Schutterwald
Saturday 23rd August - Sunday 31st August 2008
Gabriele drove us to Offenburg via Lake Constance. The scenery was beautiful - we passed through small towns and lots of apple orchards. Along the way we stopped for a coffee at a roadside cafe and ate the rolls we'd prepared that morning in the car. The rest of the way was along an autobahn which has no speed limit. Rising in the back at speeds approaching 200 kms was somewhat scary but Gabriele is a very competent driver and we soon reached the outskirts of Schutterwald. Thomas Blechner (Fritz's son) and his wife Karin had prepared afternoon tea. Fritz, Anni and Doris arrived soon after and we caught up with old times. Anni is almost blind and Fritz is quite frail now - it was lovely seeing them again. The afternoon tea was sumptuous as usual and just before 5.00 we drove round to Elsa's place. Elsa is not well - she's lost a lot of weight but doesn't look too bad. Went to the station later to pick up Don from his French adventure. He was really happy to be with family again. Four weeks of driving a small hire car in France had tested his nerve quite substantially. Herbert and Maria baked pizza in their wood oven and we had a great night together again. We gave Kitty the spare room and Don and I slept on the floor in the lounge room. Elsa wanted to give us her bed but we declined the offer.
The next morning after breakfast we started to organize a few things. Don had broken a bottle of red wine in the bottom of his pack so we gingerly emptied everything into the bathtub. His clothes were saturated and there were bits of glass mixed with his things. Maria and Elsa washed his clothes and Herbert put the hose through his pack then set it up to dry. Don set his tent up as well. We had decided to let Kitty do her own thing as she wasn't talking to me by that stage. She used to get up quite late in the morning and have a nap in the afternoon as well, which was inconvenient in many ways. After lunch the visitors arrived for afternoon tea. Fritz, Anni and Doris again, Gabriele, Walter and Regina, Herbert, Maria and the children - a big crowd. It coincided with the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing so we watched and talked. Kitty dipped in and out. She didn't want me o translate for her - I had to do some translating for Don and there was a bit of English in the mix. Later that evening, Kitty spent time on the terrace drinking, playing cards and smoking while Elsa and I watched a film.
On Monday morning Herbert and Maria took us around to look at bicycles. The first ones were the cheapest but we looked over the whole range. We came back for lunch and then Don spent some time burning his photos onto a CD and saving them in a few forms, just in case. Then Doris picked us up to take us to Fritz's place. Kitty didn't want to come with us - so it was just Elsa Don and I. We chatted and ate and laughed as usual. Fritz says some outrageous things.
Doris, Anni, Fritz at home. Elsa and Don join in the conversation.
Fritz's house from the front. It's a tradition to let neighbours know about a major event in the family. One of the neighbours had set up this stork (which can be hired)
This house looked like it was growing Lomandras commercially. There was a lot of corn being grown around the village.
In Autumn, people set up harvest displays. We called in to look at a garden with a rock waterfall - very nice.
They had set up a lovely pond in the back yard and built a boardwalk on one side.
The religious influence is quite strong in southern Germany and the cemetery located behind the Catholic church was very well tended.
We walked past the Schutter which didn't look too nice and several apple orchards laden with fruit.
Tuesday was a sunny day. Herbert took us to the bike shop in Schutterwald and I found a bike for me - 200 Euros. I had a ride on it - it was a lot heavier than my roadbike but it would be fine. We arranged for it to be serviced and would pick it up in the afternoon. Don had decided to get one of the first bikes we saw so we now had our bikes. That evening we went to dinner at Thomas Braun's place. Again Kitty didn't want to come. He and his wife Alex have a lovely modern house. Thomas makes film documentaries on the side and has a big professional set up. They have a nice yard with a blank wall on one side. I suggested they watch movies on it. Thomas drives an Alfa Romeo and seems to be doing well.
Wednesday was warm and sunny. We decided to take the bikes for a run to the Rhine. There's a good network of bike paths in the area so it's not hard to get around. The riding is easy - it's mostly flat most of the way. We headed towards Müllen and said hello to Fritz on the way. We promised to came back on our way home. We rode through villages and cornfields, past apple orchards and through woods till we reached the Rhine. You can see the bridge which crosses into France and Strasbourg on the other side. There is a bike path all the way along the Rhine and it is one of the major rides in Germany.
We headed back along the bike path which runs beside the main road but somehow took a different turn and entered Shutterwald from the other side. A street map let us know where we were. We'd promised Fritz that we would pick up some beans so rode through Shutterwald and back to Müllen for the beans. Elsa rang me to find out when we'd be back as lunch was ready. I spent the afternoon transcribing some of my diary into emails. Kitty slept all afternoon - we hardly saw her that day.
it was misty this morning - our 37th wedding anniversary. Don and I decided to ride into Offenburg to get a few things for the trip. We borrowed a map and set off. It was hard to ride on the right hand side at first but we got used to it. Arrived back for lunch which is important in the Braun household. That evening we had a monster BBQ on the terrace between the two houses - Herbert prepared the food - sausages, turkey and pork marinated in paprika, salt, pepper and oil. There were sticks of corn and barbecued capsicum and zucchini, platters of tomato and mozzarella and the ubiquitous bread. We drank our bottle of Hardys 2004 Shiraz which we'd bought that morning.
Friday saw Don and I travel to Karlsruhe to check out the Landesmuseum. The rest of the family went to Europapark with Kitty. They wanted me to go as well but we insisted they go without us. It's not our scene and Kitty would have a much better time without us around. The trip took about an hour on a fantastic modern regional train. We had a coffee and Brezel at the railway station and headed to the Marktplatz on the S-Bahn which was included in our weekend rail ticket. We paid 27 Euros for the whole trip which was excellent. There was a flower and vegetable market in the square and an installation along a walkway linking the square with the entry to the palace grounds.
The palace is quite impressive in that classical style, with well-kept grounds and masses of hedging.
Inside were some excellent exhibits on prehistoric man and his tools. Don demonstrated grain grinding on this rock. The models of German Fachwerk houses were also wonderful and I loved the old traditional Karnival costumes, still worn during the festival today.
We stopped to have lunch in the courtyard complete with eucalypts in pots. Then worked our way along the various floors. We were particularly impressed with the Bronze Age moulds. We returned home in the late afternoon on a packed train. The rest of the family returned not long afterwards - very tired and still excited after a day of thrills and spills. Don hates fun parks and would have spent most of the day on a park bench if we had gone. BBQ again tonight - lots of food left over from the previous evening.
Saturday was sunny and warm again. We've been lucky with the weather. Maria and Herbert took us to the Bauernmarkt in Weier. It was quite small, similar to the one in Scott's Head, but without all the rubbish. Lunch today was Leberkäse, Spiegelei and Kartoffelsalat - very Bavarian. Kitty threw a wobbly during lunch about Hash Browns - she thought they are made with mashed potato. She doesn't like people disagreeing with her and goes off in a huff, usually to her room where she sleeps for the afternoon. We were invited to Thomas Blechner's place for dinner - Doris picked Elsa up and we rode our bikes. Thomas and Karin had ordered a huge Bretzel which they filled with ham and eggs and salad. It was truly wonderful. Kitty spent the evening back at Elsa's sitting on the terrace drinking and smoking.
The huge Bretzel and Fritz, Anni and Elsa.
Anni, Elsa and Don. Thomas Blechner with his father Fritz.
Thomas has 2 daughters and one son. Theresa helps her mother Karin with the table.
Sunday was our final day in Schutterwald and we spent the day organising equipment, testing the packs on the bikes, etc. Fritz and Anni came around to say goodbye. Kitty packed and left at around 6.00 to take the train back to Frankfurt and fly home. It was hard saying goodbye to Fritz and Anni that evening. Don and I were pretty excited about starting our Danube cycle trip the next day.
As it turned out we decided to shorten our stay in Romania and returned to Schutterwald on the 7th October to wait out the week till we could fly home. Don was pretty frantic about his super and we spent some time in an Internet cafe trying to contact NGS Super and answer emails. The cafe was not far from the Offenburg railway station. We caught the bus to get there and were quite expert at getting in and out of town.
The railway station and bus terminal
Many people cycle and leave their bikes at the station while they work or catch the train to commute. The red bus was pretty distinctive. We caught the bus back from the Town Hall opposite this square. Walking through the town we came across this sculpture and couldn't resist a photo. We left Frankfurt just before midnight on the 15th October and arrived in Australia on the 17th. It was good to be home.
