It was a hard winter in Vermont; when we left, the large Lake Champlain was still deeply frozen over and a half meter of snow was still in my backyard at the beginning of April. Germany, in contrast had had the warmest March on record and beckoned us to do some warm weather bicycling in the middle of April along the upper Danube. The in-gathering was for Wolfger and Dora, coming from Berlin by train, to meet Stella and Debbie at the Frankfurt airport in the morning and then continue to our first day destination of Donaueschingen in the Black Forest. Another surge of bad weather in the Northeast of the US, however, caused Debbie to miss her connection in Washington; she would be coming the following day.
Click on picture to see larger version thereof
So the other three continued on to the desired destination and settled into the Hotel zum Hirschen (Buck) to await Debbie the following noon.
Day 1 - Donaueschingen
It was a perfectly clear day to explore the town by foot. Donaueschingen is known for "the start" of the Donau (Danube) river, the royal family of Fuerstenberg, and more importantly, nowadays, the Fuerstenberg brewery. The town still has the private Fuerstenberg Palace and much other history of the family.
After Debbie arrived at noon we awaited Stella's grandson, Reed, who is attending the nearby Freiburg University for a year abroad. While Granny and Reed were seeing the town together the other three attended the Princely Collection where we were amazed at the extensive collection of minerals and preserved animals from every genus imaginable. 'Twas somewhat sad to realize that many rare species were hunted for personal pride reasons. The sadness, however, was soon washed away with some Kaffe und Kuchen on the sun drenched town square near the Rathaus (City Hall).
Our accommodations at Hotel zum Hirschen were very nice and comfortable. The food, including the seasonal Spargel (white asparagus) was also great as was the sauna which Dora had been hoping for.
Day 2 - Cycle to Fridingen, 55 km
Hoping to avoid the forecast of rain by noon, we started out early. The sky was cloudy and we were already feeling sprinkles as we packed the bikes. Our path out of Donaueschingen was easy to follow, mostly paved, sometimes on small roads. First we passed the beginning of the Danube where two streams, the Brigach and the Breg meet. Then we kept our eyes open around the town of Immendingen where some of the Danube "disappears" beneath a dry river bed of porous limestone for much of the year. This water reappears as a large spring that forms the Radolfszeller Aach river 12 km away which then flows into Lake Constance and the Rhein and on to the North Sea. When the Donau flow is heavy, the overflow then goes on to the Black Sea. A lot of bikers showed up around this spot, also interested in this natural phenomenon.
We had many stops and starts throughout the morning as we changed gear to match the off-and-on rain. It was Good Friday, and we soon found out that the usual Biergarten and lunch shops were all closed. So instead we stopped for quick snacks from what we had in our bags, and bundled up to face even heavier rain.
In Tuttlingen we veered towards this University town, hoping to find an open cafe. We were in luck, and gladly settled into a warm room for hot tea and wonderful kuchen. Our bike seats were quite soaked as we headed into even more rain and a strong headwind on an open plain going into Muhlheim. We had to really fight the wind, and when we reached town we were cold and soaked through. Wolfger, with his bright yellow poncho and red-brimmed cap, was our leader, and now he told us we had 4 or 5 kilometers before our destination in the small village of Fridingen. It was tricky to find the path at times, but then the land changed and we got away from railroad tracks, roads and farm fields into woods, with only the river beside us. It was much less windy, spirits were lifted, and after a while Fridingen came into view. With the help of some hikers we found the Inn: Hotel Gasthaus Sonne. Soon all radiators in the two rooms were covered with clothing to be steam-dried, and the dinner we had there was extra delicious.
Day 3 - Cycle to Scheer, 50 km
Wolfger woke up during the night and opened the roll-up shutters slightly to let some light into the room. He saw the full moon and was ecstatic that the sky seemed clear. Dora, being of questioning mind, thought that the full moon couldn't rise near sunup and questioned what he saw. Wolfger then put on his glasses only to discover that the full moon was a half moon formed by a street light. Thus unfortunately another day of cold overcast cycling lay ahead.
Today's biking was mostly on field and forest paths and roads both paved and not. They took us through a narrow valley region of the Danube that had chalk cliffs on both sides with several very impressive lived-in chateaus perched at the peaks. The biking was not easy for many up and down areas and the eating opportunities were limited in the sparsely populated region.
In Beuron we hoped to have some rest but found only beautiful houses, and a working convent. No Kaffe und Kuchen here.
After a long fatiguing first half of a day, we did finally find a comfortable Stueble with good food and Swabian service.
We also found a cute example of artistic wood stacking.
Our main bicycling goal was the Hohenzollern Castle at Sigmaringen where we had an hour free tour viewing one of the largest medieval collections of armaments (Whoopee!). The tour guide told us about many white guys of seeming importance and led us through opulent sitting, bedroom, toilet, dressing, smoking and sitting and ballrooms (impression lounges?). After the tour we were ready to head for our evening lodging and dining.
Our lodging, the Donaublick Hotel promised a view of the Donau, but we couldn't see it.
The bottom half of the hotel was an old train station
and the new additions had very modern design elements such as our shower with clear glass doors and clear glass bathroom doors as well as a window to the living-bedroom area (Noprivacy in that shower/bathroom!). The food at the adjoining restaurant did not get rave reviews.
Day 4 to Ehingen - 63 km
This day proved to have the most challenging hills, but at least the rain had stopped. The map showed both uphill and downhill arrows along the route, and quite a few were steep enough to have to push our bikes. One of our goals was to see the hanging gardens at the castle in Nuefra, touted to be "worth seeing." But first, a hill climb brought us into the tiny town of Datthausen where a group of picnic tables with a "Biker Oasis" sign greeted us at the top. So did the sun!
Wolfger had a long chat in difficult to understand Swabian German with a woman who had helped organize the gathering place. We filled our bottles at the water faucet and ate some snacks. Debbie, the food-salvage queen, had a couple days worth of leftovers.
At Neufra we found a sign for the hanging gardens, parked our bikes and wandered up a trail around some old buildings. An elderly woman who created and took care of the gardens greeted us, but we found the hanging plants were neglected and overgrown. The only "garden" left was a formal arrangement of boxwoods up on a high terrace, a few flowers and some quirky handmade ceramic figures.
Sloping trails turned to flat fields of dandelions where swans were feeding and storks nesting.
In the old town we located our Hotel Zum Ochsen (Oxen) near the Marktplatz. Hot showers soothed tired bodies, and a dinner with Bärlauch soup - made from wild garlic that grows here in the woods - was satisfying and delicious.
The Swabian towns we saw all have ancient half-timber frame homes, an elegant Rathaus in Jugendstiel style, stucco walls decorated with fanciful paintings, usually a sculpture or fountain in the square, and Linden trees lining the streets.
Day 5 to Blaubeuren/Ulm - 43 km
In order to avoid more hills, we took the optional route today, through the Blautal, with low hills and narrow valleys. On either side huge outcroppings of limestone jut upwards in odd shapes.
The most memorable stop on this day was at Bleuren, an ancient hillside village with a Benedictine Cloister and the Blautopf spring. This second largest spring in Germany, a 69 ft. deep pond of turquoise-blue water, which forms the Blau river.
We arrived there in plenty of time to walk around and view the Ulm "Münster" (the main church, called "Dom" in the northern Germany of Münster - go figure). It has the highest church tower in the world, but we were too tired to walk the 768 steps up into the 530 ft steeple.
Stella wanted to eat in the local Ratskeller, a fancy building decorated with painted walls that housed the restaurant as well as town offices. We sat outside in the sun, enjoying our beer and food. Afterwards we strolled the riverside with its grassy promenade, then walked along the top of the medieval wall. We walked our way back to the hotel along narrow cobblestone streets, crossing small waterways that flowed around stone foundations of some houses and the crookedest operating hotel in the world into the Donau.
Hotel Reblaus was our destination in the city of Ulm, a university city and birthplace of Albert Einstein. Our hotel was in a timber frame house, historically quaint on the outside, modern on the inside. Note the old maids hanging out the windows <;-)
Day 6 to Lauingen - 55 km
With warmer weather forecast, we embarked on a day of long rides on dirt roads through forests along Danube. The Danube with no visible boat traffic seemed shallow and a playground for much wildlife including swans, storks, and several beautiful unknown birds. We also observed much Bärlauch (Wild Garlic) which we had a chance to enjoy once more as Berlauch soup at a Günzburg restaurant.
After more post lunch rides through forests along the Danube on unpaved roads we came upon a Roman temple ruin, one of many in this region.
Our destination was the Hotel Kannen Keller, a converted old inn with a new hotel addition. Our friendly and personal host, Johannes Pippert is also an acclaimed chef and musician . Needless to say we had excellent meals at his establishment. He was much intrigued by Wolfger's history in Germany, as his father was a musician that played for the US military forces in the fifties and sixties while he was growing up.
Day 7 to Donauwörth - 40 km
Another nice warm day of biking along the Donau and through the Donau valley fields. We had lunch in Höchstädt where we found the largest Easter bunny nest full of colorful eggs all of unnatural sizes.
In the afternoon the clouds were building up to rain us, calling for rain gear.
Our last domicile was Hotel Donau. After settling in we walked through the rebuilt town and ended up eating our farewell dinner ironically at one of the many good Italian restaurants one can find in Germany.
Day 8 - Trip Back
We had breakfast bags made for our very early departure by train to get Debbie and Stella back to the airport at Frankfurt for their return flight. Wolfger and Dora used their remaining Eurail day Pass to travel to the capital of the state of Hessen and the Headquarters of the US Army in Germany, Wiesbaden, for a day of exploration. Wolfger had lived there for over 4 years, attending the American High School at Hainerberg
Aside from visiting the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Elizabeth on the Neroberg, where Wolfger's sister Michele was baptized,
and many car-free shopping streets. Below is a stately church built entirely of brick.
Also of note is the Kurhaus where one can get the cure from natural volcanic hot spring waters for all that ails.
Below is one of the heavily mineralized hot springs seeping out of the ground in this area.
