2018/06/18 – Germany – architecture – old v new

Monday 18th June – Germany

Our campsite for tonight:  Reisemobilstellplatz, Geisingen – GPS 47.919868N  . 8.649630E

Have not written bullet points for our blog for a few days, so the memory of some of the next few entries may be a little shorter than normal.  We try to do bullet points at the end of each day and find if we don’t, then we have to rely on memory which these days, given the amount we see each day is not reliable.

This campsite is really well laid out with lots of space and grassed areas separating every two pitches.  Lots of greenery and trees which gave it a very lush relaxed feel.

Explored this small village in no time at all.   Not a lot of photo opportunities but a really great overnight spot.

Tuesday 19th June

Made a special happy birthday call to my little brother Mike before heading off on the bikes to explore the many villages in the area.  Happy Birthday little bro!  Judging by the cake on Facebook – well celebrated.

Bikeways here were fabulous and saw lots in the couple of hours while passing through a few smaller villages.  Quite a few car dealer places along the way where there were cars with camouflaged paint jobs and fake body parts – new test vehicles my driver tells me, were in a number of car yards so had to stop to check them out.   No badging on these so you could not make out the car type but suspected they were Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

Left the campsite after lunch expecting an hour’s drive to our next destination.  Partial highway closures caused gridlock on the highway directing all traffic (including massive trucks) through a town.  Several roads converged into one intersection where the traffic lights caused pandemonium.

Our campsite for tonight:  Stellplatz Freiburg Im Breisgau, Freiburg – GPS 47.999779N   7.825700E

Four hours later we arrived, very hot under the collar and frustrated.

This is an old Stellplatz but its walking proximity to Freiburg – around 20 minutes to Old Town, made it worthwhile.  Not many places left by the time we arrived so unfortunately we had a choice of only a couple of very hot and sunny spots.

Wednesday 20th June

Straight into Old Town first thing after breakfast.  Beautiful shaded tree lined streets made the walk pleasurable with an amazing school on the way for lots of photos.  Obviously a church school with two massive spires featuring coloured mosaic tiles.

This town is a bikers Mecca with its cycling infrastructure boasted as being unequalled anywhere else in Germany.  We passed by a bicycle parking station -three levels high with a restaurant on the top floor. 

In the City, Bicycles were parked everywhere at any post available – literally thousands of them and where normally you would need to look out for cars, here in the city, cyclists are the major hazard.

The Old town’s feature is the cathedral – Freiburg Minster – building of the Blessed Virgin –  with its main tower 116 metres high.  What a wonderful structure taking up a whole block with a large square all the way around it.  Market stalls selling fresh fruit, deli items, food and of course souvenirs took up every spare spot in the square.  Unfortunately the cathedral was closed for several hours with a special mass being held inside.

Really worth the few hours we spent here going down the many small cobbled streets where leather shops in particular are a feature with so many beautiful bags and shoes to choose from.

Left the campsite in the late afternoon as we did not want to stay in our hot spot for the rest of the day – it was around 30 degrees in the shade.

Our campsite for tonight:  Wohnmobilpark Ortenau, Meissenheim – GPS 48.416000N   7.777390E

Another well laid out small Stellplatz in a small town.   Lots of greenery and trees which we welcomed and soon found a shady spot to settle in.    This is a popular spot and soon all spaces in the main section were taken up.  There is an additional overflow area which is just beautiful with a feature being a large communal fire pit and lots of interesting artefacts scattered around.  No shade though and would be a great winter spot.

Bike trails lead out from the back of the Stellplatz linking up to bike trail down the Rhine bikeways – not today though as it was too hot with no breeze at all.

This town has the most amazing modern looking Rathaus (town hall) we have ever seen.  Most town halls are in historic or old buildings but this one was right out there.

A pretty little town but not a lot to do apart from the bike ride.

Thursday 21st June

Still hot today so opted to move on without  bike ride.

Our campsite for tonight:  Parking Lehwiese, Schiltach – GPS 48.290871N   8.343960E

This village was highly recommended by our campsite friends (Gunnar and Anna) we met at the campsite near the Eagles Nest.

Rated as one of the top ten most beautiful villages in Germany, this village was truly so picturesque.   The campsite is gratis and mostly taken up with local cars so arrive by 8am or after 6pm.  A tight entry point into the parking area but really worthwhile as it is set in a beautiful grassed area bordering a crystal clear shallow pebbled running stream.

Views from the car park look across to the Old Town which we couldn’t wait to explore on foot (too hilly for bikes).

Only a short stroll across a beautiful old bridge where on both sides of the bridge, colourful flower boxes were in full bloom. 

Through and along narrow cobbled streets where every three storey Bavarian home was built in the 17th century. 

Every home featured brightly coloured window frames with contrasting window shutters – greens, blues, yellows, reds – every conceivable colour. 

The stream ran through the middle of Old Town, again with quaint little pedestrian bridges with the flower boxes.  Everything is so well kept and clean and pretty.

It is difficult to describe how picturesque this village is – but should be high on the list to visit.