We drive north always following the Neckar… this is the second day of our sunny end summer tour through Germany.

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Tübingen? An old university town since 1377? Let us stop  here…

Tübingen? It has one of the oldest universities in Europe – founded in 1377. From the Königsparking we climb to the university hospital area to get this overview of the old town with the castle.

The old town and the castle are located between the former defense ditch and the Neckar. This is the Neckar side.

The city is tidy and well kept with half-timbered houses.

The market square is busy. The painted townhall shows that this is a proud town.

The organ is played in the gothic church. We stop and listen.

We are glad to see another of those German towns that have been preserved during the Second World War. Tübingen has a history of resistance: A brave priest and a brave mayor withstood Hitler; both, unfortunately, were killed just shortly before the war ended.

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Heilbronn – it was also one of these gorgeous half-timbered towns, but – sorely suffered during the war

Heilbronn has suffered from bombings in the Second World War. Some gems have been rebuilt. This is beautiful townhall with its astronomical clock.

Also the gothic Kilian church has been reconstructed. I particularly like this wood carved altar from the beginning of the 15th century, with Maria in the center and Kilian to her right. I admire that they saved it during the war.

These remains of three sculptures show, how the Kilian church has been decorated inside, before having been attacked in that war that should have never happened. The remains are beautifully arranged, but being deprived of legs and arms they make me shiver as well.

We continue north following the Neckar that works his way north through steep vineyards. I had not been aware of wine growing here and may return for that.

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Bad Wimpfen, the largest Kaiserpfalz around 1200

Bad Wimpfen is another gorgeous small town with well-kept half-timbered houses that give shade from the hot end summer sun.

Bad Wimpfen is located on top of a hill. This is the view of the Neckar and the lower town of Wimpfen with the church St. Peter, another gem that we visited later.

Bad Wimpfen was an imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz) of the dynasty of the Staufen  around 1200 (well known are Barbarossa and Friedrich II). These Romanesque arcades remind of those days

… and also this small chapel.

The pretty dog is waiting for his master that is just approaching the house: “Maybe he has one of those delicious German sausages for me?”

We visit the church in lower Wimpfen, called “Stiftkirche Sankt Peter”.  It has been built in early gothic style in the 14th century. The monastery was dissolved in 1803. Now the Maltese run it as a guest house and as a center for religious exercises (“St. Peter, Bad Wimpfen im Tal”, Schnell+Steiner, 2011).

It is famous for its cloister that we find closed now. I take with me these thoughts.

“Wer nach aussen schaut, träumt, wer nach innen blickt, erwacht” meaning “who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside, awakes.” I found this thought also in the internet: “When we look inside our heart, we discover what we are, who we are, and what we truly believe”. I agree, looking inside is important (perhaps sometimes forgotten), but having dreams, I believe, is also an important ingredient of life.

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Along the Neckar to Eberbach

Along the Neckar who winds through the Odenwald, we continue to drive north. We love the soft landscape. We reach Eberbach and settle under the roof of the cosy hotel Karpfen. After a great dinner with fish and a local Pinot Gris we stroll through another gem town with half-timbered houses. This is our hotel in the night (a large rubbish bin served as my tripod).

In the early morning we stroll through the town again. We enyoy the boar that gives its name to Eberbach (literally “boar creek”)

“Auf einen Sprung nach Eberbach” means “for a quick visit/”leap” to Eberbach”, Yes, we can recommend a stop over in the well preserved small town of Eberbach bordering the Neckar…

… that sometimes becomes dangerous, as these flood lines show.

Our next targets will be Speyer and the Pfalz.