Palatine (Pfalz) in Germany has an almost Mediterranean climate, as it is protected from the rainy west winds by the Pfälzerwald or Palatine forest. Wine has grown here since Roman times as well as sweet chestnut and almond trees. The almond trees are in blossom end of March/beginning of April. The Palatine celebrates that with their Mandelwochen (almond weeks).

End of March 2017, we visited Bad Bergzabern in South Palatine. We find the almond trees in full blossom – beautifully pink.

The plum trees are all white.

But now, end of March, the vines only show small light green leaves.

We stroll through the vineyards…

… and the forests above them. The leaves have not come out yet and the crowns of the trees point to the blue sky.

The sun plays with the shadows of the trees.

We climb the hill to the chapel St. Annaberg…

… and enjoy the view from here into the Rhine valley.

We walk back down again… a few shy clouds are above the trees.

With humor this snail leads us down to a winegrowers’ village called Burrweiler.

Spring can be felt in the winegrowers’ villages as well.

Many houses are half-timbered. This historical building stands in Geisweiler.

Even dogs are welcoming guests and visitors in the winegrowers’ villages. This friendly dog can be found at Pleisweiler.

But beware of this fighting cat – it watches a house in Burrweiler.

Winegrowers on the way offer to taste (and buy) their wines. One of them has this motto.

Well, I think happiness is both a way and a destination of life. Or even some ways of life with some destinations. We felt perfectly happy enjoying spring in the Palatine for two days – it is a great destination. We spent one night in Bad Bergzabern, walked in the hills behind Bergzabern, and the next day we hiked around Geisweiler and Burrweiler to enjoy the view from the chapel St. Anna located above these villages.

On the first day we had a coffee stop in Wissembourg in the Alsace. I love the church of Saints-Pierre-et-Paul with the glass pane of Christ from the 11th century (the original being in Strassbourg).

When driving home on our second day in the evening, we had dinner in Bergheim not far from Riquewihr. Spring can be felt here as well, now in the evening light.

Bergheim is a good place to round off two beautiful days looking for spring impressions.

Now we dream of the “way” to our next “destination” that will make us happy again – France with the Loire valley and Northern Spain.

Monday and our 14th day on the road. The sun is back after the rainy and cloudy Sunday in Trier. We drive back to Heidelberg. Along the motorway we see the signposts pointing to the places we have visited. Kusel – craddle of Fritz Wunderlich. Münchweiler – memories of the great hotel and restaurant Klostermühle, and also memories of the Celtic wall on the Donnersberg. Neustadt and the Riesling wines of the Pfalz. And after some two hours we already approach Mannheim. Ursula proposes to visit the remains of the Carolinguian monastery of Lorsch. Agreed…

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Lorsch, a gem of a village with this Unesco world heritage, the monastery

Lorsch was an imperial monastery founded in the 8th century. Today it is known for these arches.

Above the arches there is a room with frescos, as this plate shows.

Around the monastery are the remains of a church, reconstructed buildings (to illustrate the monastery), a garden with herbs, and a pretty, small village with half-timbered houses and welcoming restaurants.

This fountain shows a woman with tobacco leaves.

Lorsch takes care of its world heritage and loves to share it with visitors.

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Heidelberg – in a way “my” town… I was born here

Then we continue our way to Heidelberg and settle in the hotel Monpti in the old city center. The hotel is about okay, but a bit noisy and it may need some renovation. It is like coming home for me, as I was born in Heidelberg.

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Morning walk in the city

We start our 14th day with an early morning walk down to the Neckar to catch some photos of the city river line.

I had to climb through the trees and bushes to take my morning photo.

Ursula took this foto of the famous Heidelberg castle in the haze.

Having crossed the Neckar, we visit the gothic Heiliggeistkirche.

Inside the light is beautiful.

All windows of the church have been made after 1945.

We have a coffee in the traditional confectionary Gundel. They are proud of their specialty “Mohrenkugel” that the grand-grand-father had invented for the anniversary of Kurfürst Friedrich V and his wife Elisabeth Stuart.

Inside the Mohrenkugel there is a nougat filling. This is the story:  The grand-grand-father could not think of a creative shape for the anniversary sweet. The daughter asked him to tell her the fairy tale of king frog. While she fell asleep, the confectionist took the ball the (king) frog retrieved from the fountain and invented the “Mohrenkugel”.

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Walking steeply uphill to the ruins of the Heidelberg castle

Over steep stairs we reach the famous ruins of the Heidelberg castle in ten minutes. We enjoy the view of the city center, the Neckar and Mannheim.

The Heidelberg castle originates from the 13th century. Each Kurfürst added one notable building, e.g. Ottheinrich added the Ottheinrichsbau (Renaissance, early 16th century) or Friedrich the Friedrichsbau (around 1600). Friedrich V also built this gate for his wife Elisabeth Stuart that he was in love of (Ursula’s foto).

The castle was destroyed in the Palatine succession wars end of the 17th century, as Louis XIV wanted to expand and conquer the Palatine (Pfalz). The castle was never rebuilt, and later it was decided to preserve just the ruins, as poets such as Goethe had already made it known which attracted tourists.

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Strolling through the old city center

We stroll through the old city center. This is my favorite building, the Hotel Ritter with its Renaissance fassade.

Ursula has memories of the university library. Some years ago she studied the facsimile of the Codex Manesse with the medieval minstrel songs such as by Walther von der Vogelweide. She cites “Ich saz ûf eime steine,und dahte bein mit beine…” . He thinks and concludes that he does not succeed trying to achieve honor, possession and the mercy of God at the same time.

Our hotel is close to the gothic St. Peters’ church that hosts a lot of interesting epitaphs – some tombstones are more than 500 years old.

We spend the afternoon with a friend of mine in a small village close to Heidelberg and then have dinner in the restaurant Romer… a gourmet dinner with sea brass. Delicious.

On our sixth day in Germany we walk around Erfweiler in the Pfälzerwald. It will be another hot and sunny day.

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The Hahnfels tour around Erfweiler

We have selected the Hahnfels tour of some 14km that takes us around Erfweiler on the forested hills. We start at about nine in the morning. It is already getting warm and we are glad to walk in the trees. The sign of this cock will guide us today.

We walk uphill on sandy ground and reach our first viewpoint, the Hahnfels. It is a sandstone block and we have a good view of Erfweiler with the Dahn fortifications.

This is Ursula’s panoramic view.

The village of Erfweiler was very poor, until they managed to earn some money in the mining and related charcoal industry in the 19th century. Only then they could afford a church.

The next viewpoint is another sandstone block amidst the trees.

Our footpath winds gently through the forest.

We cross the valley at this spring (Breitenbachquelle – this is Ursula’s romantic photo).

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And more… up and down and up and down and up… 

Uphill we walk again to the Schaffelsen (literally “sheep rock”). Climbers have just started to tackle this rock.

We stop at the viewpoint called “Wasgau”. I ask myself, whether “Wasgau” is related to “Vogesen” – the name of the mountains across the border in France. Also “Was-” points to swamps, as I have learnt in the Black Forest (Stübenwasen is a swampy area where I do cross country skiing in winter).

Downhill again and then uphill again. We reach the fortification Alt-Dahn hanging on one of these sandstone rocks.

The path takes us down one last time – we reach Erfweiler. The climate is mild enough to allow edible chestnuts to grow.

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The romantic valley behind Erfweiler

From Erfweiler, a final round tour of about 5km takes us into a small valley with this romantic small lake…

… and the Eibach spring.

From far signs have announced the highlight of this valley, the waterfall. This is the waterfall…

Well… okay… we Swiss are spoilt by waterfalls – but the geology behind this small waterfall is interesting: 120m higher up there is a spring. The nascient creek disappears in the ground, re-emerges just above this waterfall and then rushes down into the valley.

Our hotel “Die Kleine Blume” appears at the end of the street. We finish our walk through the shaded forest with all its places of interest. We have met about ten people on this sunny Sunday; Erfweiler is a quiet place to relax and move. And how good that we could move in the shade here. The temperature has risen to more than 30 degrees today.

We finish the day with a buffet of specialties from Pfalz such as “Saumagen” (kind of sausage wrapped up in pork stomach) and “Leberknödel” (liver dumplings). No light meals. We can “afford” that after our long hike.

Now we are on our fifth day in Germany. The German weather forecast shows “official warnings”: Heat. Yes, we have noticed the heat, when walking in the vineyards. We decide to escape the heat by driving into the Palatine Forest (Pfälzerwald) which is the largest coherent forest in Europe. In Bad Dürkheim we buy a guidebook. Our plan: Get an idea about the former mining industry and the shoe making and then go for a walk in the area of the bizarre sandstone rocks around Dahn – in the shade.

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Trippstadt- old mining town and now a favorite place of motor cyclists

Through shady forests we drive to Trippstadt. This is a relaxed small town in the middle of the Palatine Forest. Motor cyclist love this place – a group of them is just celebrating a wedding – all dressed in black. The photographer parked his motor bike in front of the museum for ironworks.

The Eisenhüttenmuseum (museum for ironworks) documents the history and the ancient production methods of the mining industry that started here in the 15th century.

First the workers had to dig out the stone containing iron from the mountains. Then they had to smash the stones using stampers.

In large ovens the smashed stones are being heated to extract the iron. The heating energy required wood charcoal – charcoal burning was the profession for that.

Additional professions needed were the resin burners (Kiefernpechbrenner) and the fir cone gatherers (climbing firs to collect the cones – pretty dangerous).

We use the end products such as ovens…

… or waffle irons…

… without thinking of the work that went into extracting the iron from the mountains and from the stones.

In the 18th century, industrialization starts. The family Gienanth becomes the main factory owners in the valley. I am scared, when I read the directions. A work day lasts from seven to twelve and from one to six. Breaks are not allowed, only one half hour break for children in the morning and one in the afternoon.  And children older than nine are admitted to work in the factories and mines.

Mining in the Pfälzerwald halted in the beginning of the 20th century. Another industry became important, shoe making.

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Shoe making – the shoe museum in Hauenstein

The Schuhmuseum (shoe museum) in Hauenstein lays out production technologies on one hand and shows shoes across time and countries on the other hand.

For the first time in my life I understand, what “Schuster bleib’ bei Deinen Leisten” (“cobbler stick to your last”) means: The cobblers used the wooden models or last of the feet of their clients to design the shoes for them.  The museum  owns the wooden models of Charles de Gaule and Helmut Kohl – huge they are both. This is a last with the matching boots:

The museum shows all the machines needed for shoemaking such as to prepare the leather, cut it, sew it onto the shoes and add the heals.

Shoes from all over the world are on display. These are childrens’ shoes – and they HAVE been used.

And this is an elegant white ladies’ boot.

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“Die Kleine Blume” (“The Small Flower”) in Erfweiler – a welcoming hotel

We continue to Dahn in the Pfälzer Wald, where we will find bizarre sandrock formations, fortifications on top of some of these rocks, and hiking opportunities. We stop in the hotel “Die Kleine Blume” Erfweiler where we find a comfortable bed, a small swimming pool, and a great dinner with fresh trout from the Dahn region accompanied by a Grauburgunder Meerspinne from Gimmeldingen. We book two nights and plan a walk in the hills, forests and rocks around Erfweiler for tomorrow.

From Eberbach on the Neckar, we continue to Speyer and the German Wine Route in the Pfalz.

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Meeting our  friends from Russia near their “Fewo” in Speyer

This is our third day in Germany. We have arranged to meet my Russian teacher and her husband to take them around the German Wine Route in Pfalz (Palatine).

Our Russian friends have booked a Fewo in the city center of Speyer. Ursula laughs: “You do not know, what “Fewo” means? This is easy, it is a “Ferienwohnung” or “holiday apartment”!” – Yes, right your are… “Fewo” stands for “Ferienwohnung”. Germans are great at inventing abbreviations.

On the map, it looks easy to find this “Fewo”, but then we get blocked by road constructions and dead end streets. Uff. Finally our friends hop into our Swiss car.

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The dome of Speyer – I was here fifty years ago – I am again impressed

We visit the dome of Speyer… these Romanesque twin towers can be seen from far.

I was here fifty years ago with my mum. I remember having suffered from a fierce headache on that day. The dome healed my headache. Again now, I am impressed by the sober and harmonic architecture. I learn that at this place the Celts had already built a sanctuary and the Romans build a Christian church around 360 A.D. The current dome goes back to the 11th century. It served as a model for other Romanesque churches in the Alsace and in Germany. Over the course of the centuries the dome has been amplified, changed, destroyed, rebuilt and renovated. In the middle of the 20th century, its old Romasque structure has been restored (Source: “Der Kaiserdom zu Speyer”, Jaeger Druck, 1978).

This is the central nave – grand and calming atmosphere – cool on a hot day.

The crypta with its columns and arcs remind me a bit of the mosque in Cordoba…

We say hell0 to Rudolf von Habsburg (he became king of Germany in 1271, when besieging Basel). I notice the aquiline nose and the strong jaws of the Habsburgians.

I would like to stop the clock and stay in this church… but time cannot be stopped.

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The German Wine Route – sooo many road blocks… what are you doing to the tourists?

Our Russian friends want to see Neustadt, Maikammer and St. Martin. They are our guests and hence their wish is our command. What an adventure! The German Wine Route is lined with road blocks… we keep on landing in front of stop signs and barriers… interestingly without any indication of alternative routes. We try again and again – one route after the next – always the same result – stop and a barrier, and that’s it. With and without GPS. Our Russian friends learn the word “Umleitung” (deviation or in Russian “объезд”). It takes us quite some time to get to Neustadt and to Maikammer. Finally we arrive, taste some wine, and our Russian friends buy some bottles to take back home. August Ziegler was a nice wine grower in Maikammer.

We have dinner in Kallstadt and then take our friends back to Speyer. Before going to sleep in the Kallstädter Hof, I relax with a glass of Riesling from the vineyard Saumagen.

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A hot and sunny day in Kallstadt and around – we walk through the vineyards and later visit two selected wine growers

On our fourth day in Germany we explore the area around Kallstadt that is located on the northern part of the German Wine Route. We follow the Riesling path and walk through the vineyards “Saumagen” and “Annaberg”.

It IS hot, this must be good for the grapes. The Romans had brought the tradition of wine growing to the Pfalz, as the ruins and the reconstruction of this rustic Roman villa shows.

We come across one of the vineyards of the Brothers Rings living in Freinsheim – I later buy three bottles of Riesling from the vineyards Nussriegel and Steinacker.

We also visit the highest vineyard in the Pfalz. We are welcomed by a dog, then by the wife of the house.

In the kitchen we meet a friend of my uncle Gerhard and share a glass of wine with the owners. The friend of my uncle says: “He has taught me so much about wine, and please give my regards to the Kallstädter Hof.” The world is small.  I buy a bottle of Riesling Basalt and a bottle of Riesling Buntsandstein (variegated sandstone).

Yes, I have family relations in Kallstadt. For centuries my family has owned the winery “Eduard Schuster”. Due to lacking succession it has been sold and now became the Weingut am Nil. “Nil” is a tiny vineyard near Kallstadt. The new owners have given the winery a new purple design.

In the courtyard there is a restaurant where we have an apéritif. The choice of wines has been streamlined and the labels match the purple appearance.

On one hand I am sad, but on the other hand, I am happy to see the modern marketing style which indicates that the new owners care and add fresh blood to the traditional Schuster winery.

We have a great dinner in the courtyard of the Kallstädter Hof, and the next morning we continue to the Pfälzer Wald.

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.