning. Apparently, this cold, wet weather is quite expected. Given the beautiful green of the lush pastures, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised either that it rained all day today, except when we were inside having lunch. It has been a most depressing day weather-wise although we mostly had planned on just driving through the countryside. Still, you can’t appreciate the scenery through rain, mist and low cloud.

The township of Simonwald, within walking distance of our campsite, is also an attractive enough spot and we were able to get parking right next to an excellent bakery and buy our bread rolls and cake for morning tea. It was a very popular little shop with a queue waiting to be served. It appears that it belongs to an enthusiastic young couple and, had the weather been better, we would have liked to have taken a little time to wander about the town. The Simonwalder Tal (valley) is beautiful and closes in on you the further up the valley you get so that the road is forced up the hillside before moving into the next valley. The farmhouses look better from a distance especially with cattle, including some long-haired ones, grazing in the foreground.

At Hausach, we detoured following a sign to a Modelbahn (model railway) set in a large building so that it looked promising for David. Unfortunately, none of the car parks would take our van and all were full anyway. It was very popular with families in wet weather so we had to give it a miss. We also passed through a town today where the Faller model railway factory is situated but they did not appear to have a factory outlet, unfortunately.

As we moved on, the rain worsened and we saw even less. The highlight of the day was a few hours spent in Schiltach, a town of half-timbered houses that go back to the late 16thC. It is prettily situated on a fast flowing stream in the base of the valley so that the streets are forced up the hillside. The Marketplace, where the town Hall (Rathaus) is situated, is steeply sloping, which is an unusual feature. The Rathaus (pronounced ‘rat house’!) is well decorated with paintings and was constructed in 1593 after one of the many fires they have had destroyed parts of the town. Many streets of the old town are cobble too. What really attracts you is the pride in their history. The houses are well maintained, there are signs all around the town (in German only) detailing historically significant features; there is a walking tour brochure for the town in 4 languages; the church was open, and the flowers decorated the bridges and gardens. David wanted to see the remains of the old railway yards but there wasn’t much left, just the old iron railway bridge over the river. Unfortunately, the shops were closed for extended lunch, so it did not start too liven up until we were about ready to leave. The other positive feature was their welcoming of motor caravans. Parking area 1 was for us and it was right near the centre of the town and free! Water and power was also available free and no time limits were signposted. Unfortunately, the cars decided they would like to park there too so of the 8 vans in, only one was attached to the power. This generosity is further surprising considering there is a camping ground within 5 minutes walk of the town centre. The town is doing all it can to attract tourists but they were light on today. Perhaps it was just the weather.

We did the walking tour noting many houses proudly state their construction date. The doorways of the oldest houses were quite low and private parking garages had to be built to accommodate today’s cars since most of the old houses are sandwiched together and lack room for garages. Every patch of free ground has a use. There was a child’s swing on one, stairs connecting different levels on others, woodpiles, small garages, parking nooks and tiny gardens. Down by the river is an interesting area as it contains the houses of the old tannery families. Tanning hides, and moving lumber on rafts made of huge logs, seem to have been the primary occupations historically besides farming in this area. One tannery is still operating and has a very classy shop near its works and P1. That family have been involved in tanning for 300 years in this town. Traditionally, power came from the watermill, which still operates on the stream but as a part of the museum. Then there is the Protestant Church. It is one of the largest one in the Baden area. It is severely simple inside with two levels. The upper level consists of a balcony running around three sides. The communion table sits on a raised platform at the front but, surprisingly, in front of the modern, silvery organ pipes which are the dominant feature of the church and stunning. This is the reverse of so many churches we have seen with the organ on the upper level behind you as you enter. It is also nice not to have paintings and statues extolling Mary plastered all over the place. Instead there is a simple empty cross on the communion table and what looked like a piece of carpet with a modern theme. The one today was of vine and branches in gren and yellow and the wheat and the tares while the one on the postcard we bought showed the ark and the olive branch in shades of pink.

Before leaving town, we had to purchase some more cake for afternoon tea. David chose Schwarzwalder torte (Black Forest Cake). After all, there is no point in being in the Black Forest without trying a slice of their cake. I opted for a tart type with a biscuit base, custard and fruit topping. As it is summer, they make a lot of cakes here topped with fresh fruit. You get strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries as well as apricots, peaches, pineapple, apple, cherries and even, yesterday, I had a slice of watermelon on my tart.

We didn’t make it as far as we wanted today, which was Baden Baden. Fancy naming a town “Take a bath, take a bath”! Time was lost going in and out of half a dozen different supermarkets looking for tea of a brand we like. Unfortunately, it was not available but we ended up settling for something to tide us over until we are back in a hotel. They have so many different supermarkets in Germany; we have counted at least 7 different companies. Unfortunately, most are of the cheap and inadequate variety with limited stock and poor layout. Then, we were also slowed down by the wet and winding roads. Finally, on checking our maps and camping directory, we couldn’t find a good site near Baden Baden and so opted to stop early just passed Freudenstadt, which, on a quick pass through, looked a major town with a couple of huge market squares.

Our site was an easy one to find as it was well signposted and just off the road we were travelling along. What’s more, it is far better value than last night. For less money you get an attractive site, good amenities, a kiosk where you don’t have to order your bread, a swimming pool, a bocce court, a beach volleyball court (sand and all in the middle of a conifer forest!), walks in the forest, a tepee (purpose unknown), an open fire pit for roasting marshmallows and good children’s play equipment. They even give you one free trip per person into town on the bus. The camping ground is set among conifers at the edge of the forest and is a much larger site than first appears as it winds its way down the river and at different levels. This gives privacy and a sense of living in the forest. Inbetter weather it would be delightful.

After a shower and tea, the rain stopped and we decided to walk off all that cake. In the end, we walked around the caravan park and then to the nearby lake. It turned out to be 1.6km away with a hotel sort of floating on one edge. The hotel boasted views over the lake, swans and ducks included, a golf course and swimming pools. With the walk around Schiltach and tonight’s walk we have walked at least 5km today, which isn’t bad for a wet day. Unfortunately, I now need another shower but the towels are still sopping wet! Nevertheless, although it was through a rather repetitive conifer forest, it was still a very pleasant, easy walk and much needed after being in the van for most of the day.

This is a problem of living in a confined space in wet weather. The washing usually dries over the bed as we drive along and by stopping time is ready to be packed away. But in wet weather it takes a full 24 hours to dry. Then there are the wet towels that also take far longer to dry. If you have used your rain gear, that too has to dry and air. Even your tea towel and hand towel remain damp all day. Then there is the dripping umbrella used for that quick dash to the amenities and back! The van tends to get cluttered and untidy, which is something you cannot afford in this restricted space.

Final note of the day:

The laugh of the day came from a motor mechanic in a town we passed through. His name is Axel Sucker! I kid you not.

Tuesday 19^th July

I must confess to being disappointed by the Black Forest area. The scenery is green and pretty but it doesn’t compare with Bavaria on several counts. Firstly, the green hills with their irregular patches of deep green conifers cannot equal the rugged mountain peaks of Bavaria and its green pastures. Then there are the houses and farms, which have shown definite neglect since we neared the region of Lindau yesterday. Flowering window boxes are the exception, rather than the rule, and gone are the painted scenes on the facades. A lot of homes in the Black Forest are not rendered but covered with cladding. This varies form small shingles to rectangular hardiplank-types and many with tiny scalloped shingles. The small wooden shingles are left to age naturally, which is okay, but the scalloped and rectangular ones are usually painted and many are either in need of repainting or repair. Woodpiles are covered haphazardly with sheets of various coloured plastic and/or canvas topped with logs to keep them in place. Around many houses, piles of rubbish, corrugated iron and scraps of timber lie ignored One gets the feeling that this area is past its prime or poorer than Bavaria. Perhaps they just don’t have Ludwig and his mountains to rake in the cash.

This morning was sunny after early cloud and we looked forward to a good day. We crossed the Danube River several times on our way to Titisee, a town on the lake of the same name. The river was, at this stage, unimpressive being less than 3 or 4 metres wide. The land was devoted mainly to cereal crops with wheat and corn predominating. We have seen corn growing all over Europe this trip and every time we see it, it is taller so that now it is developing it cobs.

Titisee is a tourist town, not merely because of its pretty lake but because several tourist routes pass through it. They are very well set up for tourists. The roads in and out are one way to cope with the traffic and large parking areas for all forms of vehicles have been set up at the railway station where you can park all day for 3E. It is only a five-minute walk along a well-signposted route, under the railway line to the town. This is a welcomed change for campervanners! However, the town did not inspire us. Yes, it was attractively presented with a pedestrian plaza to the lake and a colourful park just after the railway underpass as well as well-presented shops. However, it was all about selling stuff to tourists. There were clothes, souvenirs, Black Forest produce, ice creams, and a large fashion accessories outlet to go with all the cafes, hotels and restaurants. It didn’t feel real. We were amused by the fashion accessories shop. A whole busload of Asian tourists had arrived and descended on it, ready to devour its contents. They were jostling to try on watches, bracelets etc although they never made it to the rear of the shop where expensive leather handbags and designer clothes were available. Then there were the men with their cameras trying to photograph the women trying on the jewellery! We call it the “this is me in front of the ….” photos. This particular outlet had on its external end wall a large cuckoo clock with carved moving figures of humans that retreated and advanced out of the wall at the appropriate quarter hour.

The reasonable-sized lake itself is very attractive with hills converging towards the lake surface at the other end. The three camping grounds are there so they do not detract form the visual splendour of the place, which is enhanced by numerous colourful paddle, rowing, electric and pleasure boats for hire. There are several bicycle tracks from the town and bicycles, including electric ones, for hire. It is a pleasant place to be and, if you wanted to relax and do little else except walk, ride and go out on the water, then I guess, you would enjoy it. However, for us as travellers, it held little appeal. We do not have bikes and you can se all the lake has to offer basically from the shore. There is nothing there that is unusual, that we cannot access at home.

After lunch in the van at Titisee and with grey cloud developing, we headed further into the region via the Hollental gorge. You enter the gorge area via a very nasty hairpin bend around a large pointed rock about 30m high. Naturally, it had to have a cross on the top of it! The road is cantilevered off the rock face both above and below the rock and the speed limit for trucks is just 10kph at this point. Once you reach the valley floor, the valley gradually narrows until the road and the river pass between the cliffs. As far as gorges go, it isn’t as spectacular as many we have been through and even the Michelin Guide claims it to be overrated.

Our target for the afternoon was the abbey church at St Peter. Below the church, we found a free car park happy to accept campervans and we made the short walk up the hill not expecting too much. The guide only gave it 1 star but the guide is from 2000 and this church was restored in for its 900^th anniversary after that date. Outside it is red stone with two towers and is not overly interesting except for the ironwork above the entry doors. Inside, however, is a different story. The dark red stone vanishes to be replaced by tall, crisp white columns and ceiling. It is so elegant! I never would have thought that a Rococo building would have been so gorgeous. Yes, there are ceiling decorations and paintings but they do not envelop the whole ceiling. Yes, there is a lot of gold, but it is only in touches upon the white columns and statutes and, yes, there are cherubs but it shouts good taste. The gold just sparkles and we were fortunate that a German guided tour was in progress and all the internal lights were ablaze, really showing all the gold off. As a church, it made the larger abbey church at Ottobeuren look nasty, over done. The elegance was further enhanced by the symmetry of the church. There is only one aisle but off to the sides are 3 shallow chapel bays per side. Each contained altarpieces that were almost identical except for the central altar painting, the top most ornamentation and the gold predella above the altar table. Not for St Peter in the Black Forest are the grotesque relics and skeletons of Ottobeuren. The remaining 2 shallow side bays form the transept in theory although they are no deeper than the side chapels. In the right hand side, sits a giant gold candlestick and the baptismal font. The font’s lid has two statues, partially dressed in gold, depicting the baptism of Jesus by John with a large dove, suspended on a steel rod coming out form the wall and hovering above the pair. I rather liked it even though I am sure the actual baptism was by full immersion, not the pouring of water on Jesus’ head from a clam shell!

Then, when you turn around, you are struck by the amazing organ in its ornately loft. These are backlit by three large windows. A hole in the centre of the organ allows the central window’s light to shin through. Interestingly, there is a large clock face in the upper centre of the organ perhaps to let the preacher in the lovely pulpit know when to stop!

Unfortunately, we could not do a conducted tour of the church and its highly rated library. They are only held for pre-arranged groups or three times a week. We could not hang about until Thursday afternoon! Besides, all tours are only in German! We were fortunate, however, to buy the last English copy of the abbey guide, which was expensive but saved us buying numerous postcards. Not having a tour, meant not only did you not see the Rococo library, considered a masterpiece of the early 18thC, but we could not get beyond the black and gold iron screen that divided the congregation from the choir and high altar. The high altar is most interesting and not only because it blends so well with the chapel altarpieces. It has 8 different very large paintings that are inserted into the altarpiece at different times of the Christian calendar. Unfortunately, the one in use today was the coronation of Mary although the photo we have of it in our guide shows it to be a very vivid work full of action.

The tour group behind the screen left to visit the cloisters and library and the lights went off. Sigh! The glitter of the gold was extinguished and we left. However, the little town of St Peter is blessed with two small squares. There is one just outside the church with an fountain and large, outdoor chess set and through an archway, the main town square sits surrounded by shops and cafes that were, naturally, shut. It was 1:30pm.

Our guide for the route through the Black Forest had us then heading for St Margen, not for the church there, which was covered with scaffolding and closed, but for the views. Indeed, they were very pleasant views of green rolling farmland dotted with large farm buildings not in the best state of repair.

It was then time to find a camping ground as rain started to set in. This proved challenging and rather annoying. There were two to choose from. The first we eventually found on a narrow track off a back road. It looked like it was crammed into a hillside of a farm and we were told to go into a lower section behind a caravan. We decided to give it a miss despite its very attractive view over the valley. Then we had to retrace our steps and find campground number 2. This is when the fun really started. We took the road signposted for Waldkirch (we were planning to take a minor road form here north in case we could not get an exit off the main road) and found ourselves lost in a town that did not understand the need for signage! Three times, we ended up in narrowing streets and had to turn around and try and find the exit to the north. Eventually, we took the exit to Freiburg as it led us to the main road but in the opposite direction to that we wanted. So we then had to take the first exit southbound and return via the entry northbound.

I had had no time to translate the German instructions for site number two except that we knew it was up the next valley near Simonwald. So we drove there and eventually found some signage. By this stage the rain was getting heavier and we were directed to a site we took with relief. When David had to pay, we discovered that this is the most expensive site we have had for some time. It is outside an unrated small town on the road to nowhere important, with no view we can see, just a couple of tree-covered hills and we can’t take advantage of the facilities as the rain is now pelting down without looking like easing up. Still, there are plenty of campers here, including poor tenters. Looks like another hot wash tonight with the hope of getting our shower in the morning as in Sulzberg. The hot question is which of us will venture outside to order the bread rolls for tomorrow? I suspect the answer is neither!

Later: The rain eased for long enough for me to have a very nice hot shower so avoiding the hot wash routine, thankfully. The showers were big and clean although we had the timer button again and a sign telling us in English, “You can use the shower for 5 min” (sic) which was not particularly politely phrased. No one is about to time you anyway. Why put up signs you cannot enforce? The site looks better than we first thought. Often, they do not make their entrances very attractive. In this site, all the cars of tenters had to be parked around the entrance and not on the grass pitches. We had a hard pitch and for the first time a waste disposal point and our own water tap. Unfortunately, the disposal point is higher up the bank than the pitch! Not much drainage possible there. Because these features are so rare, McRent does not equip vans to use them anyway. The laundry is OK and even has a spin machine so people who hand wash can remove as much water as possible, especially if they want to use the dryers. However, it cost a further 50c to use. In the toilets, there is a sign in three languages. The English, probably abridged, says, “Please leave clean.” The German has 13 words and the last one has 21 letters!