Part 2
- Schwäbisch Hall
I went into the TI in Schwäbisch
Hall and asked for help in finding accommodations. I really wanted to stay at a zimmer, but it was the middle of
the afternoon and I was tired and didn't want to hunt. The rather un-helpful lady behind the desk just handed me
a book and told me to look through it and then she would call for me to see if there were any rooms available.
She then promptly walked off and never returned. I looked through the book and found a hotel right on the square
which was within a price range I was willing to pay - DM 88 - DM 120 for a single room. I preferred not to pay
quite that much, but it was very reasonable. Since the lady in the TI office never came back, I asked someone else
there for help. She said she could call for me, but since the hotel was just next door I could walk over there,
which I did.
I had to wait quite some time before I could get any help at the reception desk - there was a large group of people
(tour group maybe) in the dining room and everyone was busy with that. Finally a young girl came to help, but she
didn't have much more English than I do German, so she called the owner, who was a delightful little lady with
dyed red hair and a rhinestone glued on the lens of her glasses. They showed me two rooms; one was a teeny tiny
single room for about DM 89 per night and another huge double room for about DM 120 night. I was ready to settle
for the huge double, when I looked out the window and saw that the view was of the roof. So I asked if they had
a room with a better view. They then took me to the second floor (our 3rd floor) and showed me room #201 and I
knew I was hooked. It was a beautiful double room with tons of windows that overlooked the whole town square and
the beautiful St. Michael's Church right next door. It was only DM8 more than the double room with the yucky view
- so what's $4 when you can have that sort of view!
I told them I would only stay 1 or 2 nights and they said there was only 1 room available for the next night and
I would need to check the following morning to see if it was still available.
They told me there was parking in front of the hotel, so I moved my car only to discover that the last empty spaces
had been filled during the short time it took me to get to my car. I parked in a spot that had a huge round circle
with an "X" in the middle of it. I thought I could stay there long enough to unload my luggage. I asked
one of the young ladies who worked at the hotel where I could park the car since I was in an illegal spot. She
said there was parking just on the other side of the church. I was unable to drive through the church's lot, so
I followed the road down and around and down and around getting more and more concerned about ever being able to
find my way back. I just kept in mind what direction I had come from. Finally, I came back to the main road and
tried again. Once again I was unable to get to the other side of the church (road construction - don't you just
love it) and once again, I drove down and around and down and around. That time, I just parked at a meter and found
the owner of the hotel and asked her where to park. She pointed to the big round circle with the "X"
in it that I had just left several "downs and arounds" ago. I told her I would get the car and hoped
no one grabbed the space before I got back. She graciously had one of the young men who worked at the hotel stand
in the spot and not let anyone else park there until I could drive back. Hotel is:
Hotel Goldener Adler
Am Markt 11
Familie Ganz
74523 Schwäbisch Hall
Tel - 0791/6168 ~ Fax - 0791/7315
Email - GoldenerAdler.SHA@t-online.de
3 Single rooms (DM 88 - 120) ~ 18 double rooms (DM 148 - 195)
After unloading my luggage at the hotel and getting the car parked, I decided to go into St. Michael's Church, which is right next door to the hotel. It is really a beautiful church and has one of the prettiest frescoes of the crucifixion I have seen. It's a large wood carved one with each character hand painted. The figures are very life-like, though not life-size.
- - - - - 
After spending some time in the church, I walked around the town and just fell in love with it. It is full of wonderful old half-timbered buildings. There is a river, but can't remember which one, that runs through the town. It is just beautifully picturesque.
- - 
I decided that when I left Schwäbisch
Hall I would need to buy gas for the car so set out to find out how to open the door of the gas tank. I tried pushing
on it and it wouldn't open. I looked for a release inside the car but couldn't find one. So I decide to try again
later.
I was extremely hungry at the end of the afternoon since I had not taken time to eat lunch. I decided to eat in
the hotel's restaurant, but had to wait about 30 minutes before it opened. When it finally opened, they gave me
a menu and then just never bothered to come back. I waited and waited and waited for someone to take my order.
There were a couple of people already in the restaurant who were served and finished their meals and I still had
not been waited on. I finally, in frustration, asked one of the waitresses who had been in the room the whole time,
if she would please take my order. I ordered a cheese spätzle and it really wasn't very good and I couldn't
eat all of it. I decided that apple strudel sounded good, and ordered that for dessert. Big mistake! The pastry
tasted like a wet noodle and was soggy. So that evening I made a really bad choice of restaurants and what to order.
After dinner, I retired to my room since I was tired and was also beginning to get a cold and sore throat.
The next morning I packed up my luggage and took some things out to my car anticipating checking out of the hotel
and driving further south. I also took time to see if I could get the gas tank door open, but once again had no
luck.
After breakfast, the hotel's owner asked me if I wanted to stay another night and I explained that I thought I
would not be able to stay another night. She said, no, they did have one room left and I could have it. I thought
about it for a few minutes and decided that it would be nice to have a little more time in such a lovely town.
So I unpacked the car and settled in for another day. Incidentally, they have the huge breakfast buffet which is
found all over Germany. However, in this case, they also offer eggs anyway you want them prepared. I ordered scrambled
and got a huge plate, more than I could eat.
That day was extremely cold and rainy and it was lucky that I had packed a wool jacket. However, I really needed
a sweater underneath the jacket because the wind was blowing and the cold just cut right through you. I just trudged
along freezing to death and wandered around town. I had only taken one pair of navy slacks with me and the others
I had taken were light colors. With all the rain (it rained in Paris, too), I continued to wear the navy slacks
more than the others to avoid getting mud stains on the back of my light colored slacks. I decided that I couldn't
wear the same pair of slacks for the whole trip and should buy another pair. I set off to find a pair that was
dark in color but not expensive. That wasn't as easy as I had thought. I finally found a store and purchased some
dark slacks.
- 
- 
I had enjoyed walking around parts of the town that I didn't have a chance to see the day before. By 4:00 in the afternoon, I was tired and decided to head back to the hotel to drop off my package and rest for a little while. When I got to the market square, I noticed many people gathering around and the police were out in abundance, which seemed a little strange. The hotel owner was standing out front and I asked her what was going on. She said German Chancellor Schroeder would be arriving at 4:30 and I should get his picture. I noticed a number of people in the square who were wearing the beautiful traditional costumes of the area and so I walked over to take some pictures of them.
In a few minutes, the people in the square
very orderly lined up along the way making a pathway. Mind you, no one had prompted them to do this, they are just
such polite, orderly people that it was a natural occurrence. (Just try getting a group of Americans to do that!)
Shortly Chancellor Schroeder arrived and started doing the politician "glad handing" along the pathway
that had been formed. Somehow, I had managed to be on the front row of the side where he was walking. I decided
that I didn't want to waste my film taking his picture, but since I was right there I would at least shake his
hand. I started to tell him that George "Dubya" said hello, but decided against it. :o)
I noticed that he had that flashy smile pasted on his face just like every other politician on earth. I wondered
if he doesn't get tired of having to smile and shake hands with so many people along the way. However, it comes
with the territory and they must realize that's part of it when running for public office.
After he went inside the rathaus, I decided that was a dumb decision not to take his picture, and I would try to
do so when he came back out. His cars were parked right in front of my hotel, so I went over by them (a Mercedes,
a BMW, and an Audi - guess he had to be politically correct in having one of each) thinking that there was no way
I could miss him when he returned to his car. Well, I was wrong. When he came out of the rathaus he went in another
direction and his chauffeurs drove off in the cars.
I decided to see if I couldn't find where he was and get that picture that I so dumbly decided not to take earlier.
I wandered through town but saw nothing that would indicate he was anywhere near. Just as I decided to go back
to the hotel, there was one last pathway that seemed promising. That's where I saw many people standing, including
those in the traditional clothing.
One of the young ladies in the group had a wooden
rooster in her arms and I asked what the significance of that was. Her English was limited so she had one of the
men who spoke English explain it to me. A long time ago there was a salt mine in town which provided the main livelihood
for the local people. One night a rooster at the mine began crowing in the middle of the night and continued to
do so without stop. The man who ran the mine woke up and discovered a fire. The rooster had saved his life and
they were able to put out the fire before it destroyed everything. In gratitude, every year he provided a huge
cake to the town's people to commemorate the occasion. They have continued this tradition through the years. It
was to be held about a week after I left, so I didn't get to see it.
I talked with the people for a while and learned that Chancellor Schroeder was there for the opening of a new playhouse.
It appeared that it would be some time before he came out, so I left. I grabbed something to eat and went back
to the hotel for the evening. My throat still hurt and I was still fighting a cold, so it would mean an early night.
Before going to bed that night, I went back out to the car to see if I could figure out how to open the gas tank.
I tried again to push the door to get it to open with no luck. I looked all through the car, in the glove compartment,
under the dash, everywhere, but couldn't find a release. I finally gave up and decided I would just have to ask
someone at a service station for help - or go into a Mercedes dealership and have them show me how. With that,
it was off to my room and to bed.
Before turning in for the night, I asked if it would be possible to stay at the hotel one more night, but they
said they were completely booked for the next night, but I should check in the morning to see if there had been
a cancellation.
The next morning there were no cancellations, so I sadly packed the car and headed off in the direction of Nördlingen,
but not without checking first to see if I could find out how to open the door to the gas tank, still no luck.
