Nordlingen Germany

After a quiet night in Krumbach we gave the old town a miss for several reasons.. too early, too foggy and missed opportunity for a parking spot.

So we set the GPS for Nordlingen, 86km away. It took us a good 90+ mins due to  getting stuck behind a tractor for what seemed an eternity at 40kmph. That’s the down side of taking the backroads. Mark eventually managed to pass him to later being stuck behind a truck at 70kmph. Oh well. By this stage the fog had cleared at we were able to see a bit more of the countryside and it was an Augustiner truck so all was forgiven.

Twin city with Wagga Wagga!

We arrived in Nordlingen and parked just outside of the old town centre. 

The tourist brochures tell us that it is Germany’s only completely preserved city wall.

It is 2.7km long and we begin our trek via Deninger Tor, getting off at Baldinger Tor. 

We wandered into the centre. Along the way we spotted lots of pig statues and found out that in 1440 a pig saved the city from an attack by scratching on an open gate. Even to this day the town crier calls out “So, G’sell, so!” Every half hour from 10-12pm.

The Rathaus (Town Hall) is one of the oldest in Germany and has a beautiful renaissance style external stair case. 

St.Georges church had a beautiful interior. 

Of course we could not resist to climb 70m up to the top of its bell tower called Daniel. 

Cost €4 each put you don’t need to pay until you have reached the top!

A human powered wheel inside.

Views as we come up 

Getting closer to the top.

Toilets and defibrillator are found at the top  

The reward was to have great views over the town. The surrounding countryside was shaped by a meteor strike 15 million years ago and the area is named Reis.

We meandered through the streets. There were lots of lovely coloured and half timbered buildings.  Some were a bit wonky.

Selling dried artichoke flowers at the market.

There were some ball maze games scattered around too.

After a snack at one of the many bakeries we headed back to the wall tower that we had stopped at and continued the full circuit of the wall.

It was quite warm by the time we returned to Bluey, so our motivation was to find a shady spot for the afternoon. As luck would have it, we found just the spot in the town of Wemding not too far away. 

We went into this ancient walled town to get our overnight ticket at the tourist office. Armed with some info we proceeded to explore a few highlights. This of course included the picturesque buildings around the market square.

St.Emmeram church with its two towers had a very impressive interior.

And an interesting entrance door that must open completely in different sections.

There were many fuchsia plants throughout the town, named after the famous botanist, Leonhard von Fuchs, who was born here.

The Amberbacher Tower is the only thing left on the 19th C castle.

The 32m Nordlingen Tower was part of the town gate. We spotted 2 cannon balls fitted into its walls from the Spanish War of Succession (1704). 

They must like pigs here too.. 

The town appears to be less touristy and more residential than Nordlingen.

The rest of the afternoon was spent under the shade of the chestnut trees with maybe a drink or two …

104km today.