Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände…

… is quite a mouthful but it was where tram 8 took us today!

The Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds is a 12 square kilometre in the south east of Nuremberg where the Nuremberg rallies were held annually from 1933 following the rise of the Nazi party.

Due to some petrolheads having a race weekend at Norisring which is a circuit that uses some of those 12 square kilometres we were unable to see some of the main areas of interest - given the petrolheads were running a round of the DTM (German Touring Car championship a la Liam Lawson) I guess they had an entitlement to encroach on our day!

The Documentation Centre itself is an exhibition highlighting the rallies from 1933 through to the prisoner camps that were set up on the rally grounds.

Interestingly the Yanks choose to hold the war crimes trials in Nuremberg (not at this site) as a show to Nurembergers and wider Germany that the Nazis had well and truly been defeated.

Much like Auschwitz the exhibition is thought provoking and again makes one wonder how could men do this to other men.

There were some old photos showing the numbers that attended these rallies

It is easy to imagine the crowds getting wound up when Hitler spoke (or Mr Hitler as the doorman to the Centre referred to him when he was speaking with me).

On the same site is the Concert Hall which is a huge building 

and the only other highlight that we saw was the Große Straße, (Mr) Hitlers Great Road, which was the Central axis of the rally grounds

Great it certainly is and runs for 1.5kms and is 60 metres wide. 60,000 granite slabs were laid and the road was deliberately aligned with the Imperial Palace in the Aldstadt to create a symbolic link between Nuremberg as the City of Imperial powers and Nuremberg as the City of the Party Rallies.

There is a very good YouTube video that gives visuals of the whole area including those areas that we never got to see!

If interested click here

Central to the whole area are 2 lakes which were well used and tranquil spots

even if the noise from the car racing caused a family of ducks to escape it by crossing the Great Road from one lake to another - they have obviously done the trek before as each of them ducked under the barrier tape.

An enjoyable visit if not a little disappointing because of the no go areas.

Some further observations

 Why do you always hear songs sung in English when English is not the mother tongue?

 It takes some getting used to having a dog sit alongside you in the breakfast room at the hotel

 Is Germany a religious community - it would seem so as everyday in Nuremberg there are individuals preaching in the square and they attract a reasonable crowd of listeners. Also Jehovah Witness folk are on the street in all the cities (& even villages) we have visited every day

It makes a real difference having a transport system that is reliable and frequent 

Kms driven to date 1611

Kms walked to date 225.9

Spent on Diesel €65

Highest price paid to date for diesel €1.479 Freiburg

Lowest price paid to date for diesel €1.479 Freiburg

Spent on tolls €0

 

Imperial Castle

On our list today was a visit to the Imperial Castle which sits high above the City and was constructed in around 1200 though it underwent some reconstruction following damage sustained in the Second World War.

During the Middle Ages it was one of the most important imperial palaces in the Holy Roman Empire. For centuries it stood at the heart of European history and was a secure base and prestigious residence for the Empire’s head of state, the Kaiser.

Apart from the views there are three aspects to the visit- the palace itself with the Imperial museum,  the Sinwell Tower and the Deep Well.

Approaching the castle

Within its walls

Views across the city

From the museum 

The Sinwell Tower, situated in the outer Bailey, was the Keep used for defensive purposes, though it had an element of status. It was built in the late 13th century and added to in the 1569s

The tower on the left is the Sinwell

To get to the viewing deck one climbs 111 steps (Sherry counted them) and the photo below looks up the tower from the bottom 

The Deep Well is at the centre of the outer bailey and was created to provide an independent water supply for the Castle. The shaft goes down 44.7m (it fluctuates with the water level) into the castle rock. To appreciate its depth the guide poured some water into it and from the time he did that until you heard the water hit the surface below was approximately 6 secs.

When divers cleaned the well out in 2012 the above are some of the items retrieved - includes a pair of sunglasses!!

A worthwhile visit!

We are not ones to take food photos but did so of our lunch today

Avocado, tomatoes, greens, red peppers and pomegranate seeds on lovely artisan rye bread!

Thank you Ralph for your suggestion re Sherry’s Kathmandu security system activator - I guess it pays to follow the clear, simple instructions 

Kms driven to date 1611

Kms walked to date 214.1

Spend on diesel €65

Spend on tolls €0

A day of mishaps

Today was a day where if it could have gone askew then it did!!

We relocated from Ulm to Nuremberg today and leaving Ulm should have been easy but we made it less so.

Coming out of our hotel carpark there was a very low nib wall which our driver did not see but did hear a loud scrapping noise down the right side of the car so quickly came to a stop before reversing up and having the noise repeat. It was decided to leave the viewing of the damage until our next stop so giving the wall a wider berth we bid the hotel tschüss and drove off.

It was only around 250 metres later when we met a tradies van on a narrow blind corner and a collision was only avoided by the very quick reflexes of both drivers.

5 minutes later we were on a rural road approaching a roundabout with another road branching to the right and the GPS was not definitive enough to direct us onto the right road and as luck would have it we took the wrong one, however it soon became apparent to us that we needed to do a U–turn so pulled to the right as far as was able and swung the car around but unfortunately the turning circle on the 308 was not sharp enough to get us around before the right front wheel rim graunched against the kerb.

Consoling ourselves that things happen in threes and the worst was behind us we ventured on and when approaching a roundabout to enter the A7 motorway he who knew best overrode both the GPS and the in-car navigator and promptly took the vehicle down a no exit road chalking up the 4th incident in the first 20 minutes of driving.

At our first stop, a morning tea break, the car was inspected and apart from gouges in the rim there was no sign of any damage to the side of the car but I did choose not to get on my knees to view the underside of the sill!!!

On the trip up to Nuremberg lunchtime was quickly approaching so pulled off into a Rashof (motorway service stop) but they had nothing to our liking so it was back onto the A7 to find another lunch stop.

Apart from striking another traffic jam which added around 50mins to the trip the remaining drive was uneventful until we arrived in Nuremberg and misunderstood the hotel‘s instructions and parked the car in a neighbouring hotel’s carpark which was going to sting us €34 a day so we quickly got the vehicle out of there and into our hotel’s carpark.

On checking into our hotel we were then informed that the aircon in the hotel was kaput (Hilton if you please) and  did we still wish to stay. After looking quite put out and being offered free parking for the 4 days of our stay, a fan, unlimited bottles of water and a 20% reduction in the room rate we signed in.

With all of that behind us we did a quick unpack and walked into the centre of the city to get a feel for it. Our first impressions are very favourable as the old town area has a vey nice feel to it, the shopping area is nicely maintained and significant and as usual many of the buildings are “beautiful”.

After dinner in a very nice Keller restaurant we returned to the hotel to do some research on how we will spend the next 3 days.

Inside the restaurant 

Since we have been over here on numerous occasions when entering or exiting a retail shop one of us has set off the door security alarm.  Being sleuths we have been successful in tracking down the cause - firstly we determined that it was Sherry who was activating the alarm and after some further trial and error (removing her watch before crossing the doorway for example) have determined that the culprit is a Kathmandu jersey she has being wearing - what is in that product to activate the alarms remains one of life’s big mysteries!

Kms driven to date 1611

Kms walked to date 204.8

Spent on diesel €65

Spent on tolls €0

A split city

The Danube runs through 10 countries and divides a city in two, so stated a poster we saw today and that city is Ulm as the Danube runs through the city and the old town area “Ulm” is north of the river while “Neu Ulm” is south of the river.

The main feature of the old town is the Munster which is said to have the highest church spire of any church in the world. As shown in the following photo the church is quite dour to look at as it is internally, there being ongoing external maintenance being undertaken.

One would think that by now we would not be wowed when we see an old building but having spent many months in Europe over the years we are still struck by the beauty of the old well kept buildings in every city we visit and Ulm is no different especially around the “Fisherman’s Village”

In this area is what is said to be the most crooked hotel in the world and the extent of the crookedness can be seen from the distance the pendulum sits away from the side of the building in the second photo 

Every city has its Rathaus or town hall and the one in Ulm is one of if not the most stunning we have seen

with every side of it covered in brilliantly coloured frescoes or murals, the building also houses an astronomical clock. The building was constructed in 1370 and the frescoes were added in the 16th century and the clock dates from 1520.

Like many others we walked along the banks of the Danube late afternoon and enjoyed the environment.

Kms driven to date 1408

Kms walked to date 197.7

Spent on diesel €65

Spent on tolls €0

Spend a penny!

We left Freiburg this morning and moved on to Ulm which is situated 287kms slightly north east of Freiburg.

Our journey was longer than the GPS indicated as there was a stretch of around 9kms, for reasons we couldn’t fathom, where there was a significant back up of vehicles across all 3 lanes and which took us the best part of 50 minutes at a stop start pace to clear.

In this part of the world one has to pay to use most of the bathrooms, none more so than at the service stops on the motorways where there is normally a petrol station and a cafe.

At our first stop we noticed that customers had some sort of voucher and a sign board that we noticed as we left implied “spend a Euro and get a Euro voucher”

At our next stop as we walked from the car on the footpath sat one of these vouchers so I picked it and we then brought lunch but never received any voucher however when I went to the bathroom and put €1 in the machine to get through the turnstile to the bathroom the machine spat out a €1 voucher and when I exited there was another €1 voucher (I assume some one has left in the machine)

The penny then sunk that if you spent a Euro to use the bathroom you received a Euro voucher to cash against what one brought in the cafe, so excitedly I returned and told Sherry how the system worked and what to expect when she went to the bathroom.

On her return from the bathroom she proudly advised me that she had done better than me as her machine spat our 4 vouchers.

So in spending €2 we obtained by fair means or foul €7 in vouchers that we can use when next we stop at a service stop - I don’t know anywhere else where one gets a 350% return when one spends a penny!

Arrived at Ulm mid-afternoon, found our hotel, not without some difficulty due to a road closure, parked the 308 and had a quick stroll around the area in which the hotel is situated - we will explore the wider area tomorrow 

Catholic Church 

Town Hall

Kms driven to date 1408

Kms walked to date 186.7

Spent on diesel €65

Spent on tolls €0

Enjoying the outdoors

Sunday in this part of the world is non-commercial so we chose to spend our time at two outdoor spots that locals clearly enjoy.

First we drove a short distance to Mundenhof Wildlife Park which is an area that has animals from around the world contained in areas that are far in excess of what one would see in a traditional zoo.

There is no charge to enter and by paying for parking (€10) they collect enough to maintain the facility. Whether it is because it is “free” or the Freiburgers like seeing animals I’m not sure but it was a very popular family outing.

While it is called a wildlife park in truth there were not many animals that one would call “wild” but nevertheless it was an interesting way to pass a couple of hours

A couple of wild ones!

There was a small aquarium that had some very colourful fish and reptiles on view

We also noticed that a specie of bird had taken a fancy to building their  nests in the top of the chimneys on some of the buildings

A burly German who we saw had an interesting tattoo on the back of his leg and I couldn’t resist “accidentally” taking a pic of it

If you are able to enlarge the photo you’ll get the drift of it.

We then moved a few kilometres back into the urban area and called into Seepark, which as you guessed is a park containing a decent sized man-made lake.

Again there were many families at the park, there being an artisan market and also the finish area for what looked to be a triathlon that along with the water would have attracted them.

We enjoyed a stroll around the lake before returning to our digs mid afternoon - another Sunday done and dusted.

We leave the Black Forest area tomorrow and have thoroughly enjoyed our stay both in Baden-Baden and here in Freiburg and while we didn’t see all of the 6500 square kms of the forest we certainly saw enough to appreciate what it has to offer - if you like nature and the outdoors this is the place to visit.

Kms driven to date 1121

Kms walked to date 179.7

Spent on diesel €65

Spent on tolls €0

It’s a Seesaw

It was our last trip out into the belly of the forest today and we went and saw another “See” - Schluchsee, which is the third See we have visited, Mummelsee, Titisee and now Schluchsee. The smart readers will no doubt have worked out that the German for “lake” is “see”!

The Schluchsee became the Black Forest’s largest lake (7.5kms long & 1.5kms wide) when it was dammed between 1929 & 1932 to create a power station.The town is serviced by frequent trains on the Drei-Seen line.

It gives the impression of always being in season - in summer activities such as sailing, swimming and boating on the lake while in winter skiing in the surrounding slopes.

Today there was a cold wind blowing across the lake which made conditions a tad cool (I know that back home it has been anything but warm and dry so we don’t complain) but nevertheless we had a reasonable walk around some of the lake after having firstly walked around the village which is dominated by hotels and other accommodation houses

Around the village there are numerous floral displays of various items e.g. animals or as seen below the train

Another satisfying day!

Some more trivia we have noted

There are numerous 30kmph speed zones, some even out on highways, and everybody keeps to that limit

There are at least 2 levels of GST or the German equivalent charged:

       7% on food items

       19% on non-food items bought at the supermarket 

Eggs have their best by date stamped on them

Kms driven to date 1110

Kms walked to date 169.4

Spent on diesel €65

Spent on tolls €0

Three Mountains

Awoke to a wet morning having heard a significant thunderstorm overnight.

Our day trip into the forest today was to Triberg which got its name because it is surrounded by three peaks - Kapellenberg, Kroeck and Sterenberg. 

The drive out was not very pleasant as the rain pelted down and I wasn’t able to get the wipers moving quickly enough to move all the water which made driving on some of the narrow winding roads a tad butt clinching!

The weather cleared by the time we arrived and so our visit was in dry conditions but with temperatures well below what we have been used to.

The town sits low in the valley and I doubt whether from 1km out of Triberg there is a level street as at times the slopes approximate 30degrees. When we drove in there was an elderly person struggling up the main road and we commented rather him than us,  but later on it became us!

While not the most jaw dropping places to visit there were a couple of interesting things for tourists.

On the large tourist street map there was a delightful mistranslation 

In the Main Street there is a shop which among other souvenirs and the like sells cuckoo clocks, as Triberg is regarded as one of the homes of these clocks - it advertises as having 1000s of clocks on display and while I didn’t attempt to count them there certainly was a great number.

This one had a price tag of €14999!

There were also shelves of beer steins priced upwards of €185+

Perhaps the most eye catching attraction was the waterfalls of Gutach which are the highest waterfalls in German and the main entrance to them lies in the middle of town

The water tumbles over a granite bed, dropping 163 metres in seven steps. The walk/climb to the head of the falls is very picturesque with moss over huge granite boulders with vivid green trees rising up from the slopes

A pleasant visit with a better drive back in dry conditions until we got back down out of the hills approaching Freiburg where it was raining and gave the impression of having done so most of the day, though the weather cleared shortly after.

Kms driven to date 1003

Kms walked to date 157.6

Spent on diesel to date €65

Spent on tolls to date €0