‘Alpenstrasse’ to Austria

On Saturday 2^nd August, we drove the 120km from Ulm to Fussen in the foothills of the Alps. Not exactly following the Danube? Well we fancied something a bit different (Peter wanted mountains!) …and to be fair, nearly all the rivers and lakes on this side of the Alps flow into the Danube. So we were just checking out more ‘sources’.

We managed our usual trick of finding a parking spot just outside of town and after lunch and a cuppa, cycled the 4km into Fussen old town centre. We then cycled along the River Llach (looking very full and fast! At this rate most of Hungary will be under water by the time we get there!).

We followed the signs to Schwangau, where, each on their own hilltops, two large Schlossen face each other. The first is the Schloss Neuschwanstein , built by king Ludwig II. The castle is world-famous as it is the model for Disney’s fairy-tale castle. Ludwig was obsessed with Wagner and medieval knights. It was designed with the help of a stage designer rather than an architect, making the palace like a giant stage on which he could recreate the world of German mythology and the operatic works of Wagner.

Schloss Neuschwanstein (not a PB original!)

The second castle is the Schloss Hohenschwangau where Ludwig grew up. They are amongst Germany’s top tourist attractions, so in high season you have to queue at 8 o’clock in the morning to be sure of getting a ticket to visit the castles. It was so busy we didn’t even attempt it!

The Original ‘Hohenschwangau’

So we headed back to Fussen where they were having a Jazz Festival, to enjoy some refreshments and music. Unfortunately the now ever so common cloud burst curtailed most of the music. We managed to find ourselves a table for hot chocolate and strudel just in time; just what was needed on this cold AUGUST summer festival! Once the rain eased we made our way back to Heidi, whereupon the sun came out just long enough to enjoy drinks on the ‘terrace’. Mad MAD weather!

Sunday was a total wash-out. I don’t think we even went outside! Rain, rain RAIN! Monday, after a Lidl shop, we headed off along the Alpenstrasse (The scenic route along this side of the Alps).

Our lunch stop was Oberammergau, which sits in a surrounded by the Ammergauer Alps. This village has plenty of traditional painted houses as well as’ Luftmalerei’, houses painted in an illusionist style with ornate pillars and window surrounds painted onto what is just a flat rendered wall. Very impressive work. Not sure Peter is up to being a ‘decorator’ around here. The village is most famous for its Passion Play that has been performed since the late 17^th century as a thanksgiving from the villagers for being spared from the plague. The Play is performed every ten years (next performance 2020). More than half the village takes part.

Little Red Riding Hood

Be Prepared time flies fast?

After a stroll round the village we continued along the stunning Alpenstrasse, passing through Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the foot of Germany’s highest Mountain Zugspitze (A very dramatic wall of rock rising above the town to 2962m). We continued along the River Isar to Fall, a little hamlet with allocated Motorhome parking a short walk from the Sylvensteinsee. It was a warm pleasant evening and so Peter went for a late swim in the surprisingly warm lake but was interrupted by ANOTHER thunderstorm that lasted much of the night!

River Isar

Sylvensteinsee

Tuesday morning we waited in vain for the sun to come out so we could enjoy a swim in the lake, but by late morning we gave up and continued our Alpine journey to the town of Tegernsee, which sits on the side of a lake of the same name. With the rain finally easing we took an early evening passeo along the lakeside (yes, umbrellas were needed!)

We spent the night in a quiet car park at the bottom of the Wallberg cable car a few miles away. Very quiet, apart from a loud ‘bump’ in the night. In the morning we discovered paw prints on the windscreen and that two out Heidi’s three windscreen washer hoses had been chewed through – what a cheek. The paw prints were quite big but we don’t know what creature they belong to (a polecat?)

Finally! we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and blue skies, ideal for going up a mountain. At just after 11o’clock we started the almost 1000m climb to the Panorama Restaurant, which is just below the peak of the Wallberg, and after we climbed above the tree line we were rewarded with fabulous views. We managed the assent in two and a half hours, although Peter would have been quicker if he hadn’t needed to wait for the slower members of the party! Of course the benefits of parking at the bottom of a cable car station is you can take the easy way down!

The ‘other’ quick route!

We tried again to find a spot to park by the lake for the night and although we could have parked in a side street we decided after a brief dip, to drive the couple of hours to Berchtesgaten. We stopped just short of our destination, waylaid by a lay-by with stunning views, and enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in our own Panorama Restaurant.

Thursdays 7^th August was another sunny morning so after enjoying our view over breakfast, we moved to the Koningsee, the highest lake in Germany with its beautifully clear, drinkable quality, waters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigssee

We took an electric boat tour along the lake, which is really the only way to see it. With the pristine mountain scenery of this stunning national park forming almost vertical sides, there are very few paths. Those that exist are more often than not marked as ‘climbing routes’.

The Obersee – so clear it makes your eyes go funny

We stopped at St. Bartholoma, a monastery on the western shore, on the return trip. It is a stunning and very isolated spot. From here, you cannot see the end of the narrow lake and the only way in, other than by boat, is a pretty serious undertaking on foot.

Friday, and a beautifully clear day encouraged us to visit Obersalzburg and take the rather hair-raising bus ride up to the ‘Eagles Nest’ or Mt. Kehlstein (Hitler’s mountain ‘tea house’), specially designed for his 50^th birthday. Although, after WW2, much of Obersalzburg was levelled by the Royal Air Force, and subsequently all traces of the fortified Nazi headquarters in the valley below removed, this has remained. It now houses a restaurant donating its profits to local charities. We learnt that Hitler only visited the place 14 times (he was apparently scared of heights and reluctant to near the edge of the panoramic terrace). His supposedly secret girlfriend, Eva Braun and eventual very short-term wife (40 hours before they committed suicide together) however, used to regularly walk up there regularly for the afternoon and entertain friends. It’s a hell of a hike!

Italian Marble Fireplace – when the Allied Forces captured the Eagles Nest, Soldiers chipped lumps off it as a souvenir

Highly Polished Brass Elevator – the lift shaft is 124m, Hitler didn’t like small spaces either!

Back down the bottom, we visited the ‘Documentation Obersalzburg’, the incredibly in-depth museum of Hitler and the Nazi movement.

http://www.obersalzberg.de/obersalzberg-home.html?&L=1

There was an excellent English audio guide, but unfortunately far too much information for the 2 hours we had allowed before closing time. It is built above the hugely elaborate tunnel complex that was never finished to house the Nazi Headquarters underground (basically mirroring what was above ground) when they began to realise things weren’t going their way and they needed to take up a more defensive position.

We’re still finding the whole thing hard to comprehend. One of the things the ‘Documentation’ illustrated well was how easy it would have been, to have been ‘taken in’ by all the propaganda and offers of a better life.

Must do some more history reading. As we travel and ask ‘Why?’ it is constantly apparent how little we really know.

An exhausting day! Must try to do less in our busy lives!

Saturday 9th August brought more Sunshine so after an early morning visit to the laundrette in Berchesgarten, Heidi did a hop, skip and a yodel over a mountain pass into Austria. By lunchtime we parked up by the beautiful Mondsee and went for swim followed by a lie in the sun and then another swim – Bliss!

Austria!

 

 

 

 

 

Sourcing the Source (of the Danube)

Sat 26^th July – we arrived in Donaueschingen, the ‘supposed’ source of the Danube River. It rained ALL day, but by evening had reduced to a mere drizzle, so we walked into town across the park looking for ‘the source’. Apparently it’s a spring in the grounds of the palace / castle / schloss.

And here it is

Well, that’s what it was supposed to look like. For us, it looked like this!! (Under renovation – ready summer 2015).

It then flows underground through the palace gardens to here

and then into the Breg River, already quite some size, especially after all this rain!

 

Well that was a bit of a disappointment. What about the little bubbling stream? I can’t help thinking it’s all a con organised by whichever bigwig lived in the palace at the time?

A bit of further investigation led us to discover that the Breg River had already been flowing for 49km originating in Furtwangen in the Black Forrest at 1078m above sea level.

Now THAT looks like a PROPER source!

The Breg then joins the smaller Brigach River, which originated in St. Georgen, again in the Black Forrest, 43km away. The ‘official’ (according to most sources) source of the Danube begins at these two rivers’ confluence just outside Donaueschingen,

can you spot the real photo?

no,! not a ‘real’ photo either – far too much sun! The Danube is recorded as anything from 2840 – 2845km long (but where do you start?)

I’m sure Donaueschingen would look better in the sunshine. It has some impressive old buildings and, of course, impressive fountains, a feature of almost everywhere in Germany

St. Johns Church

The ‘musician’s fountain’, Donaueschingen

 

Next stop Immendingen where we’d been told the river ‘disappeared’. So, it doesn’t know where it starts from, and now it disappears?! In most summers, you’d expect to see a dry riverbed at the ‘Donauversinkung’, one of several places along this stretch where it sinks into its limestone bed and flows underground to a spring at Auch 12km away. So, as before, this is what it’s supposed to look like:

 

But this is what it looked like to us:

 

walk on the ‘riverbed’ at your own risk!

…perhaps not

 

Here’s the technical bit:

 

showing how the Danube links to the spring at Auch ..which links to the Bodensee ..and the Rhine

 

More info. on the ‘disapearing Danube’ here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donauversinking

So is the source of the Rhine is actually the Danube; and is the source of the Danube actually the Breg??

It was actually a nice day for a change, so we thought we’d try out a stretch of the Danube Cycleway, which runs all the way to the Black Sea (the stretch across Austria and into Hungary to Budapest is one of the most popular in Europe).

 

The river continues into an attractive limestone gorge in the ‘Naturpark Obere Donau’. We stopped at Beuron dominated by a huge Benedictine Monastery with it’s richly decorated Baroque style church.

That night we had another big thunderstorm and more BIG RAIN. It continued virtually unstopped for the best part of 48hrs! We continued along the valley, just about seeing through the rain and cloud!

 

The Danube – a lot bigger and muddier than yesterday!

 

Stopping at Inzigkofen at another ancient monastery and what might have been an interesting Bavarian museum (not exactly aiming at passing visitors – open for 3 hrs alternate Sunday afternoons!), we continued through Sigmaringen, a modern, busy place with another huge schloss (revealing, yet again, the complicated history of various ‘dukedoms’ in these parts). We stopped for the night at Scheer, with it’s old (1700s) timber framed buidings, a very impressive Baroque church (St. Nicholas’) with an unbelievable amount of incredibly well done fake marble. It had me tapping and looking at the edges to check!

note the ‘fitted’ windows

not even convinced the main pillars are marble?

 

The river, of course, is very swollen

there was once a dry weir here, with most of the river flowing into the watermill channel on the far side!

MORE RAIN… we continued on via Munderkingen and Rottenacker attempting to educate ourselves about the differences between Baroque, Gothic, Catholic and Protestant architecture ….can you tell it’s been raining?!

We stopped at Blaubeuren, near Ulm, famous for yet another Benedictine Monastery (there’s a LOT round here) founded in 1085, and completed in 1510. St. Peter’s chapel was particularly impressive with much ornate wood and stone carving and a ‘world famous’ high altar. It is also the source of the River Blau where an enormous volume of blue water rises to the surface from an underground stream / cave system, falls over a dam and then continues as a remarkably blue coloured river. The blueness is a combination of minerals within the limestone rock and the fact that it rises to the surface here under pressure.

We followed the Blau to Blaustein where we stopped for a couple of days to visit Ulm, a short distance away by bike.

We enjoyed Ulm. We wandered around the streets in the Altstadt with its many timber-framed buildings dating from the 1500s (sadly now many are rendered over). We visited the excellent bread museum, privately run and giving donations and scholarships to research into improving the terrible statistics of world hunger. 1 in 7 of the world’s population is still categorised as malnourished or starving! They fund research into new crop strains, agricultural methods, animal husbandry etc. Very usefully, for us, they also provide an audio guide in English. We promenaded along the Danube, already wide and fast (if it continues at this rate!…).

The old streets of Ulm

 

The inside of the OLD building housing the Bread Museum. There are floors and floors like this!

a certain ‘Mr. Einstein’ originated from here too. As usual, commemorated in a fountain. Note the building behind, originally timber fame, now plastered over and elaborately painted to look like stone.

 

The Rathaus (townhall) was beautifully painted with historical scenes. The Rathaus restaurant serving ‘Flammkuchen’ (a local speciality similar to a pizza but with a base of crème fraiche and cheese rather than tomato) wasn’t bad either..

 

Stunning wall paintings, Ulm Rathaus

Yum..

 

Ulm cathedral has the highest church tower in the world at 161m / 528ft. If the 768 steps don’t put you off, you can climb up for stunning views. As usual it was rather a grey day so we didn’t bother. On a clear day you can see the Alps and Lake Constance / Bodensee in the distance.

More info. about Ulm and the ‘Minster’:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm_Minster

 

it’s HUGE. A picture really can’t do it justice. Imagine a traveller happening upon this when it was first built ..it really would have seemed like the miraculous work of God!

 

the city from the top of the spire..sorry, cheated again

We liked the juxtaposition of the old and the new in Ulm. We could have happily spent many more days, wandering the streets, sitting in cafés soaking up the atmosphere and visiting more museums…

 

 

Heidelberg and Heidelbeeren

We left The Hague on Wednesday 16^th July, having spent a frustrating day, on the Tuesday trying to sort out our Garmin Sat Nav. To cut a long story short we ended up having to buy a new TomTom that had the whole of Europe already loaded. On the upside we got to spend an extra evening with Judith and also got to play in the park!

We crossed the border into Germany just before lunchtime and carried on until we reached the town Emmerich, which is built along the side on the Rhine; Big and wide, with a continual stream of huge barges, in both directions; some empty, some loaded to the gunnels. The town even had its own small container port.

There was a nice promenade along the river, with café and restaurants serving lunch. At the end of the promenade there was a park, in which we found a ‘knitted tree’, bringing back memories of the event at the end of March in Abergavenny

After buying some supplies at the local mid-week market (instantly forgetting any German we had so far tried to learn!), we headed back to the fast, smooth motorway, and were able to cover a good distance. The Germans certainly know how to build a road!

Our evening spot was near the village of Holzappel (SE Koblenz) at an official motorhome parking place next to a lake. Unfortunately they were charging 3 euros each to swim in it! So we abstained, tempting though it was in the heat!

We decided to take a more scenic route when we set off again the following afternoon. We followed the River Lahn along its picturesque valley until it reached the Rhine, and then turned south and followed the Rhine; busy with barges and a few pleasure boats. Rather them than us – pushing upstream against the current, which must have been several knots in the narrows judging by the wash against the buoys. How much control have you got going downstream, I wonder? There were many castles (Schlossen) on high vantage points along the river, many now in ruins, reminding you of this much fought over trade route.

We stopped in a riverside car park at Hattenheim, a pleasant enough spot, but there were a lot nicer places to stop further back, especially in the heat; probably upwards of 30C! Anyway we took our chairs, drinks and snacks to a shady spot by the river and watched the boats go by. The big barges have got quite extensive accommodation and often carry a couple of cars and maybe a boat for the owners’ / skipper’s use on the aft deck. I wonder when they get round to using them? The kids seemed to enjoy their fenced off playpens ‘atop the cargo; some complete with swings and slides!

On Friday morning we were on our way bright and early to cover the miles to Heidelberg in the relative cool. With the help of our database of suitable motorhome parking spots, we parked 4km from the centre, then cycled along the Neckar River until we reach the Altbrug (old bridge) which is the entrance into the Altstadt (old city). Having the bikes with us this trip has already made a huge difference; so much easier than struggling to find a parking spot nearer the centre of places we want to visit!

 

more knitting!

After a stop in a café for a cold ‘kleine bier und apfelsaftschole (Apple juice spritzer – Most important German for Elaine to learn!), we went to visit the Heiliggeistkirche – the Gothic Church of the Holy Ghost which was built from 1398 to 1441. There, in the cool of this impressive building we sat and listened to some ethereal organ music. Everyday at 12.30pm there is a 15 minute free organ recital.

Having been refreshed we headed out on to the streets of Heidelberg again, we enjoyed wandering through them, and admiring the old buildings. However the temperature was over 35C, so we decide against the 10min walk up the hill to the mainly ruined Scholss and headed back to Heidi.

Cycling back along the river there was enough of a breeze to make it bearable, but as soon as you stopped it was like an oven!

With the Heidi’s windows open to the max we headed down the motorway until Baden Baden and took the ‘Schwarzwalderhogestrasse into the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). It didn’t take long for a ‘waterfall and walks’ sign at the entrance of a shady car park persuaded us to stop!

A short walk along the stream to the waterfall and back via the ‘Gasthof Buthof, where we partook of a cold grosse bier und apfelsaftschole.

Saturday 19^th July promised to be another hot hot day, so set out early, to avoid the heat, on a 11km Rundsweg, along forest tracks and up to the view-point Kruisfelsen at 840m

The walk through the forest was cool and dark so it was really lovely having the sun break through gaps in the trees, giving sunny glades

We admired the many neat wood piles. They seem to build them anywhere in the forests where the tree happens to have been felled. Surely it would make more sense to take them to at least near to where they are going to be used first??

As the temperature rose to above 30C again there was only one thing to do – find a sunny spot to have a refreshing dip!

When we lost the sun from the pool, we made our back along the river to Heidi, past where the pebble people live.

Sunday, we were back to ‘Winter’! with the temperature managing a mere 15C! and the Black Forest was covered in a misty cloud. So we moved on to the town of Freundenstadt. Which has the largest Marktplatz in the country, lined with cafes and shops. We felt however the original splendour of the square had been rather spoilt because it is now dissected by two busy main roads! – which the guidebook conveniently forgets to mention.

Freudenstadt Marktplatz

Although most of the buildings in the centre have, I believe, now been plastered over, they are, as you might imagine around here, predominantly timber frame. The majority are still covered in thousands of tiny wooden shingles, now painted over, often in bright colours. From the looks of some that are a ‘work in progress’, this has only been done in relatively recent times. Many of the impressive old farmhouses further out still retain their original ‘woody’ look.

As the day grew grayer and rainier we retired to the van, and splashed out on some WiFi.

Monday 21 July and the weather was little improved, so having done some shopping and filled and emptied appropriately Heidi’s tanks, we headed for a car park near the village of Kneibis Dorf, from where several walks were signposted. By late afternoon we felt the rain had eased enough to take a walk through the forest to the viewpoint overlooking the Ellbachsee.

While out walking we met some of the local wood folk

and spotted some local wildlife

look closely!

and found plenty of heidelbeeren (bilberries)  – enough to turn your tongue purple!

We got back to Heidi just before the heavens opened again and it rained heavily most of the night. It was still raining heavily when we awoke the next morning! However not being put off, when the rain eased at about midday, we set off on a 17km round walk via the Sankenbach Wasserfalle and Sankenbachsee. Everything is very very green! and covered in thick moss, lichens and fungi. Unlike many forestry areas, they seem to ‘manage’ and clear just enough here to let the light through and allow the smaller trees and plants to flourish. It would be difficult to do anything other than stick to the paths, everything is so abundant! It all looks very natural. Oh and did we mention GREEN!

There were also plenty of wild raspberries and strawberries to add to the bilberries, much to Elaine’s delight!

We managed to complete the walk in the relative dry – until we were about 500m from home! When we were soaked through in moments by a sudden cloud burst. We could hardly see Heidi across the car park! We thought nothing ventured nothing gained – so stripped off out of wet our clothes and had a shower in the rain, soap and all! We then warmed ourselves up with Bratwurst and chips for dinner!

Sorry, no shower pictures! hehe

Wednesday 23rd July, the sun was back, and so we planned a 22km cycle route through the villages, meadows and forest between Glatten and Freudenstadt.

Our starting point was in a very pleasant, a quiet walkers car park at Flosser-Ring just outside Glatten. We found the instructions from the information centre very unclear, so we went on several unexpected detours! This meant that we literally had to cycle through the meadows and over root covered walking tracks – not the smooth paths and forest tracks as promised! So with getting lost and some big big hills, we took six hours to do the tour rather than the suggest two on the leaflet! To revive our tired legs we made use of the local outdoor footspa in the little hamlet of Unteres Lauterbad. We spotted several of these with accompanying notices telling of the health benefits. The whole area is very popular for expensive health spa resorts – note we opted for the free version.

The next day with sun still shinning and after two busy days we declared Thursday a day of rest!; more paddling in cold streams for that added ‘health spa experience’ and enjoying the wildlife..

Next, to Schiltach, an attractive ancient town full of the (almost) original timber-framed buildings. Even better, for us, they provide a free carpark and free water and free electrics! specially for campervans. We walked around the old town spotting dates on buildings going back as far as the 1500’s, stopped for coffee in the impressive Markplatz, visited the town museum and then another sawmill/logging/leather tanning museum on the river.

Schiltach has had a very long and interesting history. The majority of the town has burned to the ground a number of times over the centuries, but has always been rebuilt, with increasing regulations (spaces between buildings, tiled roofs etc). It has been, and still is, an amazingly industrious place. The Kinzig river, that it stands on, was a major logging trade route down to the Rhine. Logs were rafted from here as far as Holland for the Dutch ship building industry. It was also a major leather tanning centre manufacturing, amoungst other things, waterproof thigh length boots for the loggers who would spend all day standing in the water tying the rafts together. If that wasn’t enough, it is also the home of Hansgrohe (taps and plumbing), VEGA pressure gauges and measuring equipment, BBS motor-racing wheel rims, One of the oldest pioneering dispensing chemists, and Junghans watch and clock-makers. Duralit bathroom porcelain is also nearby. A quite astounding list! I wish we’d stayed for longer! Both Hansgrohe and the Apotheke (chemist) also have free museums to visit and there are walks and cycleways both ways along the river. A fascinating and beautiful place!

More info: www.schiltach.de www.flosserpfad.de  www.naturparkschwartzwald.de

And so to lunch..

on the banks of the ‘Kinzig’ opposite the original leather tanners’ houses

Our last stop in The Black Forest was Triberg, home of Germany’s highest waterfall and largest cuckoo clock (and cuckoos apparently). The area surrounding the waterfall is fenced off and they’re charging 4euro each to walk up the path next to it!! It was busy and was only a long series of little waterfalls anyway. We didn’t bother. The rest of the town was not nearly so attractive as guidebooks might lead you to believe and is completely overrun by cuckoo clock and ‘tat’ shops.

Not impressed! We moved on to Donaueschingen (the source of the River Danube)…