Synopsis: A six week holiday in Germany visiting Helen, Laura, Benjamin, Uwe and Simon, plus many family and friends too.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
Helen and I were up at midnight setting off to catch our respective coaches to Heathrow. I say respective, as we discovered, last minute, that we had ourselves booked on different coaches. This mean Helen was walking to Exeter Bus Station to catch her bus, and I was walking to Honiton Road, Exeter, to catch mine. We arrived at Heathrow almost the same time, at 5:30. We had almost 4 hours to kill before our Eurowings flight to Stuttgart. First on the agenda, was finding ourselves a bench at which to sit and eat our 'meal deal' breakfasts, courtesy of Tesco.
Our flight was delayed by 25 minutes leaving Heathrow, but made up a little time during the flight. Simon met us at Stuttgart airport. Helen and Simon were very pleased to see each other, after their two-week separation. We decided that it would make sense to do a grocery shop before heading back to Helen's flat in Goppingen, so Lidl was our first port of call. We picked up some salad making items and made ourselves a snack lunch back at Helen's flat.
Later that evening we were meeting up with some of Helen's Helen Doron colleagues to celebrate Samantha's birthday. Those that joined the group were: Sylvie (Martin), Victoria (Rory couldn't make it), Samantha, Stefan, Alex and Gian (Paulo). Gian’s parents are Italian, so, appropriately, we were dining at an Italian pizzeria.
The meal was excellent, and the company charming and most amusing. It was mentioned at the dinner that there was a rock 'gig' taking place, and friends of Simon's would be there. The consensus was that all would move on to this venue, me included! It was very loud and smoky at the gig, and Alex, who is heavily pregnant, apologised, but said she felt she and her partner couldn't stay.
Simon was served beer at the bar by what appeared to be an eight-year old boy. The rock scene was actually ok, and it may even have been the case that I wasn't the oldest person there, but that remains a moot point.
Today I was to meet my grandson Benjamin for the first time. Helen, Simon and I set off early from Goppingen as we planned to pick up Tobi's bicycle in Simon's car. Tobi had kindly offered to lend me his bicycle for my stay in Germany. Tobi's bicycle was covered in cobwebs, and so evidently hadn't been used for quite some time. Ewald, Sue and Tobi came out to briefly greet us as we loaded the bike into the car. Tobi warned me that the bike would need to be checked over before I rode it.
Simon then drove us over to Laura and Uwe's, and, at last, I saw my grandson Benjamin for the first time. Laura and Uwe had prepared a lunch for us. After we had eaten, the weather being nice, we went for a walk in the woods at the back of where Laura and Uwe live. Uwe carried Benjamin on his front in a papoose (they call it a Manduca, which I believe is a brand name).
I arrived early (7:29 train from Goppingen) at Laura and Uwe's this morning, as Laura had to set off at 9:00 with Benjamin, as he had a medical appointment for a check-up and a Vitamin D supplement. I helped by carrying Benjamin in the pram carrier.
The medical centre, as with all such places, was very warm. It was good to shed a layer of clothes. Benjamin was stripped for his check-up. The doctor picked up the fact that Benjamin still has a little heart murmur that he has had from birth. This is, apparently, not unusual, but the doctor recommended that Benjamin have an appointment at the radiologist Wednesday of next week for an ultrasound scan. Laura was given a prescription for Benjamin, in case his treatment this morning resulted in fever, so our next stop was the pharmacy in Altbach.
We returned to Laura and Uwe's flat where Laura prepared a salad lunch for us. We talked about where to find Rolf and Gudrun's hut. Uwe had left Laura written instructions on how to get there, but these were fairly basic. I asked Laura if she had a mapping app on her mobile, and she said not. I recommended ViewRanger, an app Helen liked, and Laura said, 'Let's install it on my mobile.' This we did, and managed to download an offline map of the area we were to walk.
Gudrun then picked up the pram from Laura’s, as she was driving to the hut. Laura and I then set off on foot, with Laura carrying Benjamin in the Manduca attached to her front. Laura set the ViewRanger app running, to record a tracklog of our walk. We walked into the woods on the hill behind where they live. We walked up past the water fountain and the hut we'd seen the day before, and were getting close to Rolf and Gudrun's hut when Gudrun appeared on the path walking towards us (obviously worried we'd not find our way).
Rolf and Gudrun's hut, Wolfracher, stands on the hillside overlooking Altbach and Esslingen (48.73432,9.36193), a distance of 3.3 Kms from where Laura and Uwe live. The sun was shining and the day was warm. Rolf was attempting to get the barbecue coals to light, but was struggling to get them to catch. Finally they started to smoulder.
We drank apple juice as we sat in the sun and chatted. Rolf and Gudrun have apple trees on this patch of ground, and each year they prepare quite a large quantity of apple juice. A little later, Uwe joined us, after he had finished work for the day. By now the coals were really hot, and meat could go on the barbecue stove.
There is a dead fruit tree on their plot of land. Rolf and Gudrun believe mice had undermined the roots of the tree, and this had led to it dying. They explained, that they wished to plant a new tree on the spot, and dedicate it to Benjamin. I thought that was a splendid thing to do, something Benjamin would be proud of in the years to come.
Gudrun had prepared salad, and with the barbecued chicken and pork steaks, and baguette, we had a delicious meal in the countryside, accompanied by birdsong, and the odd bee from the beehives that were close by (probably very convenient for pollinating the fruit trees). A picnic rug had been thrown on the grass, and Laura occasionally used this to lie on whilst feeding Benjamin. I had a beer to wash the meal down. And Rolf poured myself and him a plum schnapps (25 years old, the last of that vintage) to complete our meal. It was glorious.
After the meal, Laura, Uwe and Benjamin packed our stuff into Uwe's work's car, and prepared for the journey home. Rolf and Gudrun were happy to tidy up after the barbecue, and Uwe indicated it was as well to leave them to do this as they themselves wished it to be done.
Laura's idea for today was in-line skating for her, and jogging for me. Laura had suggested I cycled, but there was no easy way for us to meet up with me having a bike, so I thought jogging was the best option for me. Uwe had noticed that the weather was set to worsen after yesterday's glorious sun, but we felt there was a small window during which we could do this.
The in-line skating (what we call rollerblading) was along a route that Laura knew well. She parked on the road, got into her skates and off we set. I discovered Laura was far more stable on her skates with a pram than I thought she might be. She was able to set a good pace, and was very balanced. In fact it was me that actually determined the pace, since Laura, potentially, was a good deal faster than me, at least on the downhill slopes and along the level.
It was rather shocking to see how heavy the snow was falling at breakfast. It wasn't however settling, but the temperature had really dropped.
I wasn't quite happy with the maintenance I'd done on Tobi's bike the previous day. One of the front brake callipers was sticking on, causing some drag on the wheels. I freed this up and then cycled in the direction of Hohenstaufen. I parked the bike in a car park and went for a little stroll in the woods on the outskirts of Goppingen.
The bell for Helen's flat rang just 15 minutes before Helen's students were due to arrive for an English class. It was Tom, who said he had forgotten his key to the Oxford School, and asked to borrow Helen's. English students (Tina, Sabrina and Helega) arrived moments later for their English class.
I sat with the English students. Helen asked the ladies about what they had done over the Easter holidays. Helen and I then talked of Helen's time in Easter with the German students who stayed in Exmouth. We showed the photos from this time, that we had prepared in the morning, to illustrate the things we had done.
Laura sent me a WhatsApp message about plans for the following two days. I excused myself from the ladies, and replied to Laura, with the suggestion that I arrive early the following day, as there was lots to do, and I could help with Benjamin in the morning. Laura replied, saying she'd probably be in pyjamas (and she was), but that was fine with me, and I said, 'I'd probably seen worse.'
Laura had decided that it would be a good idea to make Grandma's strawberry mousse cake to take around to Gudrun and Rolf's place on Friday (we'd been invited around for lunch). She'd made a shopping list of the ingredients that we needed. I washed Benjamin and changed his nappy, then we set off in the car.
Our first stop was the rathaus, as Laura needed to apply for a passport for Benjamin, as they would be travelling to Scandinavia and England in the summer. We were told that yet another form needed to be completed, which Laura took away with her. Next stop was to take a parcel in for return, but that failed, as the person responsible wasn't there. And next was the Lidl shop. We picked up all that we needed for our cake, and a few general groceries as well. There was a suspicious guy by the trolley park on our arrival, and when we returned, he was still there. We weren't able to collect our Euro, as the chain had been cut. Laura spoke with a shop assistant, who told us to ask for a Euro in the shop. Afterwards, I noticed that this guy had disappeared on arrival of the shop assistant. I'm sure he was working a scam to collect Euros. I think he had a trolley with this cut chain. He'd wheel it in place when someone with a baby went shopping. Then, when that person returned and failed to get their Euro, he could reclaim his duff trolley with a Euro of his, and then collect the Euro from the shopper's trolley. Good trick, hey? I suggested to Laura she use another Euro to remove the duff trolley before returning her trolley, should she find herself in a similar situation in the future.
We returned to Laura and Uwe's flat where we had a snack lunch (noodle and salad) and fed Benjamin. Benjamin, of course, then fell off to sleep. There was little time after that to prepare the cake, as we were due to meet Uwe at the Esslingen indoor swimming pool, where we planned to give Benjamin a swim. So, Laura and I simply sat back, relaxed, and chatted for a while, before packing our swimming costumes and setting off for Esslingen.
The swimming pool at Esslingen is in a building that doesn't look like a swimming pool at all. It's a traditional looking building that is apparently 100 years old. Inside, the foyer looks old, but the changing facilities are modern. After changing we walked past the traditional 25 metre swimming pool with diving boards to reach another, smaller pool, that is kept very warm, ideal for children and old people (like me). The sides of the room have columns that make it look like a Roman baths. The lighting is subdued, and very relaxing. There were sun loungers around the pool, on which we placed our towels.
Benjamin was a little unsure of the water at first, but he soon acclimatised to the pool. He was intrigued by the reflections off the surface of the pool. I placed my face in the water and blew bubbles, which seemed to intrigue him. After about 15 minutes Laura and Uwe thought Benjamin had had enough, and so they took him out and they all sat beside the pool. I took the opportunity to go into the main pool, which was rather cool. Apparently, according to Helen, sports pools in Germany are generally kept cooler than similar pools in England. I was able to complete my usual 40 lengths (1 km), and was going well. Uwe joined me in the pool for a while.
On returning to Laura and Uwe's flat, Uwe prepared a ham, asparagus and potato supper, whilst Laura fed Benjamin, and I prepared the baking tin for our cake. Benjamin had rather a sour time of it, interrupting Uwe's supper. Eventually Laura had to give up on the cake preparations to settle Benjamin in his cot, so Uwe assisted me with preparing the cake in the kitchen. Biggest question was how much gelatine to use, as too little and it wouldn't set, too much and it would turn the cake rubbery. Laura re-joined us just as we were about to place the ingredients into the baking tin. Everything looked good on first inspection, so all we could do then was to place it in the fridge, wait for it to set, and keep our fingers crossed. I set off soon after, to catch a train back to Helen's place in Goppingen.
I had a little bit of a lie-in this morning, catching the 9:29 train out of Goppingen. On arrival at Laura and Uwe's, first thing of interest to Laura and I was, how did our strawberry mousse cake look. We carefully retrieved it from the fridge and removed it gently from the cardboard sleeve that I had made for it.
It looked alright! It didn't slop over the plate, and appeared to be set. And it wasn't so rigid as to be rubbery from too much gelatine. A quick taste suggested it would be ok. We took a photo of it to prove to Helen we'd pulled it off. We then sealed it in a cake tin with parcel tape and set off for Gudrun and Rolf's place. Uwe met up with us as we walked across the road.
Gudrun had prepared maultaschen, potato salad and a green salad side dish. It was all homemade, apart from the dough for the maultaschen. It was a delicious meal.
After the meal we contemplated a walk. I suggested that perhaps we could help with the selection of a fruit tree to be dedicated to Benjamin, as mentioned in this post above (for Monday). But Rolf and Gudrun were concerned that now wasn't a good time for this. Both they, and Laura and Uwe, would be away for a period over the summer, and the tree might wither and die. They said that they would prefer to plant the tree in the autumn. In the end we decided that we would take a walk in the hills just behind where they live. By now the weather had improved considerably, the sun was out, and the day was beginning to warm.
Helen planned to spend the evening at Simon's, so I had a quiet night in by myself at Helen's place in the evening. I had a couple of emails to write and wanted to begin writing this, my holiday diary. I made myself a sandwich and a fruit juice, and sat myself at a table to begin my writings.
I showered and helped myself to breakfast. I was sat typing diary entries when Helen arrived at 9:15, in time for the arrival of two female students (Astrid and Bigail) who were due to arrive at 9:30. They brought their pretzel breakfasts with them, and Helen made them tea.
Helen set off at 10:45 to the Oxford School. As midday approached, I set about preparing a salad lunch for us both. Helen returned at 12:20, and we had just a short time to have some lunch before Helen's next students Lucca and Chloe were due to arrive at 13:00 (their father brought them to Helen's). Lucca had prepared a presentation on 'Silicon Valley', which he ran through with Helen and me. I tried to help on content and some presentation format, whilst Helen looked for any grammatical errors. It was an excellent presentation Lucca gave.
In the evening Simon drove Helen, Liam, Little Helen, and myself, to Bad Ditzenbach, from where we walked to Burgruine Hiltenburg. The remains of the old castle are described as a ruin with a beautiful view. I don’t think any of us would have argued with that. It was nice to be out in the countryside. Wildflowers were beginning to come into bloom all around. And it was good exercise too.
After breakfast at Simon's, we dressed for our hike today. Nici and Mirko drove around, Nici in her car and Mirko driving their newly acquired 6-seat Volkswagen Transporter van. We all piled into the van, while Nici drove her car. We set off for the large car park close to Reussenstein Castle. Once parked up, we set off on our walk.
There was a good breeze blowing that kept the air cool. The sun was shining and there were many other hikers and cyclists out today. It wasn't long before we reached the Reussenstein castle ruins. These ruins sit high on a vertical promontory, seemingly quite impregnable in times of conflict. The views from the castle stretch out for a great distance in a northerly direction. Using Helen's ViewRanger she was able to perform a screen capture capturing the names of the distant hills.
From the castle we followed a narrow path through woods that descended quite steeply down the hillside. We headed for a waterfall which was crossed by a bridge. There were a couple of benches beside the waterfall, one of which we selected for our lunch spot. We were in sight of the waterfall, which fell away steeply from where we were sat. Hikers and mountain bikers passed by, and the odd dog attempted to partake of our lunch.
Once we'd eaten, we packed our lunch remains away, and set off again on our hike, back tracking a little way along the track we had previously walked.
Slowly, we started to climb the hillside we had come down, until the ruins of Castle Raussenstein came into sight. We then picked up a path that followed the edge of the woods until we came to a set of farm buildings that also served as a café. At first we thought the café, Hofgut Reußenstein Gaststätte, was closed, but around the back there was a man serving refreshments from a small hatch. We bought beers and soft drinks and sat on a bench that circled a tree.
It was a short walk from the café back to the car park from where we had started our walk. We drove back to Simon's place, where we said goodbye to Nici and Mirko. Then we gathered our things and Simon drove us out to John and Gisela's hut. I'd seen photos of this, but this was my first visit.
On our arrival at the Beenan Hut, as it is called,, John was stoking the barbecue coals in preparation for later. As we had some time to spare, we decided to try and fly Little Helen's kite that we had brought with us, the one that I had given her for her birthday. Evening was coming on and the wind was beginning to dissipate, but we were able to get the kite airborne and fly it a little while. Helen and Liam however struggled with controlling the stunt kite, as they had no previous experience of doing so. I was able to show them how it was done, from my year’s of kite flying experience.
It wasn't long before the barbecue meats were ready. Gisela had prepared a salad to go with it. The meats were sausages and kebabs, eaten with lots of sauce, of course. We ate inside at the table, John and Gisela chose to stay outside where John was able to perform the cooking of the meats.
Evening came on and the temperature began to drop. Helen created an Easter Egg (slightly late) hunt about the garden, with Liam and Helen each having to find 8 eggs. The children then enjoyed throwing fallen leaves on the barbecue coals which flared up in the heat, and created clouds of steam. Great fun. In the evening we returned to John and Gisela's and watched a Merlin episode (my first) before bedtime. I slept on the couch in Simon's flat.
Helen, Simon, Liam and Little Helen had planned to get some exercise this morning, however it started to rain. Instead we stayed at Simon's flat and played card games and browsed the Internet. Simon warmed up some leftover pizza from Saturday for our lunch.
After lunch we set off for Goppingen, as we planned to have a swim at the Barbarossa leisure centre. It was still raining when we arrived, and it seemed that everyone in Goppingen and the surrounding area had the same idea as us, as the place was packed.
There are two fun pools, one with a slide, that are particularly suitable for children, the water being kept very warm in these pools. Liam and Little Helen enjoyed splashing around. After a while I headed for the main pool, in which I completed my usual 40 lengths (1 km) swim.
It was getting quite late by the time we were ready to leave the swimming pool, and for that reason we decided that a Burger King supper was the best option for us. After our supper, Simon drove Helen and I back to Helen's flat before heading back to Geislingen with the children.
By evening Helen and I found ourselves quite tired. Helen still had a couple of emails to write and a little preparation to do. Whilst she set about doing this, I connected up the pump for the airbed, and re-inflated the mattress for Helen's use.
We were both exhausted, so we decided all we were fit for was watching a film. We chose Finding Never Land to watch. Of course Helen cried. It's a good film, and the both of us enjoyed it very much. All that was left for us to do after that, was make our way to our respective beds.
In the morning I caught the train to Altbach to visit Laura and Benjamin. My intended train (9:29) was cancelled, but luckily I noticed early enough to switch to the earlier (9:11) train. I was early enough arriving at Laura's to give Benjamin his early morning bath, nappy change, and get him dressed. I amused Benjamin whilst Laura took her wash down to the basement to dry.
Laura was keen to know how to plan a walk route using the ViewRanger app that she recently installed on her mobile. I explained that there were two possible methods, via the web site and in the mobile app. I suggested we start with the web site, as I felt this would be easier. And, yes, it was very easy to mark out a walk route using the ViewRanger web site. And it was simply a matter of using the mobile app's synchronisation function to view the walk route on Laura's mobile. The walk route we created was at Jaegerhaus, near Esslingen Tennis Club, near Liebersbronn (48.75076,9.35193).
We then set about attempting to create the same walk route from within the ViewRanger app on Laura's mobile phone. This was considerably trickier to achieve. The small screen made navigating the map hard, and there does not appear to be a centre the map on a location function, nor any auto trail following function. We did however create the walk within the ViewRanger mobile app. And, once again, upon synchronisation, this could be viewed on the ViewRanger web site.
We had a snack salad lunch, and then we got our things together for our afternoon hike. The plan was to walk the route that we'd mapped in ViewRanger during the morning. Laura drove us through the back of Altbach and Esslingen, until we reached a car park by tennis courts, which was our walk start point. By now the sun had come out and it felt quite warm.
The gravel track we followed was smooth and it was easy to push the pram with Benjamin in it. There were a number of information boards along the way, that told the story of medieval people living in this area, indicating the sites of their dwellings and their burial mounds, both of which had appeared during archaeological excavations. We were using the ViewRanger app in 'navigate' mode, and so we tracked our progress along our route as we went.
After our walk we returned a parcel of Laura's, and then picked up cakes at the local bakery, and took these back to Laura and Uwe's flat for tea. Uwe joined us, and had cake too. Uwe was planning to go running with his brother Frank. Frank was training for the Ulm marathon later in the year. I decided to head back to Goppingen, and so I set off for the train station shortly after tea.
Helen had left me some maultaschen in the pan, with instruction to fry it for my supper, which I did. Helen then joined me after I'd finished eating. Helen said we needed a shop, so the two of us set off on foot for the local Edeka.
Helen and I planned to go running this morning, but it was raining, so we swapped that idea for a swim instead. Helen and I cycled over to the Barbarossa leisure centre, where we both did a 40 length (1 km) swim in the main pool.
We returned hurriedly to Helen's flat where Helen cooked us salmon in white sauce, potato and beans for our lunch. Helen set off for her teaching shortly after 1 pm. I pumped up Helen's bicycle tyres and then went over to the Vodafone shop to pick up my Android phone. The shop had done the Android system updates for me, and attempted to install the Vodafone app, but installed the UK version, which was no good to me, since I had a German SIM card in my Android phone. I decided to go for a walk instead.
Simon had offered to show Helen and I around the Maklan plant where he worked. He had been asked by his father to do a small job for him, so Simon was staying on after work to do that. Helen and I cycled across town to the Maklan factory in Eislingen, which adjoins Goppingen. Simon met us at the door and let us in.
The factory is a large, well lit, clean open space. There were some old photos from 1933 showing the original beginnings of Maklan in Japan on the walls of the hallway leading to the main plant room.
Around the plant room were a selection of early automation machines dating from 1981. These functioned on the Windows 95 operating system, and were still working to this day. Simon took us to the modern machine that he was using today to modify the parts belonging to his father John. John wanted some modifications done to the grip of a vice, such that grooves inserted in the grips would easily hold material inserted in the vice. Simon explained how he had set the machine up. One of the grips he had already been machined. He began the process of machining the second grip as we watched on.
After the demonstration given by Simon, Helen and I went and sat in the staff canteen and drank an orange juice whilst Simon shut the machine down. Helen and I then set off on our bikes back to Helen's place. We parked our bikes, then set off for the Irish pub where Simon was to meet us.
It was quiz night at the Irish pub as it is on every Wednesday evening. These quiz nights always attract a good number of participants. Our team consisted mainly of ladies from Helen Doron, Sylvia, Vicky, and Sam, with Simon and I adding to their numbers, if not the team’s ability to answer quiz questions.
Laura said that she needed to do a shop today, to get supplies for the weekend in Heiterwang. I offered to help Laura with this shop. She also suggested we get some exercise, perhaps in-line skating plus jogging. We agreed to meet at Laura's place. The sun was shining and the day warming nicely when I arrived at Laura's flat. We considered which we should do first, and I suggested we go and get some exercise as the weather was so good.
We placed Benjamin in the car seat and set off. Laura had already mapped an exercise route using ViewRanger on her mobile phone. We realised it was going to be hot, therefore I jettisoned my fleece before setting off. The route would be 3.4 kms long, returning by the same route, therefore totalling 6.8 kms in total. I soon discovered I was a little tired and weak in my legs after the previous evening's session in the Irish pub (2 pints of Guinness!).
Laura and I covered the distance (6.8 kms) well, in a little over 47 minutes. The going was level and smooth, and Laura, at least, seem to make easy going of it. We returned to Laura's home and had some lunch.
After lunch we did a little sorting of some of Laura's photos on her laptop. Then we set off to do a shop at Lidl, as Laura wished to get in supplies for our planned trip to Heiterwang this coming weekend. We purchased Berliners (jam doughnuts) as a treat for our tea.
Uwe had a dental appointment that evening. One of his wisdom teeth required a filling. He had an injection at the dentist, and when he returned he said he couldn't feel anything in his jaw. Laura and Uwe cooked asparagus, potatoes, served with hollandaise sauce for supper.
I was tired after we'd finished eating, and could see there was a train at 8:47, so I said I'd be off once I'd eaten. It had been a pleasant, relaxing and enjoyable day.
After breakfast, Helen left to do some teaching, returning about an hour later. I packed a bag with a few things I needed for my weekend away in Heiterwang with Laura, Uwe and Benjamin. On Helen's return, she suggested we did a little 'prop' shopping, as she was in need of a fish jelly mould for one of her Helen Doron courses that she was giving later in the day.
After having circled by way of Woolworths (I wanted a Woolworths bag to take with me back to England, since we no longer have this store in the UK), Helen eventually found her fish jelly moulds in the toy shop that is adjacent to her flat. As we wandered along the course of this shopping trip, I noticed a flower shop with a nice presentation of flowers. I told Helen to pick one for her flat, which she did, picking a burgundy (Sundavillle, var.Sunparacore, Mandevilla Hybrid). This was a climbing plant that had been trained over a small trellis.
Helen fixed us both a quick snack lunch, as she had to be off on her next teaching session, and I was waiting for a message from Laura to inform me when she and Uwe would be picking me up. It was about 14:00 when they picked me up from in front of the Vodafone shop. Off we set immediately, Uwe driving us to Heiterwang. It a journey of 3 hours duration, the traffic being heavily congested.
The sun was shining upon reaching the campsite at Heiterwangersee. Uwe put the heating on and set the electric fridge running. We then immediately set off for a short walk along the shore of Heiterwanger See. It was nice to get out of the car after our long drive. The quiet peace of Heiterwanger See washed over us as we took our short stroll. That evening Uwe planned to cook us burgers for our supper, which we ate with a green salad and tomatoes.
Laura and Uwe like to settle to sleep early in the evening, as they have Benjamin to take care of in the night. It was about 21:15 when we switched the lights out in the caravan.
Uwe had planned a walk of about 12 kms length and a 570 mtrs height gain for us today. He promised Laura and I that the trail was reasonably easy walking as the ascents were gentle (we believed him!). Uwe drove us to the trail start point and as he parked the car the day was warming and there was just the suggestion that the sun might put in an appearance later. We set off on our hike with high expectations.
The track we followed was wide ascending slowly (as promised). One of the first things I noted was the number of wildflowers there were in bloom. I was well aware that the month of May was a good month for wildflowers in Britain, and it was evidently just the same here in Germany. I decided to take photos of all the types of flowers that I came across on this hike today, with the intention of attempting to identify them at a later date. Some I did recognise from my knowledge of British wildflowers.
We continued to ascend along this trail until we reached the brow of a mountain pass whereupon we began a descent. The first mountain lake, Blindsee, that we were to see today came into sight (Uwe promised us we would see 3 such lakes on our hike today, Blindsee, Weissensee, and Mittersee).
As we dropped towards Blindsee we could see two divers in wetsuits and with aqualungs heading towards the lake. Our path down the hillside joined a path that seems to circle Blindsee. After maintaining some height above the lake for quite some distance, eventually we descended to the lake shore. Uwe suggested we lunch there, but Laura and I felt it would be better if we walked on a little further, as it was only 12:00.
The path then began to climb steeply up the hillside until we reached a busy road by a guesthouse, Rasthaus Zugspitzblick (Zugspitz view guesthouse), and restaurant. Many cars, busses and motorbikes were pulling in here, in what is obviously a favoured place. The primary reason for that (not surprisingly) is the view of Zugspitz (we should have paid more attention to this). Laura, Uwe, Benjamin and I crossed the busy road and picked up a narrow path that took us into woods. We climbed yet further, heading towards a place signposted ‘Aus schonen blick’, which Uwe thought might serve us well as a lunch stop.
It was about 12:45 when we reached the spot mentioned above. We instantly saw, despite the grand view, that this was not going to make a good lunch stop. It was at least true to its promise, offering a superb view of the distant mountains, the wind was being funnelled up the mountain valley straight towards this spot, and it would not have been a pleasant place to hang around and have lunch.
Continuing just a little way off of the brow of the hill we came across a sheltered open meadow that we chose to make our lunch stop. The grass was dry and soft, and ideal for us to sit on. We were glad that we had the major hill climb behind us now, and that we were a little beyond the half-way point of our hike.
A number of bikers passed us as we ate our lunch. They seemed to be from a club, as they wore the same colours, and were possibly participating in a club cycle tour. Oddly they were riding road racing bikes, rather than mountain bikes, on this steep and rough track.
After we were all fed, we immediately set off once again on our hike. The sun was shining and the way ahead was along an easy to follow wide track that descended gently down the hillside. There were glorious views of the snow-capped mountains all around us.
I lagged behind Laura, Benjamin and Uwe, as I continued to take photographs of wildflowers I spotted along the way. It wasn't all that long before the second of our lakes came into view, Weissensee, considerably smaller than Blindsee, but quaint all the same. A little house stood among trees near the lake, and a couple of coot scuttled across the water as we came by.
We crossed a main road and walked through a logging station, losing our way for a while. Whilst Uwe went off in search of our path, I spotted a footpath sign that pointed the way to Mittersee, which was where we were headed, so we followed that. We connected with our intended path after about 50 metres.
Mittersee is quite small, but is tucked in amongst trees, and makes a splendid picture. There were some people walking their dogs nearby. Our path then took us up a slope away from the lake, picking up a water course for the source of the River Loiseau. Uwe told me that this is one of three of the best canoeing rivers in Germany, the others being the Ammer and the Gutach.
By this point in our hike, we weren't far from our car, re-joining our path out earlier in the day. As we approached the car, one of the last things we were to see on this walk was a slow worm, basking in the sun on the side of the track. It froze in place as we stopped to take photographs of it. I did hope it would soon scatter into the undergrowth, as it was very exposed where it lay, and could easily have been picked off by a crow or a bird of prey.
I told Uwe, jokingly, the walk was 'rubbish' on reaching our car, as there had been no ice creams. It had in fact been a terrific walk. To round off the hike perfectly, we did then stop at an ice cream café for coffee and ice cream (I had an Alpine Regina, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream with mixed fruit) on our journey back to the campsite. It’s become a bit of thing with us, to round off a hike/cycle with an ice cream tea.
Uwe went over to the camp reception to check-in for our visit. I was asked to go over myself, and register as a guest. I was greeted with a, 'Hello Mr Slack', as I approached the reception desk. I had to give my name, address and date of birth. They also wished to see my passport, which unfortunately I didn't have with me. The lady at the reception desk said not to worry, she'd invent a passport number for me. I paid (€27) for my two night stay at the campsite.
Later that evening Uwe cooked us chicken and mushrooms in a white sauce. It proved a delicious meal. And later still, once Benjamin was quietened, we played cards (A game based on Eleven's), for a while, until we turned in for the night, once again at about 21:15. It had been a superb day.
It rained all night long, or so it seemed, and was still raining come breakfast time. The clouds were low and thick all around, so we were of the view that we needed to do a walk in which Benjamin could ride in his pram, as that was the only means we had of keeping him dry. Uwe and Laura had previously walked the Panoramaweg (Panorama Way), which can be done from the Heiterwangersee campsite, and this we decided to walk today.
Laura gave Benjamin a nappy change, a wash, and a feed, whilst Uwe and I tidied away and washed the breakfast dishes. The walk route began along the campsite road, then we broke off across a meadow to pick up a gravel track that skirted the mountain forest. Not long out Uwe and Laura believe they saw the hind leg of a deer, but the sighting eluded me.
We crossed the busy main road through the valley near to a Roman Meilenstein (milestone). I hadn't realised that there were such things. Apparently the Roman mile is 75 Kms long (it being ten Roman miles to Innsbruck, which is 750 kms from where we were standing today). The original mile stone discovered during archaeological excavations has been replaced at the site with a modern replacement stone. An information panel stands adjacent to this stone, which stands on the Via Claudia Augusta.
We picked up a narrow track that ran beside the railway line. The rain had by now reduced to little more than a few spits and spats. We skimmed the edge of the village of Heiterwang before crossing the main road once again, and heading back into our campsite. Laura had the idea of warming some noodles for our lunch, to eat with pesto. Uwe set about preparing that, whilst I packed away my bed and clothing for the journey back to Goppingen. I spent a little time with Benjamin whilst our lunch was being prepared.
After lunch, Laura needed to take care of Benjamin, whilst Uwe set about completing odd jobs about the caravan. I made myself useful by doing the dishes. It wasn't long before we were ready to set off on our return journey, setting out at 13:40.
The return journey was much less busy than our journey out. Uwe made good progress, and dropped me back at Helen's at 15:50. I unpacked my bag, and then updated my holiday diary. Helen was still away on her Helen Doron training at the time of my arriving at her flat. She sent me a message later, to let me know that she would be spending the night at Simon's.
It had rained all night long, or so it seemed, and was still raining when I came down to breakfast. After I had breakfasted, Helen arrived home. She was giving an English lesson at 10:00.
I had chosen a book from Helen's library to read, Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier. I read the book whilst Helen gave her teaching class. After her class, as was usual for a Monday, she was meeting with Sylvie at the Helen Doron school, to have a soup lunch (12:00) together. I had been asked by Sylvia if I cared to join them, but I decided not to, as I was feeling quite tired after my rather hectic weekend.
I made myself boiled eggs with toast for lunch. Helen arrived just before her next set of English lessons, one at 13:00, then one at 14:00, two school children preparing for their end of school examinations. Helen finished her English teaching at 15:00, and was then due at the Helen Doron school for junior German teaching.
I noticed that we were a little short on supplies, so Helen and I agreed to meet at the local Lidl store at 19:30 (Helen would finish her Helen Doron teaching at 19:15).
I planned to meet Laura at her place mid-morning. Things went a little awry when the train information on my mobile was incomplete, and I had to resort to using the train timetable on the station platform at Plochingen. I wound up on a train that shot through Altbach without stopping, and my having to get out in Esslingen. I then had to get back to Plochingen, and from Plochingen catch a train to Altbach. In total, it took me two hours to reach Laura's place, which was very frustrating.
Laura suggested we prepare lasagne for lunch, with the idea that we'd take a short walk in the afternoon. That seemed a good idea to me. Laura said she knew I had a talent for making white sauce, but I told her it had been some time since I'd done that. However, I was prepared to give it a go. And, as it happens, our lasagne turned out really good, and tasted excellent.
After lunch we sat at my tablet PC and plotted a walk route using Laura's ViewRanger account, which we then synchronized to her mobile phone. A quick nappy change for Benjamin followed, and then we were ready to go.
Laura drove us to Waschenbeuren and parked the car a short distance from Wascherschloss, a castle nearby. We walked in the direction of the castle, with Benjamin in the chair on his pram wheels. We had excellent views to Hohenstaufen as we walked. We found the castle closed, but we hadn't intended a visit on this occasion anyway. Helen and I had visited the castle on a previous occasion on 29th May 2015.
Our path led off from the castle car park. It dropped quite steeply along a gravel track. It was just beginning to spit with rain, but we carried on regardless. At the bottom of the hill we connected with a lane, and this was our route back to our car. We gradually ascended the lane until our car came in sight. Once in the car, Laura dropped me back in Goppiingen.
Helen had prepared a stir-fry meal, which she'd had for lunch. I said that it would be a bit too heavy after my lasagne I had earlier. We settled on a cold salad for our supper.
There was a thought that I might do a walk with one of Helen's students today, Rita, but she had something on and couldn't make it. Helen said the weather forecast for tomorrow was very good, and that I should make the most of it. I said I would like to do a cycle ride. Helen gave me some pointers on a possible cycle route.
Helen had a teaching session starting at 8:15. We had an early breakfast, and then Helen set off for her teaching. I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and made myself sandwiches for my cycle ride today. On setting out, I paused briefly outside of the Helen Doron school, so that I could use their WiFi to download some maps that were missing from my mobile walking app (GeoMeterPro). It only took 5 minutes to grab the required maps, and then I was on my way.
Cycling through Goppingen, WhatsApp beeped on my mobile phone, informing me Helen had sent me a message. She said that a student had cancelled at the last minute, and that she would like to join me on my cycle ride today. I wasn't far from Woolworths, so I told Helen I would wait there for her.
As soon as Helen joined me, we set off on our bicycle route. As Helen knew the way, I let her be my guide. We passed an Aldi, and as Helen hadn't had time to make sandwiches, she stopped off to buy herself something to eat.
Helen and I had previously cycled this part of our route today, although last time we’d set off from Uhingen, not Goppingen. We were headed for the lake at Adelburg, which is a favourite haunt of Helen's. Initially we were following a disused railway, so the way was level and easy cycling. On reaching Adelburg, there is a bit of a climb to get up to the level of the lake. We began a cycle circuit of the lake.
As we reached a favourite spot of Helen's, it was 11:40, and we decided it wasn't too early for lunch, particularly as a bench was provided for us to use. We were in mottled sunlight, which suited Helen and I perfectly, and we had a superb view out over the lake. People passing jovially shouted greetings and wished us a good appetite.
As soon as we had finished lunch we got back on our bikes and began cycling once again. We completed our circuit of Adelburg lake, and then backtracked a little, to once again pick up the disused railway that would take us into Waschenbeuren.
As we entered Waschenbeuren we came upon a sign indicating a cycle route to Hohenstaufen. Although it was not our intention to climb all the way to Hohenstaufen (4.5 kms), we decided to take that route. We began a gradual climb, but were making good progress, when we took a wrong turn. We had climbed steeply to a point where the track petered out, and we were left with no option but to backtrack and lose a lot of height. It was annoying!
Climbing steeply we sometimes had to get off our bikes and push. Once in the trees, our way levelled off a bit, and we made better progress on our final approach to Hohenstaufen. We branched right as we approached the village, circling a rocky outcrop that I remember climbing over on a previous visit.
From here, the cycling would be easy, as it was all downhill to Goppingen. Helen and I picked up a trail which ran beside the road which we followed until we reached Goppingen. Helen knew a quiet way into Goppingen, so she led me back to her flat.
I had mentioned ice cream to Helen earlier. Helen said we could go for one if I liked. My reputation for liking ice cream after a hike or a cycle ride has become legend. There is an ice cream parlour, Eiscafé Arlecchino, just two minutes' walk from Helen's flat, on the Marktplatz, Goppingen. How convenient is that? The sun was shining, the day quite warm, and the ice cream parlour was doing a brisk trade. Helen and I picked a table in the shade, as I felt we'd had enough sun for one day.
Our shoes were very muddy after yesterday's cycle ride (plus hike), so my first job of the day was to clean them, but how? When you live in a flat it's not easy to step outside with a bucket and a scrubbing brush and clean your boots. I decided that a tray of some form was needed. A scrubbing brush too, as Helen didn't have one.
As Woolworth's is very close to where Helen lives, I decided to try there. There were four possible things to get: 1: cat litter for shoe cleaning tray; 2: scrubbing brush; 3: a lamp for the hob on Helen's cooker; & 4: a cycle bottle holder for Tobi's bike.
So, how did I do? Well, I found a green plastic storage box that would serve for boot cleaaning, as there were no cat litter trays. There would appear to be a dearth of scrubbing brushes in Germany, so I settled on a dish cleaning brush instead. I wasn't clear just what bulb I was getting for Helen's cooker, so I settled on one that looked closest to the one that we had removed from Helen's cooker. And at €1.29, a bicycle water bottle carrier for that price has to be a must. I was feeling very pleased with my shop.
Upon returning to Helen's flat, I first fitted the bottle carrier to Tobi's bike. I then cleaned our cycling shoes from the previous day. Helen then turned up, at 13:00, to grab some lunch. I quickly cooked myself scrambled egg on toast. Helen had very little time to spare, as she was teaching again at 13:30. She mentioned that she was feeling rather unwell, with a possible bladder infection. She took some bicarbonate of soda to settle her stomach.
I decided, as the weather was good, to take a short walk around Goppingen. I'd previously enquired of Helen whether Goppingen had an open-air swimming pool, and she told me it did, the Goppingen Freibad. Looking it up earlier, we found it was open. I decided, merely out of curiosity, to find out where it was. I packed a swimming costume, just in case the urge to take the plunge came over me.
I set off on my walk from Helen's place. The weather was close, humid and warm. I reached the Freibad after about 30 minutes walking. It was indeed open, but not a soul appeared to be using it. I was intimidated, and didn't want to be the only one swimming there, even though the facility itself looked quite inviting. Helen later told me that the water is not heated very much, so I could expect it to be quite chill.
I sat for a while in a nearby park trying to fathom out how to mark places using my mobile phone's GPS app (GeoMeterPro), which I discovered wasn’t easy. I then set off back to Helen's flat.
Coincidentally, two minutes after I'd reached Helen's place, Helen appeared. She told me she'd taken an aspirin and that had made her feel better. She didn't however fancy her cycle ride to the following morning's teaching session. That evening, as I was preparing a cold platter and salad supper for Helen and I, Simon rang to say that he was on his way, as he was concerned that Helen wasn't feeling well, and wanted to make it possible for Helen to use his car the following day. Simon had a business journey to make to Allen, but had a company car made available for his use.
After supper, we each had a cup of tea. Then we retired for the night, me to continue reading Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier.
I caught the train to Laura and Uwe's after breakfast, arriving mid-morning. I met Gudrun at the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill, so we walked up the hill together. I spoke of the cycle ride that Helen and I had had on Wednesday. Gudrun mentioned that her mother lived at Wascherbeuren, and that is where Gudrun spent the first 8 years of her life. Gudrun's grandparents had a farm in that vicinity. The family sold up when Gudrun was young, and for a time they were 'millionaires'.
As usual, I was assigned some baby duties, so I washed, nappy changed, and dressed Benamin, whilst Laura prepared us some lunch. I delivered a replacement kitchen tap, as supplied by Helen, a spare that she had. Laura had broken their tap earlier in the week. I set a map download running in ViewRanger on Laura's phone, to reduce network data traffic when she is out and about in the area in which they live.
The lunch that Laura prepared was a pastry base (bought as a roll from the grocers), on which she placed slices of salmon, then poured whisked eggs and grated cheese over the lot. This was served with coleslaw (made by Laura, as this is not generally available in Germany), and salad. It was a delicious lunch.
After lunch, the plan was to meet with Uwe at his place of work, as he intended to finish early, as it was Friday. Uwe works at Ebersbacher, a car heating supplier. This, I discovered, was a huge factory.
We thought the weather was good enough (just) for a walk. Uwe had one in mind, so Laura and I followed him in his car. We drove through the old town of Esslingen, and then up onto the hill out the back of the town. Laura and Uwe parked not far from a tower, where a wedding (bride heavily pregnant) was taking place. The weather looked a little threatening, but we decided we'd chance it, even though there had been some rain as we drove across town.
We walked to Grabkapelle Wurttemberg (Württemberg Mausoleum), a chapel to Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, the beloved second wife of King Willhelm (1781–1864). of Stuttgart. It stands high on a hill, and is clearly visible from the motorway that passes it in the valley far below.
‘Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (Russian: Екатерина Павловна; 10 May 1788 – 9 January 1819) later Queen Catharina of Württemberg, was the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. She became the Queen of Württemberg upon her marriage to her first cousin Crown Prince William who eventually became King William I of Württemberg in 1816’. – [Wikipedia]
Helen had cancelled her early teaching, as she still wasn't feeling well, and she didn't fancy doing the cycle ride out to Ottenbach. We had some shopping to do this morning, so, after breakfast, the two of us set off with a shopping basket to walk the length of the main shopping street in Goppingen as far as Woolworth's (fast becoming my favourite shop here in Germany). We wanted a window cleaning blade and more bulbs of the type previously bought for Helen's cooker. Helen also bought a salad bowl, and a few other bits and pieces.
We then went in search of CDs for Gisela, as it would be her birthday tomorrow. I had the idea of buying Gisela a Bob Dylan CD, as Gisela had told me she was a fan, on a previous visit of mine. Simon had bought Gisela and John tickets to go and sea Chris Rea at the Stuttgart Arena, and so suggested Helen could get Gisela a Chris Rea CD. We were lucky, in that we discovered both items in Muller. I also needed to top up my toiletries, but Helen had some teaching preparation to do, so she left me to finish the rest of my shopping.
There was a music festival, seemingly with a disablement theme, taking place, so Helen and I stopped briefly to watch the musicians playing and the people dancing. It was the perfect day for this, as it was warm and sunny, and everyone was enjoying themselves very much.
After I had finished my shopping in Muller, I walked down to the nearby bookshop, as I had the notion that it would be nice to get Gisela a book on wildflowers (something that I too would like, but in German, that wouldn't be a lot of good to me). I was able to find just what I was looking for in the bookshop (Herwia), which, in appearance looked much like our local Waterstones in Exeter, complete with a little café section.
I then returned to Helen's flat, where Helen and I, at the time of 11:40, decided we needed a quick toast and salmon lunch, since Helen had more pupils arriving at 12:00 for tuition. I was set the task of wrapping our presents for Gisela, and packing our bags for our dash to the railway station at 14:00.
We did well, and we caught our 14:20 train, and so, were punctually in Geislingen, where Simon picked Helen and I up from the railway station. On arrival at Simon's place, we met Gisela and John, and it wasn't long before family members started to arrive for Gisela's birthday party. It was only now that I was beginning to realise the scale of the party that was to ensue. A massive table was laid out, and there were to be almost 20 people at Gisela's party. Simon’s brother Mark and his wife Silke, with their children (Michelle, Nicholas and Anna), were at the party.
Gisela and John had prepared a cold meat and salad supper, with a strawberry cake and ice cream for pudding. All in the family were very welcoming, and it was lovely to meet them and chat. Both English and German was spoken, which, at times, was a little bewildering for me, but not unduly so.
When the family left, Simon, Helen, Liam, Little Helen, and I, all went up to Simon's flat. It was getting late for Liam and Little Helen, so they were put to bed. Simon, Helen and I chatted about Simon's music processing (or, Simon and I, as Helen was very tired, and not that interested in our conversation). We didn't stay up late, as it had been a long day, so Simon provided me with bedding for the couch, and we all retired for the night.
In the morning, we made a strawberry cake (according to Grandma's recipe) for Gisela, what with it being mother's day in Germany.
Nici and Mirko came over for tea at Simon's, 10:00 - 12:00 (approx.).
We had a snack lunch at Simon's.
Laura, Uwe and Benjamin came over to Geislingen, and we all went in-line skating together. I was given a scooter to use. We stopped at an Italian place, Eis & Style GmbH, at the Nel-Mezzo shopping mall, to have ice creams. I had a very nice Campari to drink. Laura was concerned about my ability to scooter after that. I didn’t even have a crash helmet; how reckless is that?
We had tea, and of course strawberry cake, on the roof-top patio of John and Gisela's place. Laura, Uwe and Benjamin returned home. We went back to Simon's flat and watched another episode of Merlin. Simon then drove Helen and I over to Geislingen railway station from where we travelled back to Goppingen.
I repaired Helen's toilet seat (for the second time), attempting to secure the seat which had become very loose. Then I set about cleaning the windows of Helen's flat using the wiper blade we'd recently acquired at Woolworth's, here in Goppingen.
We then picked up bowls and went to collect soups from a nearby café. This is a traditional Monday lunchtime routine of Helen's, in that she picks up soup and has lunch with Sylvie from the Helen Doron school. Today I was to join them. We had spinach and kohlrabi (whatever that is) soup.
Helen then had to return urgently to her flat, as she was expecting a student at any moment. I put some things in a pannier and set off for Woolworth's on foot. Helen wanted another water spray gun (this time blue), so I said I'd get her one. I then collected Tobi's bike from the garage and set out on a bicycle ride.
I decided to make Hohenstaufen my first port of call. I managed to fall upon a new route cycle-friendly out of Goppingen, that began my journey through a park and along a cycle trail. Eventually I reached a car park from which trails lead off, one of which follows the road to Hohenstaufen. This rises steadily until near Hohenstaufen, where it becomes much steeper, and I had to get off my bike and push for the last stretch.
There is a small bluff just below Schloss Hohenstaufen from which there are amazing views for a great distance all around. I found a tree that offered some shade, and sat down to have a drink and a muesli bar.
I then set off in the direction of Waschenbeuren, along a route that Helen and I had used on the previous Wednesday, only this time I was traveling in the opposite direction. It was easy cycling, as the majority of my way was downhill, apart from a slight incline to reach Wascherschloss.
From here I picked up a cycle trail signposted Goppingen, although my desired objective was in fact Adelberg. It wasn't long before I left the Goppingen cycle trail, and headed off to the right along a trail, signposted Adelberg. The way to Adelberg was mostly level, and along a quiet cycle trail, except for one stretch of about 2 kms that was along a road. Eventually I approached the Kloster Adelberg complex, which I entered on my bike. The Adelberg See was signposted from here. I picked the route that would take me to the top end of the lake. This was a wide gravel track that descended gradually to the lake shore. I cycled around the lake, and then down to a road that leads to Goppingen. Not far from here I picked up the route of a disused railway line, now a cycle track, that led me back into Goppingen.
Helen had said we could perhaps go for a beer. But we hadn't eaten by the time we were both at Helen's flat, so we grabbed a snack supper. We were then too tired, and it was quite late, so we opted to have a beer at home and watch a couple of episodes of The Big Bang Theory before retiring to bed.
Laura, Benjamin and I had been invited to a barbecue with Rolf and Gudrun at their hut (Wolfracher). We were going to walk, taking the pram, and meet Rolf and Gudrun at the hut. I mapped out a theoretical walk route suitable for a pram, using ViewRanger on Laura's mobile phone. With that at the ready, we went to Laura's car to pick up the pram. As we were doing that, Gudrun spotted us, and walked across from their car. They were about to set off, picking up supplies on route to Wolfracher. Laura and I said we'd meet them there.
At first, Laura, Benjamin and I were making good progress, following a wide even track into the forest. However, a walk track we had planned to use, we found too steep and overgrown to walk with the pram, so we backed off of going that way. Then we missed our planned detour, so had to improvise a route. At one point Laura and I were virtually carrying the pram up a steep slope to reach a gravel track. Luckily we made it, and were soon making good progress in the direction of Wolfracher.
On arriving at Wolfracher, we discovered Rolf had the barbecue fire going well, and Gudrun had laid out the picnic table and chairs, and made a salad. We found some shade under a tree to place Benjamin whilst we had our lunch.
After lunch, Rolf and I lay on sunbeds, and had a little nap. I found some shade under a tree, as the sun was strong, and I was getting a lot of sun today. Eventually Gudrun and Rolf laid out a tea of cake and tea.
Gudrun said that she would like some exercise, and so would walk back with us. She instructed Rolf to pack away the barbecue, and we four set off on our walk through the forest. There was a little bit of a climb into the forest, and then a steep descent into Altbach.
On reaching the flat, we found Uwe in his running shoes, as Tuesdays are the day that he and his brother Frank go running. Laura rustled up a snack supper for her and me. I noticed a train was soon to depart Altbach (19:19), and I said to Laura I'd like to make that train, and so I dashed off.
The train journey didn't exactly go to plan. The train to Geislingen I was hoping to catch was delayed, and the platform display changed to say Stuttgart. I got off, as that wasn't what I wanted. As it happens, the train set off in the Geislingen direction about 20 minutes late. Annoying. I managed to catch another train, about 10 minutes later. The information the Deutsche Bahn provide to passengers is terrible, which is a shame, as apart from that, the train service isn't at all bad.
The weather forecast was particularly good for today, so Laura asked me if I fancied going to one of the local outdoor swimming pools with her and Benjamin. It seemed the perfect thing to do on a day like this. I caught the early (09:11) train from Goppingen to Altbach.
Laura made some sandwiches for us to take with us, whilst I gave Benjamin a quick wash, nappy change, and put him in a change of clothes. And soon as Benjamin was fed, we set off for the pool. Laura suggested we try Diezisau Freibad, as Uwe had said the water was heated, so that's is where we headed. Luckily there was a parking place right outside the swimming pool, as, with Benjamin, we had quite a lot to carry.
We bought our tickets, entered the freibad, and found a shady spot under a tree close to the water's edge. It proved to be the perfect spot, as we could keep an eye on Benjamin as we sat by the poolside, and the tree kept us in shade all day long. I was first to decide to take a swim, so I got into my costume, showered at the poolside, and entered the pool, not knowing quite what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised, as the water was really warm, probably warmer than my local swimming pool. It was lovely. I swam 10 lengths, just to loosen up a bit. Laura took a swim when I got out, as I sat by the poolside, keeping an eye on Benjamin.
After a while, Laura got out and sat with me in the sun to dry and warm up. After a short time, Laura looked at me, and asked, 'Are you hungry?' Well, yes, I was. So we decided now, as Benjamin slept, was the time to have our picnic lunch (13:00).
We relaxed on our blanket for a while, to let our lunch settle. After a while, Benjamin stirred a little, so we decided we would get him up, change his nappy, and feed him. He managed to dirty his nappy once again, so this resulted in a double nappy change. Finally, we took Benjamin over to the children's paddling pool. This was to be his first freibad experience, and he wasn't at all sure about it at first. But after a while he relaxed, and enjoyed himself. He liked being splashed by the water spout, although he was slightly taken aback by the water splashing on his face. The water was warm, and didn't seem to be chilling Benjamin.
The paddling pool experience completely tired Benjamin out. By the time Laura had changed his nappy (again!), dressed him, and gave him a feed, he was knocked out, and ready for sleep. Laura and I took the opportunity to get ourselves ice creams (an essential part of the 'day at the beach' experience).
On leaving the freibad, Laura offered to drive me back to Goppingen, but I said the train was fine with me, and asked to be dropped at Plochingen railway station. As we drove over the B10 from Stuttgart, we noticed that traffic was nose-to-tail, and crawling, and it was obvious to both Laura and myself that catching the train was the right choice. Having said that, I had to deal with one train that was cancelled, followed by a last minute evacuation from a train I was sitting on to dash across to another platform, before I was finally on my way.
Helen rustled us up a quick 'salami burger' (salami, with salad and mayonnaise, in a toasted sandwich), between her pupil finishing at 19:00, and her 'conversation ladies' arriving at 19:30. I spent some time during the evening updating my holiday diary.
Helen set off early to give German lessons at TeamViewer. I did some housework, including some vacuuming and dusting glass tables and ornaments. I then cooked Helen and I an omelette and chips lunch. Helen only just had time to eat her lunch before she was off teaching once again. She'd have to buy some eggs on her way, as I had used our eggs in our omelette, not knowing that today was the day Helen was intending to bake a cake at the Helen Doron school.
I sat down in the afternoon and mapped out a cycle ride. I thought I'd like to explore some new territory for me, to the west of the Fils, in the direction of Heinigen. I mapped a 26.4 kms route using GeoMeterPro on my mobile phone. I had already copied offline maps to this app for use in this way.
Cycle ride in the evening, out through Heinigen (no tracklog, or only partial: 4.1 Miles/6.6 kms). Distance: 16.4 Miles/26.4 Kms. Duration: 2hrs 31 mins. Started: 17:46 ; Finished: 20:17. Thunderstorms all around as I entered Goppingen. I was caught by rain for a short time, but didn't really get that wet. The light was beginning to fade. Very humid. The ride involved only one really steep climb, the hill out of Goppingen. An excellent cycle ride, with lots of good views. The return stretch, heading back towards Goppingen, was particularly easy and fast and very gentle cycling. The route cycled I have made available from the links above.
Toilet seat exploration, and aborted walk (it started to rain). Instead I read some more of my book (Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier).
Helen's toilet seat has a rubbish hinge, and the seat slides about all over the place. I decided to do some of the legwork, and explore what seats were where. The notion was, to do this first, about Goppingen (OBI, Poco and Hornbach, all bausmarkt (DIY) stores. And then, having packed a picnic lunch, walk out of town onto the hills.
The first part of this plan worked well, in that I found each of the stores, and each had toilet seats of varying quality, and I made a note of best value products. However, stage two of my plan, the walk, didn't look that enticing. By this time, rain had come in, and the hills all about looked bleak, heavy with clouds. I decided that the thing to do was return to Helen's flat, and have my picnic lunch there. Later in the afternoon I spent time reading my book Jamaica Inn, borrowed from Helen.
Cycle ride with Uwe, starting from Bissingen. Lunch at a Swabische restaurant, way out in the middle of nowhere.
Uwe suggested he and I do a cycle ride. I was nervous. Uwe's is very fit, and his idea of cycling is a good deal more extreme than mine. But hey, I'm the sort of guy that is up for most things, so I said, yes, let's do it.
Uwe had the main components of this cycle ride in his head, based upon his extensive knowledge of the area. We were originally going to do the ride on Thursday, but Uwe cancelled, as thunderstorms were forecast. We postponed it to today, which also meant that we could involve Laura in our day out, as Laura, with Benjamin, planned to do a walk whilst Uwe and I cycled, then meet up with us for lunch.
There was going to be one significant climb today, and that was going to be early on in the ride. After a little bit of easy lowland cycling, Uwe and I began the climb of the hill on which the ruin of Schloss Reussenstein is to be found. We’d visited the ruined castle on Sunday 30th April. There were a couple of places at which the climb was too steep for me, and I had to get off my bike and push. But, on the whole, I was feeling fit and going well.
We passed under Schoss Reussenstein, which wasn't visible to us from the trail because of a blanket of trees. We found ourselves exiting the woods for a while at a place named Bahnhofel, which struck Uwe as odd, since the name bahn to him, meant railway station. An information board nearby explained the fact that bahn originally meant an intersection or crossing point, before it came to mean railway station.
Just past Bahnhofel Uwe and I came to a vantage point where we briefly stopped to take in the view. From this point we looked out across the valley to Schloss Reussenstein. The view was stunning.
Returning to our bikes we cycled on, now ascending a gentle slope through the forest. Eventually we came out into an open space. We picked up the road here, and made our way in the direction of the eating place Uwe intended we use for our lunch. We had made good progress, so we arrived whilst Laura was still out walking, with Benjamin in his pram.
Laura sent Uwe and I a picture of her ViewRanger map to indicate where she was. She wasn't far away, and was approaching fast. She'd extended the original walk she had mapped out. This is quite possible to do on the fly, as ViewRanger maps are of very good quality. Uwe and I claimed a table inside the restaurant, Otto-Hoffmeister-Haus, and then Uwe went off in search of Laura. They were back with me in about five minutes.
We ordered our lunches in the restaurant. Laura was 'interrogated' by the waitress, who seemed to want to know where she was from, and how she came to be in Germany. The food on the menu was generally of traditional Schwabischer cuisine. The meals were simple wholesome affairs, which was just what we wanted. Laura then fed Benjamin and changed his nappy. We then agreed the next point at which we were to meet, which was Breitenstein. Laura was to drive there in the car, whilst Uwe and I were, of course, going to cycle across.
Although the majority of our climb was now behind us, we did drop a little, and then have to climb back up to Breitenstein. We met up with Laura in the car park. From there we walked up to the point at which there is a rock outcrop at a place where the ground drops dramatically away. The view from this promontory was simply fantastic, and very dramatic. It was easy to see why Uwe liked this cycle route so much.
From Breitenstein car park, Laura returned to the car, and was going to drive to the start point of our cycle today. Uwe and I set off on the last leg of our cycle ride.
After a little while, we began to drop a little until we reached a small ruin, named Ruine Diepoldsburg or Ruine Rauber, almost hidden amongst trees, with trees also growing within the ruined castle. Uwe recounted a story from his youth, when as a member of a school party visiting this ruin, one of the boys fell 30 metres, and was seriously hurt. Uwe and another boy ran back to the farm house at the top of the hill, to raise the alarm. A helicopter was sent out, to rescue the boy.
Uwe and I had to climb from this point, back up to the lane. From here, after a short level section, our way fell away steeply, along a gravel track through woods. Uwe took the opportunity to have a little fun, and sped away ahead of me. I proceeded quickly, but with a bit more caution than Uwe.
Finally, Uwe and I reached Bissengen again, where Laura was parked. I was really tired, but pleased that I had successfully completed the cycle tour. Uwe mounted our bikes on his cycle carrier, and we set off for Plochingen.
We decided we should have ice creams. And, Uwe, knew of an ice cream parlour that his family had used since he was a small boy. We stopped here to have our, now traditional, post activity ice cream. Afterwards, I collected my bike from Uwe's car, and set off to catch the train back to Goppingen.
I returned to Helen's flat, parked my bike in the garage, and took a shower. Checking for available trains to Geislingen, I found that I would have to wait for nearly an hour. I let Helen know which train I intended to be on. I thought Simon and Helen were intending to pick me up from Geislingen railway station, but it was actually Simon's parents who did that. I sat with John and Gisela drinking tea and chatting whilst we waited for Simon and Helen to return from the Ikea store in Ulm.
We awoke with no definite plans for the main part of the day. The idea of doing a walk was put forward. I suggested a walk to Filsursprung (the source of the Fils river). We weren't too far from this, being in Geislingen. Simon had already purchased some food for a picnic lunch, so we threw that and some bottles of beer in a rucksack and were ready to go. Helen sent a message to her colleague Samantha, and her partner Stefan, inviting them to join us on our walk, and they replied, saying they would join us. We agreed to meet in the nearby car park.
At first we pulled into the lower, and smaller, car park (48.562526, 9.612534), but evidently Samantha and Stefan weren't there. We drove on to the upper car park (48.56199,9.59974), and there we met up with them.
We picked up the track that runs beside the Fils, which is only a small stream at this point. As we'd set out from the upper car park, it was only a short walk to the source of the river, a distance of about 1.4km from the car park. The source is interesting, as it is actually a spring, where the water bubbles up from the ground. A small group of people were gathered at this point. We took a little time out to take some photos.
So, we were about 30 minutes into our walk, and we'd achieved our objective, Filsursprung. We now needed a new objective. Stefan mentioned a nearby cave, and we decided that would be what we'd seek out. Our path led us down a valley veering slightly to the right of the direction we previously had been walking in. The occasional group of cyclists passed us as we walked this trail. There were vibrant colours of nature all about us, and many wildflowers in the meadows.
After a gradual ascent along an ever narrowing valley, we eventually came to a point where one of the caves was signposted. We climbed a steep narrow path until we came to the wide mouth of the cave. It was a dark and dank cavern. We wondered just how far the cave extended. Treading carefully, as some of the stones underfoot were slippery, we ventured further into the cave. Samantha declined to go deep into the cave, as she suffers from claustrophobia, and chose to wait for us at the cave entrance.
Our way forward narrowed considerably, the roof of the cave became lower and lower until we reached a small passage with a gate that was open. We crawled through this passage, and found ourselves in a tiny inner cave.
There was no natural light this far into the cave, so we had to make use of lights on our mobile phones. We attempted a few photos in this spooky place, before carefully making our way out again.
The path continued a little further to the main cave. At this point, an entrance fee has to be paid to enter the cave. We decided all we really wanted to do was sit down, eat our picnic lunch, and drink some beer. We found a suitable bench nearby at which to do this.
After our lunch, we back tracked down the path we'd previously followed. Stefan and I opted for an alternative, higher level path, at one point, the others continuing down the path previously trodden. Stefan and I could hear Samantha and Helen through the trees (surprise, surprise).
By now the time had run on, so it was necessary for us to take the shortest route back to our cars. We said goodbye to Samantha and Stefan, and set off in our car to Nici and Mirkor's place. We'd been invited around for tea and cake at 15:00, and we were just a few minutes late for this.
Nici had prepared two delicious cakes for us, a sponge, and a particularly fine rhubarb cake (a sort of crumble). We sat on the balcony of their flat, with the children, Liam and Little Helen. We spent some time discussing holiday arrangements, as Nici and Mirkor had made some plans for their holiday in England. They kindly offered me a lift in their VW bus.
Simon left early, as he was involved in a music gig at an art venue in the centre of Geislingen. After an hour, Nici drove all of us except Mirkor, to this gig. Simon was playing base guitar with some of his friends. Helen, Little Helen, and Nici danced a little.
When it was time to depart, Nici returned to her home with the children, whilst Simon, Helen and myself returned to Simon's home. His mother had prepared cottage pie for our supper, which we shared with them. Later that evening Simon drove Helen and I back to Goppingen.
Laura had only this one day which she could make available to me, so, in the morning, I set off by train to Altbach. I brought my running shoes with me, as we planned to do a repeat of the in-line skating (Laura, with Benjamin in pram) and me jogging. This we'd done previously, it is a good route, but today it was quite hot, and it took a lot of effort for Laura and I to complete our training run. But we felt good for it, and, after showers back at Laura's, we were none the worse for it.
Laura put some pizzas in the oven, and I helped with the preparation of a salad, for our lunch. Benjamin was fed a couple of time in between, and had a nappy change (very much due) too.
After lunch, Laura drove us to Decathlon, a sports shop in Plochingen. It was Laura's idea, as there were a number of things she said she could get there. She wanted hiking trousers and a mosquito net. She suggested I pick up a cycling helmet at the same time. Laura actually presented the cycle helmet to me as a Father's Day present. As I later said to Laura, 'I have never before looked so sporty.' It was a nice thought. We checked out sleeping mats for Helen, and Laura decided to speak with Uwe before buying a mosquito net, so simply took a photo of what was on offer at Decathlon. Instead, she bought a Pool Noodle, something which we in England call a woggle.
After our shopping expedition, Laura dropped me off in the centre of Plochingen, not far from the railway station, so that I might catch a train back to Goppingen.
John and Gisela were in Goppingen this morning, as they wished to arrange a new mobile phone. Simon had done some preliminary research for them, and advised them which shop to use. Helen and I wished to catch up with them, as Helen had some advice about roaming to offer them. We weren't sure in which shop they would be, but we soon found them in the second shop along from Helen's flat.
Once the mobile phone shopping had been concluded, Helen and I suggested we walk along the street a short distance to the nearby Thai restaurant. We sat out at a pavement table at this tiny restaurant. We enjoyed a tasty meal, which was provided at a budget cost. I had offered to pay, and felt it had been a good deal on my part (how miserly is that?).
We then returned to Helen's flat. Helen had a student arriving at 13:00, so we had to be sharpish. I made coffees for John, Gisela and myself. After our coffees, John, Gisela and I set off, as John and Gisela had offered to drive me to Geislingen. Helen was due to follow later, after her teaching commitments.
There were three trips to make across Geislingen for John and I. First we went to the train station to pick up Simon, returning from a business trip to Achen. They we received a message that Simon's car was ready for collection from the garage, so we set off to collect that. And then we received a message from Helen to say that she was on the train from Goppingen, and so we set off to collect her from the railway station.
In the evening, we all sat down to a meal that Gisela had prepared (cottage pie).
In the afternoon, Helen had more teaching to do. Although the day was a little overcast, and a cool stiff breeze was blowing, I felt I would like to explore the Goppingen Freibad. I was overdue a good swim. I made an arrangement with Helen, that she would meet me at the Freibad for the start of our intended cycle ride to Geislingen, once she had completed her afternoon teaching sessions.
The Freibad was very quiet on my arrival, with perhaps only six people in the pool. The main pool is 50 metres long, and this I headed for. There are two other, linked pools, one primarily a fun pool for children, the other, a smaller rectangular pool. The water in the main pool was a little cool, but quite comfortable enough for serious swimming. Once I'd completed my 1 km swim, which is my usual distance, I tested the water in the other pools. It was definitely warmer. Next time, I think I would spend a little time in these pools simply to warm up. I showered (20 cents) and then sat out near the pools, waiting for the time to come around when Helen would meet with me for our cycle ride from Goppingen to Geislingen.
Helen and I had a following wind for our cycle ride journey from Goppingen to Geislingen, which made our cycling light. It did require some careful thought regarding navigation, as the route took us all around the houses. It took us about 1hr 30mins to complete the journey on our bikes. It was an enjoyable ride. Helen and I briefly popped our heads around the door at John and Gisela's, to let them know that we had arrived. Simon would be joining us later; he had a 'business' lunch with someone he'd met whilst away.
This was set to be a busy day. I had already determined to wash Helen's bike, and the bike I was borrowing from Tobi. Both were very much in need of a clean. Simon and John provided me with bucket, cloth, toothbrush and a hosepipe. We placed the bikes in the road outside of John's house, and I set about cleaning them.
After the bike cleaning was done, I set the bikes standing in the sun to dry. Gisela offered to make John and I coffee, which we drank sitting out at the front of their house. We passed the time chatting. John also gave me a tour of the house, showing me parts of the lower floor that I had not previously seen. This had been partially converted into a flat, with more work to be done. Apparently Simon had moved in here when he separated from his wife Nici.
Eventually I left John and returned to Simon's flat on the upper floor. I hadn't realised that Helen had prepared a father's day present giving session with the children. I was given a lovely card, chocolate bicycle maintenance kit (essential gear for any cyclist), and a paper airplane making kit.
We had a snack lunch, as we were intending to depart on our bicycles afterwards for the Beenan House, John and Gisela's hut on the edge of the woods, near Uberkingen, about 5 kms from their house (48.59599,9.78445). John and Gisela offered to take things we couldn't carry in their car. It was all rather frantic, but eventually we five were ready enough to set off on our bikes.
Despite running a little late, our planned meeting time being 15:00, we made good progress, and were ahead of most of the other guests. John had some logs burning in the brazier, in preparation for the barbecue coals. Beer and soft drinks was placed in the water tank to keep them cool. Tables, benches and chairs were set up. Then Stefan and I attempted to fly Little Helen's kite, but there wasn't enough wind. Some of the other children (Michelle, Nicholas, Anna, and Michelle's friend Joanna) were playing with a frisbee.
This was our Father's Day celebration, with numerous fathers in attendance: John, Simon, Rheinar and me. The younger participants ate inside the hut, whilst the older set (that’s my deckchair in the foreground) sat on benches around a table on the grass.
Eventually the light began to fade, and so it was necessary to prepare to leave. Everything was tidied away and made ready to be loaded in John's car and trailer, and then our bikes were collected. Despite it having been a long day, the children, Liam and Little Helen, mustered the energy for the cycle ride back to Simon's flat in Geislingen. We were all tired, so after a ginger tea, we all retired to bed early.
A special note about a special occasion: this was Uwe's first Father's Day.
Helen and I had breakfast at Simon's, along with his children Liam and Helen. Helen had work commitments in Goppingen, and had to set off from Geislingen at 09:30. I decided that I'd return to Goppingen with Helen. I felt like some quiet time to myself. Helen dropped me off not far from her flat, and went on to the Oxford School for her first teaching tuition of the day..
I caught up with some messaging, and then set about making myself a picnic lunch, with the intention of setting off on a walk. As midday approached, Helen appeared through the door, earlier than I had expected. As she said that she was intending to rustle up some lunch for herself, I said I'd share that with her, and would eat my picnic later in the day. Over lunch we had a discussion on punctuation and grammar, about the colon and capitalisation. Helen then set off at 12:45 for her next teaching appointment.
I did a little more online messaging, set a wash ready to do, and then began my hike. I picked up a course I'd cycled the previous week, heading out of Goppingen via the railway station.
The day was hot, with a temperature of 25°C showing on the forecast; I could well believe that. I was thankful for any shade that trees afforded me. I had no specific route planned, as I intended to just see where my feet took me. I was aiming for as much wooded terrain as possible. I ran short of possibilities on the side of town I initially took, and therefore returned via the Friebad, with the intention of climbing into the familiar woods on the Hohenstaufen side of town. Before crossing the Fils river, I stopped in the park by the Freibad to eat my picnic supper.
Having crossed the river over a bridge, and the railway via an underpass, there was a long, hot stretch of path to walk, rather boring, and close to traffic. I was glad to conclude this stretch of my hike, and once again pick up a path into woods.
It wasn't long before I picked up the sound of medieval music, and from that I knew I was close to the Staufer Park, where a medieval 'spectacular' was taking place. I continued past this, and ascended further into the woods. Some people were out walking their dogs, others were out jogging.
I reached my intended objective in the woods, and then began to follow a path that would drop me back into Goppingen in the general direction of Helen's flat. Children were out playing in the park, and the skate park was busy too.
I sorted the wash, made myself a pot of tea, and then sat down to watch a film. I settled on, I Captured the Castle, a book and film I'd read and seen in the past, but felt it would be good to return to it. It was the perfect choice. The film is very true to the book, which I feel was no mean feat to achieve. After that, I wrote up entries in my diary, before retiring to bed, alone in the flat. Helen had chosen to visit Simon on his music night in Geislingen.
I was awoken early in the morning, around 07:00, by brass instruments playing in the Markplatz, outside Helen's flat. I think this was part of the Maienstag Day (May Day) celebrations taking place in Goppingen today. Boy, did they make some noise as the morning progressed. Since I was up, and in need of a shower, I thought I might as well go for a jog. I ran from Helen's flat down to the river Fils, and followed the trail that runs the course of the river in the direction of Uhingen. The day was already beginning to warm, and I was glad I was running early. I completed a 8 kms run.
Helen was working at the Oxford School in the morning, so I did a few odd jobs about the flat, and read my book (Jamaica Inn) for a little while. When Helen returned to the flat, the first thing she said to me was that she'd forgotten to reset the parking clock in the car. Rather than risk a fine, I set off to do that for her, whilst she rustled up a quick cold lunch for us, as she had a couple of young students arriving for an hour's lesson at 13:00. As soon as the lesson finished, Helen and I set off for Geislingen, in the car, Helen driving.
Our original plan, seeing as our bicycles were in Geislingen, was to go for a cycle ride, but it was very hot, and none of us felt like doing that when the time came. We had heard that it was the intention for some of the family, Michelle and Anna included, to go for an ice cream. Helen, Simon and myself decided that the best plan for us was to join them. As there wasn't quite enough room in the car, Helen and I cycled across to Eis & Style GmbH, at the Nel-Mezzo shopping mall.
After our ice creams we returned to John and Gisela's place and sat out the front just chatting and wiling the time away. As evening drew on, and we started to get hungry, we decided to have a pizza supper. Simon rang through an order and went to collect this with his mother. I had a fruti de la mere (sea food – slightly perverse, being so far from the sea) pizza, and it was delicious, especially when washed down with a beer.
The time came around for young Anna to be put to bed. Gisela drover Anna and Michelle back to their place (their parents were taking a holiday in New York), whilst the rest of us tidied away the seats and tables from the front of the house. Helen, Simon and I then retired to watch some episodes of The Big Bang Theory, before retiring to bed ourselves.
With time on our hands, Helen, Simon and I contemplated what to do with ourselves. We had abandoned a planned cycle ride the previous day, and we all agreed we could do it today. Simon knew of a cave, one named Mordloch, in which, it is reputed, a body of a hunter was once found. The story goes, that an illegal hunter was discovered by another hunter, and the illegal hunter had killed him, and hid the body in this cave. What evidence there is for this tale (if any), I do not know, but it sounded like a good destination for a cycle ride.
The cycle trail out of Geislingen followed the disused railway that runs just outside of Simon's house. We'd used this before, for inline skating, and our cycle ride out to the Beenan House, but today we were going in the opposite direction. Our route climbed steadily, and as we neared our destination, the smooth tarmacked route changed to become a rough gravel track, and began to ascend a little more steeply into woods.
There is a small picnic spot, information board, and car park [48.66426,9.89466] near to the cave. A number of people were milling around in the vicinity. We parked our bikes and entered the cave. Helen met a young girl, Victoria, who she teaches, with her mother, at the entrance to the cave. Helen gave the young girl her cycle light that she was carrying, and persuaded the girl to enter the cave. We followed, treading carefully through the dark and slippery cave, dodging the shallow pools of water.
Victoria soon found it too wet and intimidating, and didn't want to continue any further. Helen shone the cycle light so that she and her mother could see how to back track the 50 metres to the entrance of the cave. Helen, Simon and I continued on a little further. We soon came to a deeper pool of water, that barred further progress. Simon said diving gear was needed to proceed into the deeper sections of the cave. We could hear running water some way off.
We backtracked to our bikes, and began returning along the trail. We stopped at an old mill on the way. There was an 'Old Timer's' event taking place. The field had filled with old cars, motorbikes and tractors, from every nation.
There was even a Country & Western group playing music at this Old Timer’s event. We stopped for a beer in the very crowded tent and listened to the music playing for a while. The cars, motorbikes and tractors seemed to be coming and going, as were the visitors. There was a large beer tent where the band was playing music. We stopped for a beer, and listened to a little of the music.
We then returned to our bikes once again. It was time to be setting off for home, as we were getting hungry by now. A little way further back, we stumbled upon an alternative route, that led us into the shade of trees, which we were able to follow all the way back to Geislingen.
On reaching home, Helen rustled us up a quick hamburger lunch. Whilst she was preparing this, Simon and I wrapped birthday presents for Liam. These, along with a life-size Yoda (from Star Wars), were put in Simon's car, and we drove down to Nici and Mirkor's. There was quite a gathering there. Nici's parents, Grimhilda and Peter were there, along with Nici's sister Yvonne, and her children Isobel, Sophie and Marie. A colleague of Nici's, another Mirko, was also there. John and Gisela came too.
We had cake and a drink. And then it was time for Liam to open his birthday presents. We were celebrating Liam's birthday, although his birthday proper would actually be on the following day.
Nici's Mirko then began heating the barbecue and grilling sausages. Whilst that was happening, Nici's father Peter tried, with very little success, to teach me how to play Super Mario. Really, not my thing at all. I failed completely, and I'm sure Peter was not impressed. We did a test people load of Nici and Mirko's van, which will take us to England, setting out the following weekend. The load looked good, with plenty of room for us all, and some space left over for luggage.
We had a big barbecue meal, some sitting inside, others (chiefly the smokers) sitting outside on the balcony. Nici had also prepared a raspberry, sour cream and meringue pudding for desert. Apparently, in Germany, the word for meringue is something like shaumkin (or bizzy, which isn't at all German). I tried to explain the origin of the word meringue, but think I failed (again).
As the birthday parting gathering began to disperse, so did we, Helen, Simon and I returning to Simon's flat. Once again we watched some episodes of The Big Bang Theory before retiring to bed.
Simon dropped Helen off at Geislingen railway station, whilst he was taking his children to school. Helen had an early morning Team Viewer teaching session, so she went her way by train. I was keen to get Tobi’s bicycle back to Goppingen, so I decided to set off early on the ride from Geislingen.
Laura dropped me a message to say that she had some time to spare today, and thought she might pop around for an ice cream. Helen said she had some time free between 13:00 and 15:00, so Laura said she'd pop around for then. She was a little late arriving, but eventually showed up out front of Helen's flat, along with Benjamin. Benjamin had had to go to Uhingen to have his first course of injections.
We went across to the ice cream parlour, Eiscafé Arlecchino, on the Marktplatz. The three of us ordered ice creams, whilst Benjamin lay in his pram. It wasn't long before Benjamin stirred, and he was more than a little grouchy. We decided it would be best to return to Helen's flat, which we did. However, Benjamin continued to cry, and it took a lot of effort on Laura's part to quiet him down. Eventually she lay with him on my bed, and Benjamin fell off to sleep.
Helen set off for her 15:00 teaching session, leaving Laura, Benjamin and I in her flat. Laura and I chatted away for quite some time. The day was quite warm and humid, and the sound of thunder could be heard not too far away. A little after 16:00, Laura said she needed to be on her way, so I walked her and Benjamin to their car in the nearby Marktplatz car park.
I packed my large holdall with my things, as this was going to be taken by Simon to Geislingen the following day, to be put in Simon's car, which John and Gisela planned to drive to England later in the week, setting off a little before us.
A lady that Helen teaches, Rita Ruchr, had asked Helen if I would care to go on a walk with her. I met Rita for the first time a week previous to today, when she attended her weekly English class with Helen in Helen's flat. We agreed that Rita would come to Helen's flat today to pick me up.
Rita rang the bell punctually at 9:30 as planned. Rita said that she would walk with me back to her flat. I hadn't initially realised that Rita lived in Goppingen a mere 10 minutes' walk from Helen's flat. If I'd known that, I would have walked up to where she lived.
Rita invited me into her flat, provided me with a glass of water and showed me around. Rita had screened her balcony by planting conifers and yews; she said she liked her privacy. Rita's flat was very white, pristine, and clinical. Rita picked up her rucksack and went to fetch her car from the garage, and then picked me up at the front of the flats. She drove us up to Hohenstaufen. After having some trouble from locals with regard to Rita's initial attempt to park in the centre of the village, in the end she settled for parking in the church car park.
We then set off on our walk by climbing the track that leads to the summit of Hohenstaufen. This was the second time that I'd visited the castle ruins on the summit of Hohenstaufen, as we'd previously visited with Can and his mother. It's a great site, although the remnants of the ruined castle are not extensive. Apparently it had been ransacked for the majority of its stone at the time of the Peasant's Revolt. From the hill summit it is possible to see the whole of the Schwabische Alb. In one direction, looking along the hill ridge from Hohenstaufen, one can see the next two summits in line, Rechberg and Staufen. On the summit of Hohenstaufen is a Toposcope or Topograph or Orientation Table (compass view locator). The Hohenstaufen Museum houses an excellent scale model of Hohenstaufen Castle as it once looked. It’s worth reading a little of Emperor Frederick II on the Hohenstaufen page, as this explains his role in the fragmentation that occurred in Germany under his reign. So, whilst Frederick Barbarossa, before him, ‘…struggled throughout his reign to restore the power and prestige of the German monarchy against the dukes’, Frederick II, it would seem, let it all dissipate. Hohenstaufen, therefore, represents both the struggle for and relaxation against the German state.
Rita and I looked for a suitable route off of Hohenstaufen. There was a narrow zig-zagging path leading into the woods, signposted Maitliss and Rechberg. Although this would be too far for us today, the path would take us in the direction with which we wished to walk. We descended along this narrow path until we reached the Hohenstaufen Rundweg. Here, Rita told me she was carrying too much water, which took me a while to fathom out what she meant. Once we'd picked up the Hohenstaufen Rundweg, we followed this around to where Rita's car was parked.
We then took a quick look in the church. An information board near the entrance speaks of the fact that Hohenstaufen is on the pilgrimage route to Santiago do Compostela, the Jakobswege or Camino de Santiago. There are blue markers showing a radiating sun to be found all around this area, which indicate the way of the pilgrimage route.
Rita and I then dropped a little way down into the village and then picked up a road that led us out onto a small outcrop of rocks just a little below the summit of Hohenstaufen. I remember us climbing on these rocks when I last visited here with my daughters Helen and Laura.
On returning to the village of Hohenstaufen, we discovered the adjacent museum was now open, so Rita and I entered and spent a little time looking around the exhibits and reading the information panels. The museum provides plenty of background information on Barbarossa, Hohenstaufen, the significance in history of the place regarding the role in the pattern of German unification that relates to this early time.
We returned to Rita's car, and decided that a coffee and cake would be nice. Rita drove a little way back towards Goppingen and then pulled in at a layby. We walked a little way further down the lane until we came upon a small restaurant, Waldcafé Wannenhof, (info) tucked away in the trees. Evidently, the place had once been a farm, but now it had become a restaurant popular with the locals. Rita and I found a table on the terrace where we had cake and cappuccinos.
Rita then drove us back into Goppingen, parking just outside her apartment building. She walked a part of the way back into Goppingen with me before we said goodbye. It had been a good way to spend a day, and we had both taken pleasure in each other’s company.
On reaching Helen's flat, Helen checked out trains for Geislingen, as it was father's night at Simon's tonight. There was a train in thirty minutes, which left Helen 15 minutes to throw things into her large holdall, a bag, like mine, that was going to be taken to England by John and Gisela. Helen and I dashed for the train, and were soon on our way. Simon picked us up from Geislingen train station.
Nici stayed with the Children at Simon's whilst he picked us up. I spoke to Nici, as I wanted to offer her some money towards petrol, as Nici and Mirko had offered to drive me to England with them.
In the evening Helen devised and played Tangrams with the children. We then settled them in bed, and watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory (once again) before retiring to bed.
I had said to Laura when we last met, I would like to invite Uwe's parents, Gudrun and Rolf, out to lunch sometime, to repay their generous hospitality they had shown me during my visit to Germany. We agreed to meet up today, Rolf driving Gudrun, Laura and Benjamin to Goppingen to pick me up. We set off from just outside the Vodafone shop in Postrasse. Rolf knew of a place from which to walk, a little way past Gruibigen. We climbed in the car, what Helen later explained as, the Gruibigen Steige, which means the 'climb', where the road zig zags up the incline of the Schwabische Alb. Near the summit, Rolf parked the car in a layby [48.61165,9.62173], and we set off on our walk.
Gudrun explained that we would walk to the Bossler summit where there were some stones. The stones she spoke of are named the Jarhehundertstein, and commemorate, at the dawning of the new millennium, the important subjects of the 20th century. The stones have words carved into them such as Internet, bikini, Coca Cola, cancer, aids, terrorism, holocaust, and dictator (partial word list), which represent these important subjects.
There was a small amount of cloud about, and the day a little hazy, as we set off on our walk. We followed a wide rough track that gently ascended the hillside. We passed many meadows as we walked, covered in grass and wildflowers. Eventually we came to a point where a herd of goats grazed, and this is where Jarhehundertstein is to be found [48.60646,9.59168]. There was an extensive view across the valley from this viewpoint. Berg Teck could be easily identified on the horizon.
At the top of Bossler mountain there is an array of stone monoliths. Each of these has inscriptions sculpted into them. These are mostly single words, or simple phrases, the good and the bad, that epitomise the 20th century. Anything might be here, from the kitsch of the pop era, to the apocalyptic holocaust. A place to come and meditate on what has gone before, and, perhaps, what might come to be (partial word list).
From here we dropped a little until we came to a restaurant that was closed today. From here on the restaurant terrace was another excellent viewpoint, with a compass identifier (‘toposcope’) showing the various points of interest visible from this position.
We returned the short distance to the track we had climbed earlier, and descended along this until we once again reached Rolf and Gudrun's car. Rolf drove us the short distance to Deutsche Haus, Gruibigen, a restaurant that is well known in this area, and one that I had visited before. My previous visit was with John, Gisela, Simon and Helen, on my last visit to Germany. All the tables on the terrace were taken, so we selected a table inside.
I ordered roast beef in a creamy mushroom sauce, served with spatzle. The others ordered schnitzle. I, of course, ordered a dunkel beer (dark beer), my favourite German beer, whilst the others ordered radlers (shandies). It was an excellent (and large) meal. I asked the waitress for the bill, this was, unknowingly to me, intercepted by Rolf, who paid the bill. Apparently there was going to no way that I could return the hospitality of Rolf and Gudrun.
The Deutsche Haus has a small pond at the rear of the building. We took a little time out to view this. Benjamin was sat in his pram chair which Laura and I were carrying. He seemed very interested in the pond. And, when we later showed him donkeys, goats and ponies, he seemed even more interested in these.
We stopped briefly to pick up some various meats in a nearby butcher's shop. Rolf then drove us the short distance back down the hill to the Gruibigen brewery, as I wanted to pick up some beer. I bought some for Helen and Uwe, and wanted to buy some for Rolf, but he wouldn't allow me to do that. We then set off back to Goppingen where Rolf and Gudrun dropped me at the point where they had earlier picked me up.
This was the last that I would see of them, and Laura and Benjamin too, as I would shortly be returning to England. Laura said that it wouldn't be long before we were seeing each other again, and so wasn't too sad to be saying goodbye. We both said how much we had enjoyed the time of my stay in Germany, and my frequent visits by train to Laura and Benjamin in Altbach.
In the early evening, I said to Helen, I'd like to visit the C&A shop, as I wanted one of their bags, as C&A haven't been in Britain for several decades, and it would be cool to have one of their bags. Helen said she wanted to deposit some money in the bank, and would do that on the way. I said that I would buy Helen a summer skirt, as a thank you for having put me up these last few weeks.
I found a T-shirt and a casual shirt to buy, and Helen found herself a skirt, and a top too. We were both pleased with our purchases, and I got my C&A bag too. Perfect, as Little Helen would have said.
In the evening, Helen and I rustled up some soup and oven baked bread for our supper, before the 'ladies' conversation group (Tina, Sabina and Helga) came around as is usual on a Wednesday evening. I settled on my bed to read some more of my book. Later in the evening, Helen with the ladies went across to Tresor to join their husbands over a late night drink. There was a lovely sunset over Goppingen as can be seen in this view over the Marktplatz, taken from the balcony of Helen’s flat.
Helen's busy day, Thursday. And we were running short of food in the flat. And, also, I needed a card for Tobi, to thank him for lending me his bicycle to use during my stay here in Germany. I decided the best thing to do was for me to do a grocery shop (at Marktkauf), and pick up a card at the same time.
Helen sent a message to John and Gisela, who replied, saying they were well on their way to England, just a little short of Aachen.
I picked up a couple of Flamkuchen for lunch for Helen and I, which we ate with a bag of mixed salad. At last I appeared to have figured out how to use Helen's high-tech oven.
I spent the afternoon reading, finishing my holiday read, Jamaica Inn. It had proved a very good choice, providing an excellent holiday read. Daphne du Maurier was certainly one of our foremost story tellers.
I started preparing our supper around 7:30. Helen said that she'd be home about 8:30, but in fact appeared at 8:15. My timing worked out well, as our meal, salmon fillets in creamy sauce with brocoli and sweet potatoes, was nearly ready upon Helen's return. It proved to be an excellent meal that we both enjoyed, washed down with a bottle of Gruibinger beer. We had a prepared fruit salad for pudding. Plus, while watching a DVD film (Lethal Wepon #3), we tucked into the chocolates Helen had given me for Father's Day.
Helen had teaching to do through the day, and so I had a day to myself. Laura, Benjamin and Uwe were setting off for Heiterwang today, so they too weren't available. This meant the day was mine, to do with as I pleased. I did a little house tidying in Helen's flat first thing. Then the idea came to me that I could return Tobi's bike that he had leant me, taking it to him in Uhingen, and then make a walk of my return to Goppingen. That would make it a practical, useful, enjoyable day, complete with a good deal of exercise.
I had bought some sandwiches the day before, and they were in the fridge, so there was little need for preparation. I filled my bottle with water and was on my way. It is only a 6 kms easy cycle ride to Unhingen, following the course of the river Fils. The cycling was short and pleasant. There was no one home on reaching Uhingen, so I padlocked the bike to the railings by the door, and posted my card to Tobi through the letterbox.
I then dropped down into Unhingen and found a bench in the shade of a tree in the centre of town under which to eat my lunch. I then pondered my next move. I knew Schloss Filseck was a short distance away, as I'd visited it on a number of previous visits to Germany. I found it on my online map, and set off on my walk towards the palace. I looked out an old photo of Helen and Laura, taken in 2000, and sent it attached to a message asking them if they knew when it was taken.
I once again found a bench in shade and sat down and checked my map for a walk route back to Goppingen. There was a feasible route that, for the most part, held the high ground north of Goppingen. This would be new country for me to explore, so I set off on the next stage of my walk.
My walk route took me into Jebenhausen, where I crossed a busy road. As I departed the village I passed the local Waldecksee-Freibad, from where a lot of noise was emanating. It was a hot and humid afternoon, and although the sky was partly cloudy, it was the perfect afternoon for a dip in water. I was tempted, but had no swimming costume with me.
I realised that the route I was taking would mean I would connect with a path out of Goppingen I’d used on a couple of previous occasions. Rather than return the way I knew, I picked out another path that would first take me into woods and then drop me into Goppingen at the railway station. It wasn't long before I was back at Helen's flat. I got myself a glass of water and sat down to update my holiday diary.
Helen arrived home at 18:15, having completed her Helen Doron teaching. We chatted for a bit about our day. Helen said she hadn't heard from her Saturday ladies, so she was inclined to cancel. That meant there was no reason for either of us to be in Goppingen on Saturday. That being the case, we decided to pack the few items we needed for our holiday, run down the contents of the fridge, close the flat up, and catch a train to Geislingen. There was a train due at 19:29, and we decided to aim for that one. With a bit of rushing around, we made it to the station in good time.
Helen asked Simon to pick us up from the station, which he did. Simon asked what plans we had for our supper. We explained that we only had one sandwich to share between the three of us. Simon explained that there was a donor kebab outlet a short distance from the station, and we decided that was our best bet. And yes, they were very good.
After our supper, Simon drove us back to his place. Since John and Gisela were now in England, we had the place to ourselves, except that is for Mr Mouse (the cat), who, seeming pleased to see us, greeted us upon our arrival, and followed us into the flat.
Later that evening Simon and Helen went off to the Schlatt to make music. I stayed in the flat and did various computer file tidying and uploading to the Internet.
A quiet day before setting off for England. Helen prepared some jigsaw type games (Tangrams) for the children to play whilst on holiday. I had some time to spare and was feeling a little restless in the afternoon, so I took myself off on a little stroll around Geislingen. I walked with Simon down to the local filling station, as he wanted to pick up some supplies for our journey’s start later in the day.
We went around to Nici and Mirko's in the evening and had a pizza supper there. Then we all piled into their Volkswagen bus and set off on the drive to England. There was a little fog in the hills, but progress was good. I had put an Audible book, A Man Called Ove, on Helen's tablet, and was listening to that on the journey.
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