Today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday! Herzliche Glückwünsche zum Geburtstag, liebe Ute!
After breakfast we left Peiting for our next destination on the "Romantische Straße".
We did make a few stops though. First stop: Landsberg am Lech
James had brought some info he had printed back home and it says that the town has preserved its full city wall but that the surprise is the Heilige-Kreuz-Kirche and we will be overwhelmed by the magnificent frescoes.
We didn't know where to go. On a Sunday morning everything was still very quiet. When we saw the above gate we decided to drive in and found a good parking spot right on the other side.
I don't know what made us walk in this direction but there seemed to be an open door at the end, we walked a hall way and ...
... came out the other side right at the church door. Not a soul around but the church was open. It just happened to be the one our information sheet had said was not to be missed.
The church was open, yes, but it had the huge wrought iron fence all across the back and those doors were locked (you can see that in the video).
It is very difficult to give a good idea about the church in photos. So, here is a VIDEO! (will be added later)
After seeing the church we went on our way again. We followed the sign rather then the GPS and drove through many little villages and fields and forests. A beautiful landscape.
Our next stop was Augsburg. It is a big town and we find a parkhouse close to city center. James' info talks about the splendid renaissance buildings and many fountains. We should see "den Goldenen Saal" in city hall.
Some of the frescoes are of emperors, heathen and Christian. To distinguish there are two inscriptions:
VENI VIDI VICI = I came, I saw, I conquered
VENI VIDI DEUS VICIT = I came, I saw, God conquered
James wondered why there had to be a fresco of a peeing boy?
Out of the windows a nice view, but lots of construction.
Augsburg is a big city and not so much geared towards tourists on foot. Back to the parking garage and back on our way through a city gate. Street constructions sent us different ways and the GPS voice had to recalculate a lot.
Next stop: Harburg
Now this is a town anybody could fall in love with. I certainly did. The info sheet: Harburg is a pleasant town with narrow cobblestone streets and a historic bridge, but most famous attraction is Harburg Castle, picturesque on a cliff above the village. For 900 years the castle has been owned by the royal family Oettingen-Wallerstein and it grew from a fortress into a pleasant residential palace. Michael Jackson tried unsuccessfully to buy Burg Harburg.
We found our way to the city center and found under roof free parking. A short walk to the famous bridge with lots to see all the time. A really charming town.
See the terrace on the right behind the green boat? That's were we had a light lunch. Salad from a salad buffet, bread, cheese and ham. Water for me and a beer for James. I offered to take a turn driving.
Sitting on the terrace.
Back to the car.
And to the castle.
We decided to do the guided tour. Had to wait but not very long. The chapel/church was the first we saw but no photos allowed which was a shame because it was very unusual. This is the outside from the walkway along the defence walls.
The guide was GREAT. He talked so naturally about the things he knew rather then reciting something.
He explained the four different ways of defence. Here is the "wooden eye" from which the German saying "Holzauge sei wachsam" kommt. He knew many such sayings which were all relevant to what we saw like "auf den Hund gekommen" and "auf die hohe Kante legen".
The prison.
The cafe where we went later.
The walkway also had little bridges into different buildings. Unfortunately sometimes photos were not allowed.
Great view from the look-outs.
We "earned" a large milk coffee.
And exit!
And on the road again. Enough stops. Destination Feuchtwangen, Hotel Greifen Post. There it is: the pinkish-orange one. Actually, the yellow one is part of it too with an indoor pool and sauna etc.
The hotel is very nice and the room too including the bathroom with a proper shower. No danger of me breaking my neck this time. The hotel has many nooks and crannies and lots of lovely antique decorations. I will have to restrain myself from picture taking.
The little bridge connecting the houses.
On the way to dinner: I like this fountain.
Dinner. A nice salad first. I noticed that Bavaria seems to be a meat-and-potato place. Not so much salad or veggies.
Sauerbraten with potato dumplings for me. Liver and onions for James. The dumplings (Klöße) are good but not like my mother's were ... or cousin Eva's more recently.
View from our hotel window:
What do I spy?
A stork! Haven't seen one since last May in Galacia, Spain.
Internet is a challenge here. And that sentence needs !!!!!!
The dinner place had W-LAN but you had to go to the cashier lady, fill out a form and then you got a printed little note. James and I both had to do it separately. I wanted (besides checking whether there is a word from the girls) let my iPhone sync the photos to iCloud. Try to be efficient and make use of time. It did do some.
In the hotel at check-in we had received a little piece of paper just like it. What we didn't realize is that each of our gadgets needs it's own little piece of paper. OMG. Besides all that it is very unreliable and keeps throwing us off. James and I take turns or warn before we start anything.
We do have a glass of Trollinger red wine (we had bought at a Rewe somewhere) before we turn out the lights.
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That church is astoundingly beautiful. But can you imagine sitting in it every Sunday and wandering around in it alone doing the little chores we do at St. Martin’s. I can’t see it feeling like “my church” in the way I like to do!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the peeing boy art. Could be all the beer drinking that goes on in Germany. ;-)
Harburg is so charming. Like a storybook. And – mmmmmm…. sauerbraten with potato dumplings.