Tubingen, Esslingen

Travelled : 56km
Stay: Esslingen- free parking, no service point. Next to castle walls 10min walk to old qtr.  N48.74680 E9.31112
Visit:Tubingen, Esslingen

We spent a lovely day visiting 2 pretty towns both on the Neckar River. It was a short drive into Tubingen and we had found a parking area on the Web that appeared not to be underground. It turned out to be perfect- not too busy, close to the old quarter and a reasonable price €1.50/hr (N48.52207 E9.04666).

 Tubingen is essentially a university town, the first being founded in 1477. With a map from the tourist office we proceeded to look at all the major buildings shaping the history of the town. The 1606  schloss which towers over the town has a magnificent gateway and terrific views. 

There was produce for sale in the Markplatz next to the Neptune fountain. Unfortunately the Rathaus was under renovations but there were plenty other buildings to admire. 

A letter box in Germany

We made our way back to Bluey after a bite of lunch in this very innovative fast food shop. It wasn't far to Esslingen and after parking we made our way down the hill to the old quarter. Once again we got a map from the tourist office and had a look at various buildings, some of them were very colourful especially the Town Hall. 

This is the front.

And this is the back.

The church had a very unique covered walkway between its 2 different towers. 

 This town in famous for its sparkling wines. 

This is the Germany's oldest row of timber frame houses.

The garden at the Burg next where we are parked.

Later we met up Mark and Bev in Aussie Bruce as they dash across Germany on their way to Holland.

We ate at the little yellow building.

Taking the undercover stairs back to our Motorhomes offering views of the vineyard and the town.

Camp Galli

Travelled : 180km
Stay:Nehren-stellplatz, free parking, no service point,  electricity €1/1kw N48.4380 E9.05457
Visited : Camp Galli,  near Messkirch

After using the service point and then filling up with fuel and gas plus checking the tyre pressure, we were ready for our 1 1/2 hour journey from Ulm to Camp Galli near Messkirch. 

This is a village being constructed using only 9th century methods and tools. We spent a pleasant 4 hours wandering around watching some of the 25 full time employees and Volunteers at work. We managed to find a few English speaking people to give us an insight in what they are trying to accomplish. They are only in their 3rd year of an estimated 40 years to build a early medieval monastery complex. They are following plans drawn up in the 9th century but that was never built.

Milling grains. Separating the husks.

Making pegs for the joining of timbers.

Drilling holes.

Making wax molds, then clay ones to eventually pour molten metal to make objects.

Basket weaving.

Melting the iron ore.

Making pottery pots etc

Black smith using the iron to make implements.

Beehives- honey and wax

Wood turning- wheel carts and bowls.

Tasting the local brew!

Dressing the timber to make beams.

Apparently animals were not used in this era for pulling carts...so it's human power..

The church

Making coal. Had to quickly cover the fire pit with grass and gravel. Will leave it for 2 weeks before reopening.

Wooden shingles for the buildings

Weaving 

Dying and spinning wool

Wooden tool box made from a log!

After our visit we made our way towards Tubingen but stopping 10km short and staying in a Stellplatz just near Nehren.

Fairy tale castle spotted along the way

Nehren stellplatz

Ulm 2

Visited/stay: Ulm as per last night.

Where we are parked is a huge park with sporting facilities, swimming pool, a few beer gardens, some lakes, it borders the Danube River and there are also tents up for a music festival. Last night we strolled around and came across a very popular pizza restaurant and decided to have a pizza for dinner. We shared our table with a nice young couple and found out that they have made a motorhome from a west German army truck  and used the cabin from an east German truck. He said it is a good combination, the best from both parts of the country. As we finished our meal the storm came and we just managed to get back to Bluey before the rain pelted down. Funny enough the next morning there was a truck motorhome in the parking area and Mark did wonder if it was theirs. It wasn't until late this afternoon Mark found out that it was them so we went to say hello and took a photo of them.
Otherwise today we went back into Ulm and walked through the market and back through the fishermen's quarter where we found a small festival with a brass band playing. We sat and listened whilst having a bite to eat and shared a beer. We walked back through town and slowly made our way back to Bluey taking it easy the rest of the afternoon.

A very modern interior to the church.

Who needs a car when you have one of these.

Market day

The very popular white asparagus 

Very cute watering cans

A couple of these are coming home with us.

Talented school band

A nice cold beer...

A fun way to spend the afternoon