My Life As I Know It

The Black Forest of Germany

For the first time on day 26 of this German trip, we found ourselves in a basement Airbnb. It is large with five windows giving a "garden view" of the outside but on the bottom floor of a three story apartment in Vorstetten. The hosts are a couple who are retired and live in the upstairs apartment. It has a large kitchen, walk-in shower but the living room, kitchen, and bedroom are one large area. It will work fine as long as the internet and bed/sheets/pillows all behave.

This is a relatively small town - 3,000 people - yet has a few restaurants, a butcher, a bakery, and a grocery store. Walking the streets of the half-timber houses surprises me with the size, quality, age, and close proximity to each other. The amount of flowers and care they give to their properties and how they pack everything into a small space is surprising.

We ate at a very good restaurant last night - one of the higher priced meals at 65 euros. As typical on this trip - 2 beers, a drink, 2 dinners and tip is running 40-60 euros whether it is lunch or dinner which is higher than I expected. However, we eat well and many times take leftovers home for another meal. We grocery shop so we eat breakfasts and have our coffee in the apartment before leaving for the day. The quality of food and taste have been excellent. Pork knuckle, wiener schnitzel, rump steak, wurst platters are great. We also have eaten at a number of excellent Italian restaurants. 

Our trip from Fussen, we stopped for a few hours in Lindau and enjoyed the walk to Lake Constance and lunch lakeside before we walked the old city and drove to Vorstetten. The drives remain less than settling but once we get in a rhythm of GPS, calling out distances, and speed limits, it has gone well. Tomorrow we will explore the Black Forest including Schitach, Lake Titisee, Baiersbonn, and Triberg.

Fussen

I am sitting down for drink after a day in Garmisch and visiting Zusprite. I am pinching myself by the rapid fire experiences we have continue to have here. The sights, sounds, smells, and tastes are amazing me. We left Fussen early to drive through the pre-Alps to get to the highest point in Germany. The gondola ride up was 10 minutes and the day was perfect - we could see four countries and many peaks including Mont Blanc. At the top it was 30 F and sunny and we had no issue with the temperature but more for the shear height and the feeling it gives you. It was strange walking around the huge platform and feeling uneasy about falling.

The Airbnb we have here is a short walk to the High Castle in Fussen. Although we are walking over 7 miles a day, it has been relatively easy and helps me sleep well at night if it wasn't for the damn German pillows! The walks here are all on the miles and miles of bike/pedestrian paths that are everywhere. I swear bikes have a higher priority here than cars or pedestrians. You have a greater chance of getting hit by a bike than a car walking.

The place we are staying is newly renovated, comfortable, and clean. The view of the high castle is breath-taking. The city is busy with so many people which surprises me for this time of year. We are however, seeing few kids as they are back in school. We walked the streets of the walled city and there are many options for shopping and eating. Last night we went to an excellent Italian restaurant and loved the truffle ravioli. 

Driving here is pretty crazy. In the north of Germany, the autobahn has unheard of speed but here more often you are in stop and go traffic, construction or following people on 2 lane running far below the speed limits. The changes in speed limits is so fast and so often that you have to constantly be on guard. It is difficult to completely relax due to all of the different things to watch.

Today we walked to the Neuschwanstein castle from our apartment. It was 7 miles round trip but even with the elevation changes, easier than expected. My legs felt the climb up but nothing more than I could handle. The views were fantastic and we walked early missing a large part of the crowds.

 

 

Salzburg

Today I woke up in a large flat on the outskirts of the old town of Salzburg. It is cool at 48 F and the windows are tilted open allowing cool air to flow through the spacious apartment. We are only here for two nights but feel comfortable that we walked much of the town yesterday. We went first to a fort overlooking the city before walking the streets while churches rang out their call to gather.

We are on our 20th day of this long awaited trip. It seems like we have been here even longer. I struggle to remember all the details of the various towns and sights we have seen. We have had had a great trip - so many perfect moments.

 

 

 

Yesterday, we found a terrace in a brewery halfway down the mountain that over looked the old town. It was 68 degrees under the shade of large maple trees while we enjoyed a beer, and shared cheese beer soup with the side of a fresh pretzel. For our main course we shared an over-sized veal schnitzel and boiled potatoes. The air was fresh, the chorus of bells from a dozen churches, the beers was good and we soaked up another perfect moment.

We walked over seven miles taking in gardens, ancient sculptures in multiple town squares, and dodged many shoppers in the narrow, cobblestone streets. It was a beautiful Sunday and we watched many people taking advantage of the cloudless afternoon. For dinner we walked to a neighborhood Italian restaurant that was great. We shared a bruchetta  and then a creamy tomato sauce over farfalle pasta, shrimp, and mushrooms. The glass of house merlot made it a great meal.

We left the restaurant and decided to do one last walk through old town. Since the shops were shutdown, pedestrian traffic was far less and the walk in the golden hour was relaxed. It was a great way to cap the evening.

Today we move back to Germany and the a small town of Fussen. We have five days there on the water hopefully a short walk from the town. I enjoy the days we park the car and walk as we did here, Berlin, and Munich. Driving here seems like there is so much is going on - heavy traffic,  bikes paths alongside most roads and then add in pedestrians, scooters and a multitude of confusing signs. To add to the mix, we are driving a diesel 6-speed SUV and I am missing gears. It is fun driving the autobahn but the big cites are crazy.