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| Hohenzollern Castle |
Blue sky and clouds, so we spent a fair part of the day on the bike, thoroughly enjoying the wonderful green-line roads which surround us. Our one tourist target, suggested by a fellow-motorcyclist back at Stefan's in Heidelberg (would we have missed it otherwise?), was the hilltop Hohenzollern Castle, with its commanding views of the countryside. This royal family of German kings is first mentioned in the literature in 1061and remained in power through nine centuries, ending with Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918. The castle--the third on the site-- was built between 1860-1867 and was lived in only briefly.
The only way we could eat before taking the 2 pm English tour was to brave the cafe food. Lacking a dictionary we ended up with a slab of ham "meatloaf" and some curried bits of ?. At least we recognized and enjoyed the pommes frites. (check photos for visuals) The excellent castle tour covered five furnished rooms and a brief history of the family.
More hours of pleasant riding, punctuated by a McDonalds coffee stop (cappuccino, no less), brought us to the small town of Hornberg in the heart of the Black Forest, near the open air museum that we plan to visit tomorrow. After securing our bargain room in the town's best hotel, we departed again for a 90 minute evening ride (can't get enough of this countryside), winding up at 7:40 at the nearby town of Gutach. By chance we had seen posted a notice of a choral performance there, and managed to slip into the church in time to catch most of the 75 minutes of wonderful music. Another perfect day. A mere 134 miles was just right. Rob says he's tempted to stay in Germany for the next six weeks!
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