I saw quite a bit today even though I got a late start. I seem to be compensating for the difficulty I've had sleeping at home by sleeping particularly well and long here in Germany. I got to sleep around midnight last night, and woke up at around 9:00 am. I didn't get myself out of bed until 10:00 or so, and I wasn't out the door until about 11:00. I felt more refreshed and ready for a busy day than I have in a long time though.
When I set out today I didn't really have a set agenda. I figured I wanted to visit Nördlingen, another medieval walled city here in Bavaria, but aside from that I intended to simply go where the road took me. I had parked my car at a free public parking lot just outside of town the night before, so I had a bit of a walk to get to my car. Due to my late start I had missed my hotel's breakfast, so I was on the lookout for a bite to eat on my way out of town, and I happened to come across an inviting-looking bakery where I stopped to get some breakfast. The two things I bought there (I can't remember what they were called, but one was a crispy pastry thing with some sort of apple filling, and the other was another pastry with some kind of vanilla custard-like stuff on it) were highly typical both in style and quality (excellent) of common street corner bakeries here in Europe, but would be considered delicacies back home. I paid one euro each for them (about $1.30 at the current exchange rate), and anything of the same quality would probably cost at least twice that back home. Which is not to say that such things are better or worse in Europe or in America, but I think it does indicate the priorities of our respective cultures. In America, we tend to want more of something and are willing to sacrifice quality (for instance, McDonalds' 20 piece Chicken McNuggets, which according to Google costs $5), whereas Europeans seem to demand higher quality and merely a sufficient quantity. I have never heard anyone ask "would you like that super sized?" or anything of the sort in Europe, but in America we have come to expect it. No judgement intended there, just food for thought.
Anyway, that's more than enough blathering about baked goods. So I munched on my tasty breakfast items on the way to my car and then set out for Nördlingen. The trip there was unremarkable, aside from that once again I found that I am enjoying driving in Europe. I parked at a free public lot just outside the town wall and then set out to explore on foot. The first thing I did was walk around the town atop the old medieval town wall, which I read is the most complete and best preserved in the area. It certainly appeared to be. It's fun to imagine what it must have been like for medieval people, who at one time walked exactly the same path and enjoyed exactly the same vantage of the town. From atop the wall one can see clearly how in Europe, old meets new at every turn. You walk atop a several-centuries-old wall, and see a new BMW drive by down below. You look over to the center of town and see the old cathedral with its high bell tower, and in between is a brewery which, while according to the sign on the building has been in operation for more than 300 years, looks otherwise brand new, with trucks full of excellent locally-crafted beer trundling out for deliveries around the region.
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| A view of the town and St. Georg's Cathedral |
I circled about half of the city atop the wall before descending and making my way into the interior. My impression was that Nördlingen is less cutesy, and therefore less touristy, than either Rothenburg or Dinkelsbühl, which makes it all the more interesting in a way. It's a medieval walled town where life has a greater resemblance to those of average Germans. Not everyone in Germany lives in a medieval walled town, but in Nördlingen those who do seem to live more like most Germans than do those who live in the more tourist-oriented places on the Romantic Road. I passed through the local Christmas market, which was fairly unremarkable, although I did pick up a tasty Nutella and banana crepe there. Aside from walking the town wall, my other priority in Nördlingen was to climb the cathedral's bell tower. They call it the "Daniel" (I'm not sure why), and the climb up it is pretty exhausting, consisting of 90 meters of very steep stairs. The view from the top is more than worth it though. I took a panoramic photo up there which I hope will demonstrate why (click here to see the full sized picture):
What is especially cool about the view is that you can clearly see the nearly-perfect circular outline of the town. Why build the town in a nearly-perfect circle? Well, the town sits in the middle of a wide, shallow crater. Until the 1960s, no one knew why there was a circular ridge with a shallow bowl in the middle of it there, but geologists figured out that it was created by a meteorite which fell there some millions of years ago (I can't remember how many million my guidebook said, but it was enough millions to classify it as a really long time ago). You may not be able to see it very well in that photo, but I took a video that I'll post on Facebook where you can see it more clearly.
Nördlingen merited a couple of hours, but before long I was ready to move on. I headed back to my car, consulted my guidebook, and decided that my next destination would be a town called Neuburg an der Donau, which was supposed to have a cool Renaissance castle. So I started driving in that direction, but on the way I saw a sign that said "Schloss Harburg"
and pointed up a narrow road. I figured "why the heck not?", so I turned up the road and made my way up the hill to the schloss (actually "Schloß" which is German for "chateau" or "palace," basically a small castle). When I got there I was impressed and glad I had stopped. It was basically deserted, probably due to the time of year, but pretty and made all the more scenic by the coating of snow. I poked around, snapped a few photos, and then got back on the road to Neuburg.
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| Schloss Harburg |
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| Schloss Harburg |
Arriving in Neuburg was a bit of a pain because the town was snarled with traffic. It didn't take me long to figure out why though, as I came to the town's beautiful Renaissance-era castle which was also hosting the best Christmas market I had seen to date (although I would encounter another great one later). I parked near the base of the castle and then hiked up to the top of the bluff where the castle sat. Inside the castle's courtyard was a cozy little Christmas market with lots of crafts and Christmas goodies for sale. Inside one of the surrounding buildings was an extension of the market with some remarkably good crafted items. Jewelry, Christmas ornaments, blown glass, carvings, etc. Outside the courtyard there was a sort of square where there was another market (or perhaps another part of the same market) that seemed more plebeian in mood and content, although equally good. I had a bratwurst sandwich there (and taught the purveyor the English word "mustard" at her request) and bought a plate of excellent Christmas cookies. After that I walked around the old town surrounding the castle for a bit, took a few pictures, and then decided it was time to move on.
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| Neuburg an der Donau |
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| Neuburg an der Donau |
I had decided that my next stop would be Ingolstadt, an atmospheric old town just east of Neuburg. I made my way there and once again encountered heavy traffic. This time I knew that the traffic indicated I was in for something worth seeing, and I was not disappointed. I ventured into the center of town, parked my car, and started off on foot toward whatever seemed to be attracting everyone's attention. Before long I discovered it - the biggest and probably best Christmas market I've seen so far. It was big enough that at one point I got lost in it. There were numerous food stands, so I stopped at one at had schupfnudeln, which was kind of like spaetzle but with longer noodles and also incorporating saurkraut and some bits of bacon. An English-speaking man who I struck up a conversation with there assured me that it is a traditional Bavarian dish, and he seemed to be enjoying his own as much as I enjoyed mine. I didn't get the guy's name, but he was very interested in discussing American politics with me (especially after I told him that I had supported and voted for Barack Obama in the recent presidential election, which he approved of). We chatted for a bit longer and then I moved on and strolled around the rest of the market. Something I enjoy doing in crowded places like that in Europe is to just walk around and observe. Check out the different stalls, watch people, listen to their conversations, and see, hear, taste, and smell a world that is both similar to and different from my home. People watching has always been one of my favorite things to do in Europe. I've spent plenty of hours, especially in Italy where it is by far the most fun, simply sitting and watching people go by. While getting out and engaging people is more fun and rewarding, it's nice sometimes to just be a fly on the wall and soak in the culture without diving in head first too.
After the Christmas market and a little walk around Ingolstadt it had gotten dark and I was about ready to head back to my hotel. I programmed my car's GPS to direct me back to Dinkelsbühl, and was surprised to see that the trip was going to take me about an hour and forty five minutes. I had ventured farther in the day's exploration than I had realized. The GPS directed me along the shortest route back to Dinkelsbühl, which was not the route I had taken. Instead, it led me through a warren of winding, narrow back roads and through a number of picturesque small towns. It was a beautiful drive and a nice departure from the highways I had mostly been sticking to so far.
One thing I like about Dinkelsbühl is that there are no foreign tourists here, probably due to a) the season and b) the lack of a train station. That makes for a generally quiet and sleepy town, although there seems to be a local kid with a stereo in his car that would rival the deepest, most thumping bass you've ever heard from a thug-mobile in America. My hotel's hostess also seems a tad frosty, although I think it's because she is a bit off put by trying to communicate with an American who speaks limited German. Her English is better than my German, but I'm used to using my limited language skills to communicate and I actually enjoy it, so we tend to converse in German. I find that folks here generally appreciate it and respect you much more when you make an effort to speak their language and adopt their customs. I'm doing my best in that regard, and I hope it's appreciated in this case.
Anyway, I digress. I made it back to Dinkelsbühl and into my hotel room by 8:00 pm. I decided to have dinner at my hotel's restaurant again, mostly because I was tired and didn't feel like venturing out again, and also because I wanted an opportunity to ask for the information to log in to their wi-fi on my laptop. I had schweinshaxe, which is a roasted ham hock, with some braised red cabbage and a big potato dumpling. It was all very tasty, and quite affordable for the quality (which is again pretty typical for Europe, especially compared to America).
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| Dinner (not pictured - 0.5l of Friedrich Hauf Bayerisch Dunkel) |
After dinner I turned in and called it a day. I burned about half of my car's tank of gas today, and I can definitely feel it in my sore feet and droopy eyelids. It was another good day, and I have no doubt that tomorrow will be too.
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