Synopsis: Time spent in Germany with Helen, Laura, Uwe, Simon, and other family & friends. Locations around Geislingen, Altbach and Göppingen. Days out with grandchildren and in the great outdoors.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo album – use link above to view album)
My daughter Helen and family stayed with me for three weeks in August. They returned to Germany in their car. I followed a few days later, on 22nd August, flying to Stuttgart. I stayed for three months, during which time my second grandchild, Niclas, was born to Laura and Uwe. This is a brief summary of a few of my activities during my stay.
27/08/2018: Helen and I walked the Löwenpfad "Geislinger Felsen-Tour" route today. Helen drove us the short distance from home in Geislingen to a start point near Helfenstein castle ruin where she parked the car. We soon reached Bismarckfelsen, a rock outcrop with fantastic views over the town of Geislingen. A steep drop into the valley and up the other side took us to Anwandfelsen, another rock outcrop with views, where we stopped for lunch. This photo shows us entering a steep-sided gorge named the Romantische Felsental [Romantic Rock Valley] near Eybach.
03/09/2018: Helen and I started out in the afternoon on this day. We first did a walk around Adelberg lake, a favourite haunt of ours. And then Helen drove us over to nearby Schwäbisch Gmünd, where we walked around the old quarter of the town.
Schwäbisch Gmünd is very picturesque, as can be seen from this photo, taken in the main town square. A children’s sandpit play area had been created here. This outshone something similar created in Göppingen.
09/09/2018: Today, Sunday, we all mucked in and helped out with the Helen Doron stand at the annual Göppingen Stadtfest. The weather was glorious, hot and sunny, and the crowds were out in force. Helen was one of the face-paint helpers, and was kept busy all day long. I was taking photos, shooting video and blowing up balloons. Later in the afternoon the children attending the school, along with Sylvie and Helen, would put on a short song and music performance in the town square.
We finished the day with pizza and cake back at the Helen Doron school. A tiring day, but lots of fun.
18/09/2018: The panorama below was taken on a cycle ride I undertook from the Westerheim camp site where I was kindly allowed to stay in Laura and Uwe’s caravan. The photo is taken from Raussenstein, a castle ruin dramatically perched atop a rock pinnacle. The views from here are amazing!
28/09/2018: Cycling a short distance of about 6 Kms from Geislingen I was able to reach Hausen where I parked my bike, making this the start point for my walk today. The photo here, taken well into my walk, shows a scene typical for this area. The hills rise steeply to plateaus all of which are of similar altitude. The valleys are like little oasis snugly encircled by these hills.
Note: I, once again, followed a designated walk route, link given in the description to this photo.
29/09/2018: I had some time to myself in the afternoon on this day, so I decided to walk up Bismarckfelsen once again. I discovered, looking at maps, a reasonably direct route from the town centre of Geislingen. Geislingen is nestled in tightly between a number of hills.
14/10/2018: A family outing, Helen, Simon, Liam, Little Helen, and myself, on a trip to Ludwigsburg to visit the Pumpkin Festival. It is said that this is the biggest pumpkin festival in the world. I can believe it. One would not have thought that pumpkins came in so many shapes, sizes and colours until one sees the pumpkins on display at this festival. There are also pumpkin animal sculptures like the one photographed here. There are also sand sculptures. It was a fun day out, at an event that was extremely popular.
17/11/2018: The weather was bright and sunny, and Helen, Simon and I were looking for something to do as afternoon came on. I suggested we might cycle to the Wasserberg Haus. I’d felt slightly cheated when having walked the Wasserberg-Runde (mentioned above), and not having come across this place. It was a bit of a climb out of Reichenbach im Täle, but once on the hillside, the cycling was easy and enjoyable. Sadly the place had been shut-up for a couple of weeks, so there was no tea and cake for us, which would have been welcome.
Finally, come 26th November, having just had my birthday in Germany for the first time, I was due to return home. The weather during my stay had been so kind, and everyone had been so welcoming. This had been my longest stay in Germany, at just over three months. I had had such a great time, but felt duty-bound to return home. I travelled home in the sure knowledge it wouldn’t be so very long before I returned to Germany.
P.S. My sports activity stats for 2018:
This shows my Runtastic stats as at the end of 2018, my fifth year of using the Runtastic app to record activities in my fitness regime. The four activities shown here are the primary activities that I like to keep track of. I also play badminton over the winter period. My two priority targets are 400 Kms for Running, and 2,000 Kms for cycling. I was particularly pleased with my 53 Kms of swimming this year, helped by my stay on the Alb Camping site, at Westerheim. I shall also make 50 Kms my annual swimming target n future.
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