Part 3
- Oberstdorf
I stopped for some photo ops in Dinkelsbühl, but
decided not to stay.
- - -
- 
When I arrived in Nördlingen, I was
unable to find a place to park. The town was really busy and I was not feeling very good - still fighting that
sore throat and cold. Therefore, I continued heading south toward Oberstdorf.
The drive to Oberstdorf is very pretty and I enjoyed it a lot. The weather was wonderful with blue skies and warm
temperatures. It never rained again after I bought the dark slacks. Maybe I should have bought them sooner.
I parked in a large parking lot near the center of Oberstdorf and headed off to find the Tourist Information Office.
By this time it was 3:00 on Saturday afternoon and I was concerned that they might have closed at noon. The saints
be praised. They were still open and would be until 6:00. They gave me the names of three different places for
accommodations which were very inexpensive. I found the first one rather quickly, but it didn't appear to have
a good view of the mountains. If I was going to stay in a mountain town, I wanted a view. So off I went in search
for the second one. After winding around and getting lost a few times, I finally located it and eliminated it immediately.
It was upstairs over a crowded, busy, noisy bar - and that was the middle of the afternoon. I can't imagine how
noisy it would be at night. I went in search for the third place and it was equally unappealing, so back I went
to the first place, thinking that maybe a view wasn't so important after all. However, no one was at home to show
me the room, so I returned to the TI office.
They could not have been more delightful and helpful. I was so tired and frustrated by the time I returned that
they went out of their way to help, but then they had done that when I first arrived, too. I explained that I had
gotten lost many times trying to find their office again and the places they sent me to.
They gave me the names of 3 more places and showed me on the map how to find them. I found Oberstdorf to be a very
confusing town. The streets wind around in circles it seems, and I stayed lost most of the time I was there. I
learned quickly though to look for the steeple of the church in the middle of the town. When I saw that, I could
find my way back to whatever I was looking for.
The lady at the TI office told me to drive to the hotel she particularly recommended because it would be easier
than walking. She showed me on the map and explained how to get there. It sounded so simple. I went back to my
car and had to pay for my parking at an automatic pay box. I figured out how much I thought I owed and checked
to see if I had that much change, which I did. So I inserted my parking ticket and the machine told me how much
I owed, which was more than I had figured. Unfortunately as I inserted the coins, I realized I was 50 pfenning
short. That machine is unforgiving and wouldn't return my coins or my ticket and I was stuck. I couldn't get out
without the ticket and I couldn't get the ticket without another 50 pfenning. I was in a fine pickle! After a few
minutes a young couple walked up and he had change so I could finish paying for my parking and retrieve my car
- thank heavens.
I got in the car and headed off for the promised hotel. At first it was easy to follow the directions I had been
given but soon it appeared I was on the wrong road and I couldn't find the land marks that had been given to me.
I pulled over to the side of the street, all the time yelling "Bill & Suzie, where are you", to check
the map and get my bearings. Suddenly a lady came rushing up to me and excitedly pointed behind me. I was in a
bus parking spot and was about to be run over. I quickly started my car and drove about another block and saw a
parking lot. I pulled into it thinking I could look at the map in the safety of the lot. When I pulled in, I saw
the hotel I was hunting right there in front of me. I was so glad, because I was extremely tired and frustrated
and didn't want to hunt any more.
The lady in the hotel said they didn't have any rooms for the price the TI had told me. (Later the next day I returned
to the TI office and they were very angry I had been told that. They offered to call the hotel about it, but I
said no. I felt I got a fair price for the room I rented, as you will see if you read further.) They showed me
a couple of rooms, but they didn't have views of the Alps, much less a balcony. So I asked if they had a room with
a balcony and view. They took me into a beautiful large room with a huge balcony overlooking the mountains to the
south. I was sold. I took the room though it was more than I wanted to pay. It was about $70 a night for the room.
(My budget was going into a crunch about that time after paying that much the two previous nights, too.)
Hotel (Garni)
Kappeler-Haus
Franz Jäger
Am Seeler 2
87561 Oberstdorf
Tel - 08322/96860 ~ Fax - 08322/968613
Email - info@kappeler-haus.de
Singles - 102 DM ~ Doubles - 190 DM
Rooms with bath/shower/toilet, phone, TV
Parking area, Garage, Elevator, Swimming Pool
Breakfast Buffet, Café-terrace
The hotel had recently been remodeled and the rooms were extremely nice, large and immaculately clean. The bathroom
was just wonderful with a great shower and tiled throughout.
After checking into the hotel, I tried again to figure out how to open the gas tank door on my car without any
success and then walked around town some more trying to get my bearings. Oberstdorf is very much a tourist town
with lots and lots of shops. About the only thing to do there is shop, ski (but it wasn't skiing season), or hike.
Since I still wasn't feeling very well, hiking was out.
I had dinner at the Wienerwald, which was located next door to the hotel. I knew if I stayed that close to the
hotel, I wouldn't get lost. After dinner, I once again tried to get the door to the gas cap opened, and with no
luck.
I finally gave up and went to my room. I sat out on the balcony and read until it became too dark to see. Then
I turned in for the night.
The next day was Sunday and everything
was closed. I walked around and did some window shopping. I went back to the hotel and curled up in a chaise lounge
out on the balcony under a down comforter which I took from the bed. I read for a while and then fell asleep for
a couple of hours. I think I really needed that rest. I felt a lot better afterwards and my sore throat and the
cold started to clear up.
Later in the day, I took a walk and made a bunch of photos.
- - -
- - 
I still wasn't up to doing any hiking,
so just took it easy for most of the day. I was at last starting to relax from the stress which I'd been under
at work for some time.
I decided that I simply had to find out how to open the door to the gas tank. I pulled out the car's manual and
tried to find how to open it, but wasn't able to find anything in there. Once again, I looked all through the car
for a release, but simply could not find one. This was getting serious because I knew one tank of gas would not
last the whole trip.
It was another early night of reading and going to bed early.
I had decided to do my shopping in Oberstdorf. I needed to pick up thank you gifts for the lady who took care of
my place while I was gone. I also wanted to buy a wedding present and some birthday gifts. I did a lot of looking,
but almost no buying. It's cheaper that way.
This evening I took time to walk around some of the little back roads around the area and see what they offered.
Once you get away from all the shops and tourists, Oberstdorf is a nice little town, though I'm not sure I would
choose to return there for a stay.
I decided I simply must find out how to open the door to the gas tank and went to the car to get the manual and
see if I couldn't pull out my German dictionary and find something that would tell me how to do it. It was getting
to be a real challenge to me, one which I was determined to figure out without going to a Mercedes dealership.
I went down to the car and unlocked it and just as I was reaching into the glove compartment for the manual, an
older couple came walking up. I decided they looked like Mercedes or BMW drivers so I asked them if they could
help me. He smiled, walked over to my car and gave the gas door a little push and much to my amazement it opened
right up. I was absolutely flabbergasted because I had pushed on that dumb thing until I was blue in the face and
it wouldn't open for me. Later I realized that all the times I pushed on it, the car was locked. When he pushed
on it, I had just unlocked the car. The door will only open if the car is unlocked. I gratefully thanked him and
after a good laugh, he and his wife walked on. Can you imagine how embarrassed I was? (By the way, I was right.
They drive a BMW.)
The next morning, when checking out of the hotel, I had them give me directions on how to get to the main road
out of town. They marked it on a map for me, and it sounded easy. (We've been through this before haven't we?)
When I drove into a pasture and was looking a cow in the eyes, it became apparent that some turns are indeed wrong
turns. I turned around and while I never did find the street they told me about, there was a sign directing me
to a nearby town which was on my way. Eventually I found the road I needed and after buying gas - ah, how sweet
it is - it was on toward Meersburg.
