Part 2

We left Frankfurt on Friday after checking out of, and getting ripped off by the Inter-Continental Hotel -- they charged me for an extra day parking (on a calendar day rather than a 24 hour day) and charged by the minute for outside telephone use, so I paid a fortune -- not really but about $30 - $40 for using he phone to access the internet while I was there - not to mention the roaming or international charge by my isp (I think its going to run about $100). I had been sent a couple of huge files -- over 10 megs -- and I had to go into my server and eliminate them as I couldn't take the time, and money, to download them in the hotel --- so that took a lot of time as I kept getting knocked off. And the hotel tried to charge for breakfast (included in my rate) and the like --- glad to be gone from there and cross them off my list. My hosts sent me a plant and apologies -- and crossed the hotel off THEIR list.

Though we took a few wrong turns getting out of Frankfurt (why, I don't know, we'd done that many times -- I'll blame it on my navigator, Susan -- uh oh -- watch out for incoming flack), working with three maps, and after stopping at House of 1000 Clocks at Triberg -- we only got there for 15 minutes before they closed (think God was trying to tell me I didn't need a cuckoo clock - but, as you will see, we didn't listen) -- we finally found Urach and the Zum Sternen without problems (amazing). My wonder was how Tooooobah ever found it...

When we got there, Tina (owner) immediately took me to the computer and connected me to the AOL for a message from Bob in Heidelberg that he was coming down the next day. She was very vivacious and seemed genuinely glad to see us. Then she went out to the theater in Furtwangen with friends so we didn't see her again til the next day. Rudi (owner) was great and spoke enough English so we were able to get along fine. Marina (Tina and Rudi's daughter) had a little friend over and they made us a "present" but Rudi sort of brushed them off (we were talking about something) just as they were giving it to us and they put it aside, and we never got the present. Maria (Rudi's mother) was there and we managed to communicate a bit as well. Marina brought out the Urach book with all the history of each house in the town, genealogy, births, deaths, and the like -- the Bärmann's line goes back to the previous owners of the gasthaus.

Rudi showed us the "Stammtisch book" We looked thru it and left a message (Never did leave the money for the 'next' drink, so I owe for that one). The Stammtisch certificate was conspicuously posted. We had elected to stay at the "Mother Ship" (DM60 double, with breakfast) so after a couple hours saying hello and getting acquainted, Rudi showed us to our upstairs room. It was quite nice... There was a sink in the room and the toilet and the shower (separate rooms) were across the hall. Rudi's (and maybe Tina's) motorcycle gear and helmet was in the closet and we got the feeling it was a room normally used by the family. ...We found out later that the room had belonged to Tina's son and was still being readied for use as a Zimmer Frei.

We went for a walk to the church before dinner. SOOO impressed. Rudi pointed out the church was built in 1275!! My question was WHY??? Why was such a magnificent church built in such a remote/small town area? Apparently, it had been built for the well-to-do and the area was at one time quite prosperous. At least that was what I gathered. Saw Fritz's grave (Rudi's father).

We returned and then ordered dinner off the menu. Rudi fixed as good a meal as I had in Germany - after a few beers, of course. Susan had a pork medallion dish with mushrooms and sauce, and I had a veal cordon bleu -- quite good, with spatlese noodles.. Y'know -- Rudi's a good chef - didn't ask him where he learned his craft!! We were amazed at the depth of the menu for such a small place.

We watched with amusement as the Stammtisch table (we were not at it) slowly filled during the night -- one person would wander in, then another, then another -- each "pulling up a chair at the table" as Ben puts it -- and Rudi drawing a beer, in a mug, for each. One got the idea of what the Stammtisch in a town like Urach is all about. It didn't happen on Saturday night but apparently Friday is THE night for the Stammtisch, and I think he said Thursday was also a good one.

After a sleepless night (I don't do well the first night of a new bed -- and this one was HARD), I got up at 7:30 and took a walk around. It was drizzly at first but cleared as I walked away from Urach and across the street and up the hill on the other side to get some good photos (and to rest a bit from the brisk hike). It was spectacular. I get euphoric on such walks and want to keep walking, but I had told Rudi we'd eat breakfast at 9 so I had to return and shower and get ready for a great breakfast, including Rudi's scrambled eggs and bacon (mixed together). And great coffee. And lots of it.

Tina's son (by a previous marriage), the baby's mother and their new baby son (born in January) had come in from Switzerland to attend a family first communion/confirmation, so we got to meet them and Susan got to play with the baby -- she's a natural grandmother. And Tina was there, so we had a great time getting acquainted. The Bärmanns were the host for numerous family members for the event the next day.

We were to meet Bob and Chuck and Margie (Charbown) about 1 so we decided to take a ride into Triberg to "look at the clocks." Along the way, we stopped at the falls. Wonderful. Took some photos -- surprised Susan's vertigo didn't create a problem on the bridges -- in the rain and drizzle -- it was raining a bit and the falls created drizzle anyway -- but she did fine. We got there just as a couple of tour buses. Things got crowded, and with the rain, we didn't spend much time there. But the falls were really nice to see and I’d recommend them highly if in the area.

In Triberg, we went to the downtown House of 1000 clocks -(they have 3 stores)- this time there was plenty of time (too bad, we had enough time to buy one). I'm sure you know --- we bought a clock, among other things. I honestly had not come to buy a clock (Sue says, "yeah, tell me another story"), but we not only bought one, we "moved up" and bought an 8 day farmhouse type with music, all kinds of animation, etc. The feature Susan liked was the automatic shut-off of the cuckoo during the evening. The saleswoman was extremely helpful, professional, not obtrusive, but ever present. They are shipping it, along with a few other things we bought. Oh well, it's only money and it will be a legacy to my daughter. The VAT (DM107) we didn't have to pay - more than covered the shipping (DM99), tho we'll probably have to pay duties. We had to bring the weights, tho, all 4500 grams (about 10 pounds) home with us since it would have added a great deal to the shipping. Believe me, 10 pounds feels a LOT more than that.

When we got back near to Urach, we were behind a Ford Focus. I said "wouldn't it be funny if it is Charbown?" Turns out it was Bob. Chuck and Margie came in about 15 minutes before -- and Chuck was already ahead of me in beers! I did my best to catch up, tho. Y'know, I think virtually all my water was the water in beer or in coffee while I was in Germany. I won't get into the ramifications of that.

We ordered lunch, again from the menu -- Sue and I had "Toast Italiano." It was basically toast with cheese and a sauce on top -- and a salad. Great. They had "toast" in about 15 versions.

We had a good time chatting with Bob and with Chuck and Margie. They are great folks. Didn't know their backgrounds -- thought both were retired military, but neither. I took a few photos

and had a few others taken and was struck with the fact we had so much in common, and that "corpulent men" seemed to fit in so well in the Stammtisch! And believe me, among the three of us, there was sufficient corpulence!

Chuck and Margie were going to stay on Saturday and Sunday and were tired, so when Bob had to leave, Sue and I took off for some sightseeing. We were told about the "witches hole" -- Hexenlochmühle -- near Neukirch. There were a couple of "good" ways to go and one REALLY backroad -- guess which I took. The road was so twisty, and one lane, that you could see your tail as you made the tight turns, and often sheer drops on one side and the mountain on the other..

- - -

We started high and twisted and turned down to the valley. We met up with only one vehicle (thank goodness), of all things, a tour bus!! I am sure they were on the wrong road. Well, an impasse! They pulled as far to the right as they dared without falling off the mountain. And I pulled as far to my right as I could without running into the mountain. I was off the road and partially in a ditch. As the ditch deepened, I had to try and get my wheels back up on the road, or else back up. Yep! I elected to try and pass the bus. And I did with about a half inch to spare, literally! There was a Volvo behind me and they were encouraged to try the same thing. As they were bigger than me --- well, I never saw them again! I often wonder who backed up and how far.

Hexenloch is a tourist spot with a double water wheel driving a saw for lumber -- and a huge gift shop, sandwich shop, and a meat market (some GREAT meat -- but I couldn't bring any home).

Well, we resisted buying anything (Susan's idea) and then proceeded toward Titisee.

We stopped many times to take magnificent photos. Again, with so many wonderful spots to choose from, I again wondered how Tooooobah decided on Urach and the Zum Sternen.

We went to Titisee but didn't spend much time as we got there late and most of the stores were closed -- maybe next time. Went the scenic route (another one) back to Urach. Great views -- took over 200 pics altogether. Used up all my disk space.

When we got to Urach -- there is a little larger Urach (I guess the REAL village) a little down the road and that is where the post office is -- or at least I think that is the story, we looked around and explored some more. When we got back to the Sternen, it was getting close to dinner time and we sat with Chuck and Margie and got more acquainted, had more beer, and took some photos. We got to know Martina very well (she REALLY took to Margie) and Queen Esmarelda (the cat). Chuck and I had our promised ceremonial beef steak to defy those concerned with the mad cow disease -- both reasoning it would be 20 or more years before it manifested itself and ……. Well, you know … At that point, who cares? Actually, it was probably Argentinian beef anyway. In any event, we had no fears. Next time I’ll stick with the pork and veal dishes tho, not of fear of MCD but just for flavor..

Not too many others wandered in that nite and the family was busy getting the place ready for the First Communion party the next day.

The next morning, I walked into the larger part of the village (where the PO is) and it started raining -- oh well, getting drenched was no real problem as I had on my nylon walking suit. And after a great breakfast, and some more "visiting" and getting to know the family more (The Bärmann's relatives were coming in and they were geared up for the party - as well as many locals coming in for a morning beer!) and Chuck and Margie, we packed up and got our bill. Two nights lodging, two breakfasts, two dinners, and one lunch, and who knows how many beers, came to DM 297 -- about $136. How bout that!! My room in the InterContinental in Frankfurt was $200 or so - per night!

After some more photos and near-tearful goodbyes, we departed on Sunday morning to go on our way back to Frankfurt (Chuck and Margie stayed over Sunday nite). We went over to Vöhrenbach and then to Villingen, taking a lot of photos along the way. We purposefully chose the SLOW backroads for the scenery.

Villingen had one of those great churches. The town had its wall around the old and near old section. The church had magnificent bronze cast doors with raised scenes from the bible.

The organ was magnificent, as was the alter.. There was a large fountain outside that had a little boy doing his thing a la the one in Brussels.

The church was worth the stop. Nothing was open tho, except restaurants, so we loaded up and headed up the mountains and valleys. We went thru Rottweil and Horb and Nagold, Calw, and to Pforzheim. The trip on the backroads and an occasional detour to even more remote high mountain areas was a lot of fun.

Was VERY disappointed in Pforzheim. Large city and we didn't find anything to see or any indication of an Altstadt -- maybe we were in the wrong section of town. We didn't stop in a lot of places, thinking we'd save that for Pforzheim. What did I miss???? We did stop in a Pforzheim before the "real" one, and take some pics of a waterfall area from an old bridge over the road, probably part of an original wall. But that was it for the old part.

Well, to bring this to a close, we then got on the autobahn and made a beeline for Langen, our last nite's destination, and the Achat hotel in the high-tech industrial park. It had been 4 years since we stayed there and was AMAZED at the growth. What had once been in the sticks was now in a crowded office and light industry park. We went to the Steigenberger Maxx hotel up the street for dinner (not much open in the area) and I had what was supposed to be an "American Cheeseburger". It LOOKED great but the meat was dense, like a fine ground meatloaf with lots of filler and didn't have a lot of taste. When I asked for ketchup for the French fries, what they brought reminded me of tomato puree or slightly diluted tomato paste. But the room in the Achat was great and the breakfast super.

The next day we breezed to the airport 9 km away, breezed into the rental car return. Check-in was easiest I had ever had and, ultimately, the flight was terrific. Light crowd so we moved to a 3 seat row with no one in the middle and had some room to stretch. Though a LONG flight, we were 45 minutes early getting to Charlotte, and ultimately 10 minutes early to Greenville -- and our bags came out first. Wonder of wonders.

Well that's it, folks. Had a great time -- I'd do it again in a heartbeat (minus the fall, of course).