Backnang - Day 12

29 August 2008
More sightseeing
Tammy and I did our own thing today. After breakfast we grabbed a ride to Backnang and stepped out near the 1452 Totenkirchle. This was a Catholic church, then was a cemetery chapel but nowadays it is an unremarkable and small building in the centre of a parking lot with Doctors and other businesses. From here we resumed our "Metropolis on the Murr" tour. We climbed steeply on paths and steps past peoples little gardens and fruit trees. Dogs said hi as we passed. The highest point was at the old peoples home where we had a fine view of the town.

From holiday blog

Descending the other side we saw more of the quiet gardens and houses. We reached the main part of town and a tattoo studio advertised its trade by using a tacky mosaic embedded in the doorstep.

From holiday blog

Back near town there was a peculiar device almost hidden from view. This was a cable car system. It was small so it was no good for people but it must have carried goods up and down the hill. It zig-zagged upwards and away from a loading bay near the road.
We popped into Lidl just to compare. There was a big fresh bread section which UK shops do not have. As well as their own brand honey they had the branded

Langnese Bienenhonig

too. We got a jar of that.
Lunch was in a riverside café in an area must have been reclaimed or recycled from old industrial. I don't recall anything being there before. Now it is a trendy café and bar area. The lunch menu was very simple. There was one special per day and the menu ran a month in advance. You could eat for €3, €5 or €7 depending on how hungry you were. I didn't choose that but I had a meat salad which turned out to be mostly meat. I also had a trendy looking Bionade which was a sort of fizzy barley water. Such a combination was a bold experiment but I reckon that it failed and should be avoided.
Every 15 minutes a fountain sprang into life after a prelude of rumbling motors and gurgling water. We finished our lunch and went into town. We looked at Max Mayer and inside the grand department store now looked very shabby. It carried the same sort of tat that pound shops stock and it had eastern european staff, probably Turkish. I got a Uefa 2006 hat and a few other bits. We crossed the Murr by a wooden footbridge and examined the ancient town wall.

From holiday blog

We then climbed the leafy staircase trail that led back up to St Pancras church and back into the old town.
There was only one shop selling the sturdy metal framed canvas shopping baskets that we had seen being used to carry bakery goods. This shop was next to the ornate fountain in the old main street. The choice was a bit limited but Tammy went in and asked to see some others. Tammy picked a red one but just as the sale was being rung up she noticed a slight scuff of dirt on the side. The shop assistant immediately knocked €5 off the price so that was a nice bonus. There was a fancy hardware store in the middle of town selling fancy stuff like Royal Doulton china. Impressively she spoke English without a trace of German accent. There was a sugar pourer in there but at €20 we thought it was best to leave it there. We got a €5 sugar pourer from another shop.
Finally we stopped at another pavement café and this time it was a Spaghetti and Gelati place. We opted for the Gelati and the hazelnut flavour is still a vivid memory.

From holiday blog

Looking at the time I saw that we could just about make the next bus so we hurried along. In fact the last passengers were about to hop on so we smartly hurried in behind them in the nick of time.
As the holiday was nearly over it was time to return Christel's car so Westy and Dad went off to do this task. Pity I didn't tell Westy about the frozen ball joint on the rear view mirror as when the Mondeo came back it the mirror was no longer attached.
The evening meal was in the Sonne hotel. The younger elements leapt across the Bach. We took the car which was quite unnecessary for such a short journey but it was required later.

From holiday blog

It was another splendidly indulgent meal accompanied by some nice wines.

From holiday blog

But half way through Dad had to take a break to drive to Backnang because Inge's train was bringing her back

Sachsenweiler - Day 11

Tea at Anita's
28 August 2008
The morning was a sad day because we visited cousin Bärbel in intensive care. We all put gowns on and went in. Bärbel was obviously very ill and weak but in good spirits. She had been reading a novel before we arrived. The last time that I saw her must have been in the early seventies and Sergeant Pepper was in her cassette tape collection. I had thought of her as a young and pretty woman just setting out on life and so how did she become so frail? Sylvia said that Bärbel's catchphrase used to be "Mein Englisch ist kwatsch" and while still not great it was much better than my German. This was to be the last time that we saw her as she passed away a few weeks later.

Back in Backnang we had a quick café lunch and then went to Sachsenweiler for afternoon coffee. This was at Anita's place and our group quite overwhelmed the flat. The children all went into another room and the adults into the main lounge and balcony. The sun on the south facing balcony was very fierce. The view was quite splendid with a distant tree topped ridge above the rooftops.

From holiday blog

Looking at the gardens they were less fussy than in days gone by. Many were now plain grass with an arbor instead of elaborate rockeries and fruit and vegetable crops.

The children got bored and then went outdoors to race around. They quickly made friends and they could run around too.

From holiday blog

We sat down for coffee. The table was set with the most exquisite bone china. The cups were very thin and richly decorated and had a base that seemed too narrow to keep the cup upright if the table were to be given a sudden transverse acceleration.

Anita had produced an huge amount of cakes and pasties and we tucked in. Some of them incorporated fruit from the garden such as blackberries. Then we looked at Anita's husband's [name?] extensive banknote collection with notes from most countries. Finally the ladies were presented with an hand made pin cushion and we were given the remaining cakes to take away.

From holiday blog

We then did a stroll of Sachsenweiler. We went past the kindergarten. There used to be a matrix of short clay pipes set into the wall through which you could peer in and out of the playground. The pipes were still there but they were now capped with cement and there appeared to be anti-climbing measures on the low roof.

From holiday blog

The little wood at the western end was pretty much unchanged. A small street with houses on the other side of the wood was new as was a sports court. The field at the back where we played among the hand tied sheaves of straw now contained what appeared to be allotments with some vegetables but mainly flowers and elaborate sheds being used as summer houses.

The forest at the other end wasn't changed much. There were notices about toxic acorns. I had a vision of doing a loop around the forest path. The old path ran along the top edge and it was still there. A long straight track through the centre of the wood was still there. It used to be heavily rutted and I could imagine the tractors struggling to pull timber out. Now it is too heavy with brambles and nettles to walk along so we reluctantly turned back. A bit further on I had hoped to see the big dragonflies that patrolled the bottom edge of the woods near the river. The ones that used to fly straight at you and then turn at the last moment making a purring noise. The forest paths are no longer kept clear and I suppose it is because less people visit it these days. We continued along the farm road to the eastern edge of the woods where the vista opens up.

From holiday blog

I found a frog and I managed to trap it and pick it up. I handed it around the kids before letting it go.

We admired the view and the next stop was back to Hilla with all the kids where Christel and Andy were there. The garden toys were uncovered and Rosie didn't get tired of the swing. Christel presented each of us a bottle of Mateus Rosé and Horst gave each kid a back-to-school drawing set.

Backnang - Day 10

27 August 2008
Mineral Freibad Again
As the weather was holding we decided to do the Freibad again. Tammy and I did the morning bun run. As well as the usual pretzels I got some sturdy pot scrubbers. Stainless steel doesn't rust but it sure isn't non stick. Back at the house I dumped the ashes onto the compost heap and set to work on the barbecue. Stainless steel holds dirt very tenaciously but liberal use of detergent and elbow grease got the grill clean again.
The rest of the day was spent in the Freibad again and there is not a lot more to report. Being a weekday there were more trains rumbling along the south side as we swam. We were last out again and I sat near the exit listening to the snack machine. This was a popcorn machine that prepared fresh popcorn while you waited. The annoying gimmick designed to entertain you for the three minutes was that it played the catchy Euro-electro-pop tune "Popcorn" while it was popping. This track was named "Worst Moog Tune of All Time" by Entertainment Weekly. As it took the ladies a very long time to get changed I heard this quite a few times.
Where did we eat our evening meal that evening? Was it back in a Chinese restaurant in Backnang or was it the pub in Großaspach. Or did Dad cook something up in the kitchen. I can't remember.

Backnang - Day 9

26 August 2008
Mineral Freibad

The Brötchen run on this occasion was massive and the shop assistant didn't blink when I ordered 20. We also got some toys as is the tradition; A plastic helicopter disk launcher and a frisbee. After much buttering and packing we set off. We went round the Berliner while Westy went through town so naturally we got there first. It was a warm sunny Sunday so the whole town had turned up and the car park was packed. Dad came in for a short while but went out again to purchase barbecue goodies.
We have no pictures from the Freibad. It wasn't the right place to leave cameras and we weren't sure if Germany had the same fear about mixing cameras and kids that the Daily Mail has. So here is an aerial photo that I found at http://www.vvs.de/freizeitportal/detail.php?ID_FZ=501&ukat_id=93 .
The baths had been pretty much entirely rebuilt and to a very high standard. It was once a rectangular main pool and paddling pool with optional table tennis. Now it was a main pool with fountains and small water slides, a paddling pool with a shaded sand play area and a water pumping toy. Another pool for lane swimming and diving. Finally a pair of big waterslides and their own plunge pool completed the inventory.
Gone was the shallow channel that surrounded the pool in the old days. It was an excellent game to march around it to create a bow wave. Stepping into the water as an adult I immediately noticed how clean and fresh the water actually was. I had forgotten that Mineral Freibad actually meant that it was like mineral water. Chlorine played no part in this pool making it so much more pleasant.
Rosie especially loved the sand area and spent most of her time there. Turning a wheel pumped water into a series of wooden channels. Sand could be heaped up to make dams and then broken down again and the kids didn't seem to get tired of this.
We spent most of the day in and out of the water and my favourite was the big slide. We also had a game of volleyball. We stayed pretty much until the place was closing. On the way out we saw two British motor homes parked up. A guy was shaving using the wing mirror. A couple of crates of British beer were set outside the vans. This is the poor man's version of Centerparc.
In the evening back in Allmersbach was the barbecue. Herr Spörl's all stainless steel and very heavy industrial grade barbecue was assembled. The engineering was impressive as was the lavish use of expensive materials. We worked out how the tubes, cables, chains and bolts went together and we were ready to add the coals.

From holiday blog

We had no firelighters, so that meant more fun for us. Paper and cardboard were artfully crumpled up and a mound of charcoal placed on top. An empty cornflakes packet was used to fan the flames and somehow the fire caught and after half an hour we were ready to cook.
The marinated pieces of chicken, ribs and steaks went on. Rosé was now chilled and ready to serve. Marshmallows were arranged as the sun set. Sliced vegetables roasted slowly on foil. Salad was laid out on the table.
The kids sat around the grill and threw pistachio shells onto the fire.

From Backnang 2008

We ate at tables in a sheltered corner and watched the night descend. The fire glowed red in the night and I switched on the outdoor halogen lamps. The kids having finished their meal went off to watch something on the Mac Air.

The Burg - Day 8

25 August 2008
We visit a Burg
I had a look at a booklet that listed ancient monuments. Among the Schlosses and burgs there was one listed very close by. It looked like it would be a nice woodland walk so off we went. We zoomed up the Weinberg in our cars through the forest roads.

From Backnang 2008

Soon we got to a crossroads and a roughly surfaced car park. We hopped out and found our bearings. A wooden shelter with a picnic table sat across from the car park. We headed down along a restricted road that seemed to indicate the way to the burg. There was plenty of nature to see on this woodland road including slugs, caterpillars and mushrooms. The cool, dark forest road started to descend and the dense trees gave way to a sunny orchard and further down we came to a farmhouse. By the side of the road was an hollowed out tree trunk fashioned into a rustic horse trough. A couple of mountain bikers came down the road and turned the hairpin going deeper down into more forest.
In a clearing was a small information board explaining the history of the Warthof burg starting from 1117. Wart means "watch" so it was some sort of watch tower and it had a moat still evident by looking at the earthworks. It had fallen into disuse by 1438 and all that was visible was a bit of wall. A small but thick stone section was all that was left. Inside it was built a much more recent barn and since it was on private land that was the closest we got to it.
Having done the burg we should have turned back but instead we continued on the road that descended at quite a pitch and zig-zagged down into more dark damp forest.

From Germany 2008

A tiny stream splashed down the valley and I could see a bridge far below in the distance. We followed the stream down until we got to a bridge. We had descended an alarming amount and now the only way was up. After a little consideration at this crossroads it seemed that the most likely direction was up the other side of the valley.

From Germany 2008

It was indeed a hard and stony climb not suited to a buggy. We emerged back onto the public road not far from the car park. Sitting at the wooden hut we saw an eagle do a few circuits above the tree tops making the screeching call that you only normally hear in adventure films.
We went back to Allmersbach briefly and then went to Kleinasbach where Mick was due to arrive. We got to the hotel but no sign of Mick or car yet. We strolled down to a restaurant. It seemed to be the day for the old folks as the restaurant was full of them having a big party. Plenty of singing going on too.
So there was no room for us inside but there were shaded tables outdoors. We watched the street from this vantage point looking out for a Golf containing Mick. A group of brightly Lycra clad cyclists went by. Swallows were working hard going in and out of their nest boxes bringing lunch for their chicks. Huge trucks went by loaded with the local mineral water. Mick soon joined us. I tried the Kutteln which turned out to be a somewhat sour tripe dish. The rest of the Chalkhill clan chose dishes with considerably less offal content. At regular intervals we heard singing pensioners having a fine time.
Afternoon saw the convoy head up to the graveyard and it was quite a festive air. We gathered around the grave and cast our minds back to long gone summers when we visited the same spot when it was just grandfather in the grave.

From Germany 2008

The children had no such memories and set to work cleaning the gravestones with sponge, squeegee and watering can. Orange bugs swarmed over the stones.

From Backnang 2008

Flowers were purchased too and arranged around the dahlias and chrysanthemums that were already there..

From Germany 2008

From Backnang 2008

In the evening we went to a grape themed pub in Großaspach. Afterwards the locals asked us if Theo and Rosie were adopted, not being obviously related to anyone in the party. We walked back to the cars while scooter gangs were buzzing around the tight bends in the main road.

Ebnisee - Day 7

24 August 2008
Day out at the lake

One of the traditional places to visit was Ebnisee and today was the ideal day to do it being warm and sunny.
The history was interesting too. Apparently timber was cut in winter and horses hauled sledges onto the frozen lake. In the spring the water would melt and the wood would be rafted down the Murr and Neckar to Waiblingen where the mills would process it and transport the finished timber to Stuttgart where it was used as firewood. Then 250 years ago a dam was built forming the lake and the timber trade went by cart. Then the railway was built and retired the carts and the lake was allowed to dry. The only thing that saved the lake was because the mills needed water power and an important road was built on the dam itself so it was restored. Now it regulates the flow of water providing a buffer against flooding and it is a reservoir.
When you are small it seems so far away from Backnang but it really was fairly local. Google says driving time is 24 minutes. Dad was navigating and we found all the twists and turns on the tiny roads through little villages starting from Sachsenweiler. Eventually we hit a main road and it was full of touring motorbikes and very fit cyclists as this became an hilly route. It turns out that Ebnisee was on everyone else's mind today and the overflow car parking was busy. A fleet of shiny motorbikes obstructed the entrance to the loos. I recall quiet lakeside walks and picnics on the grass. Stepping into the water with squishy mud between my toes and bobbing about on a blue lilo that had a mysterious cloth effect. Also munching tomatoes as if they were apples. Now it is very busy with a thriving boat hire business, sausage and ice cream stops at regular intervals and a pub overlooking the lake. We didn't get too far before we got snared by one such sausage stand.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

It also didn't take long before the youngest boy's Wurst escaped and hit the Erde. Is 50 old enough not to need to go on or in the water? I reckoned that I could leave the boating antics to the young folks and went on a walking circumnavigation of the lake pushing the buggy that had been vacated by the boat girl. Boats and swimmers flitted up and down the lake.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

A little island was refuge to the ducks. Pony rides went up and down the trails. Bicycles meandered around. In the woodlands a carver was selling his sculptures. Soon we got to the swimming area and the gently sloping grass leading into the water was still there. So was the Familie Wörner snack hut but it seemed to be much bigger and there was a big area taken over for seating. Further along was a quiet bay where few boats strayed and I fed the ducks with some surplus bread. The fishes seemed more interested so I fed them. Tiny crumbs of bread would start to sink and then they would blink out of sight as a fat sleek fish snapped it up. I went back to the cafe and got a coffee while we waited for the aquatic family members to return. All back together we got around three quarters of the way when we got distracted by an ice cream hut perched up a woody slope. Then we got distracted by the children's play area. Then we got distracted by the pony rides so the kids got kitted up and went on a little excursion.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

A baby horse followed the group on the incline that lead back to the lakeside. I went back to feed the fishes. We collected the cars and headed back to Backnang. Were we done with the fun yet? Not at all. We zoomed off into Backnang and had a Chinese meal outdoors with a view of the old tower while the sun went down. The kids did a few races while waiting for dinner and Alice did a few rounds of "Consequences".

From TamPicsBacknang2008

The Germans don't quite get the concept of how Chinese food should be served. They came out with individual plates, each one a complete meal and not designed for sharing. We pulled that system apart. As it got darker the town clock tolled again and again and the gas lighting came on. The whole centre of town has traditional looking but thoroughly modern gas lighting and despite the fragility of gas mantles I didn't see any lamp that failed to start. After dinner we went up the hill, past a terrified brown mouse

From 437OLYMP

and the display of the mighty Telefunken TR4 which can do a division in only 50mS up to the wine festival. The square at the top of the town was alive with many stalls selling their local wine. Musicians were out and about. The many tables were packed with a lively crowd. As well as wine there was food such as sausages and Spanferkel which sounds like a car problem, "Its yer Spanferkel thats gone mate, s'gonna cost you.", but it is actually suckling pig sandwiches. We settled on the Reitenauer white from Weinbau Grüber, a very fresh and fruity wine and the kids had some fruit juice.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

Finally we strolled back to the cars in Bleichweise (last public execution 1848) and headed back to Allmersbach.

Backnang Night 6

23 August 2008
As promised, Christel and Andy turned up with cars and we followed them to Winnenden. The house is big and an unusual layout. It was converted from some sort of farm building and now serves as a home and an alternative therapy centre.
We wandered down the road to the pub. Like many of the places that we visited they put their industrial relics out as decorations. In other places it was a wine press but in Winnenden it was the brandy still that featured in gardens. We settled down in the pub and the kids did their thing.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

They played with cameras and camera-phones. Alice did hair plaiting and the boys played games on their ipods. I didn't even know that you could do that.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

It was another great meal and many thanks to Christel and Andy for treating us so well. Afterwards we strolled back in the night back to their house. It was a house of treasures. A cuckoo clock that didn't work. A harmonium that did. Medical charts on the wall indicating accupuncture points and a couple of treatment rooms. Even though we were stuffed we still found space for ice creams from the freezer.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

We piled back into the cars and returned to Allmersbach.

Backnang Day 6

23 August 2008
Backnang
Morning was the usual bakery run but oh dear, the bakery was closed. A lady pointed us to the other two bakeries. We told her that we are staying in Allmersbach and she immediately knew who our landlord was. It certainly is a small place. Outside the next bakery I spotted a new jam jar on the street. No, not cockney rhyming slang, A woman was in the middle of a bag disaster and some of her shopping was in her car but some of it had managed to escape. Dad returned with the Westies from Backnang station and Richard had a family travelcard. Seizing the opportunity we took the card and the bus and went off to Backnang.

From BacknangDay6

The tourist office was closed but another visitor to the town saw our map containing an historic trail and asked us where we got it from. The answer was, "We got it from here, but on Wednesday when it was open". The trail was something we had never done. On many occasions we had come to town but in search of the doctor or the Max Meyer department store. The long and interesting history had never been a single thought but this time I was more of a tourist. The town had been trashed several times. In 1235 by Henry VII and his dad in a royal power struggle. In 1525 by revolting peasants. At the beginning of the 1600s in the thirty year war, and in 1693 by the French and then the RAF in 1944. Fortunately, somebody kept the plans safe and usually the buildings were restored within a few years. Starting at the town hall there were no less than 31 places on the trail. We started at the town hall which was reconstructed after the French burnt it down. We marvelled at the dreadful reconstruction of the Governor's Office which was just approaching completion. The original half timbered features seem to have been replaced by stucco with a timber effect painted on top. Elsewhere the turbulent history was evident.

From BacknangDay6

The bell tower used to be attached to St Michael's Church in the 13th C. 1519 it collapsed, rebuilt 1614, wrecked again 1693 and rebuilt in 1699 to the 1614 plan and the choir rebuilt in 2000. The Augustinian canonry had become the main protestant church and over their refectory was now the protestant deanery. The Roman Catholics now have a much later unremarkable church further up the hill. At various places along the river and in town the ancient city walls from 1220 can be seen, now a little worse for wear. One stop was Chelmsford Platz which boasts a K6 red telephone box donated by their twin town, complete with pink T-mobile phone. There was also a small post box more usually seen in rural parts of England.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

Lunch was at Chelmsford Platz in a pleasant and trendy street cafe of the type that seems to have taken over the centre of Backnang. We also peered in the window display showing the 1964 Telefunken TR4 computer. Memory 4k Words and it fits into a single room! We trekked back up the hill to the station. According to the history trail this line was being doubled and improved at the time that Mr Beeching was taking apart the UK network. We caught the bus and walked back to the house. There was nobody there but an almighty racket of kids was echoing around. We could see a trampoline in the distance being pounded up. After a while we realised that it was the children. When we got closer we saw that the trampoline and swing were in the grounds of Landgasthof Sonne and that it was the grandchildren making all the noise.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

Sachsenweiler - Day 5

22 August 2008
The morning we did our usual breakfast run and as well as the usual Pretzel we also made the first of several visits to the Rupp-Holzwarth Metzgerei for a slightly better class of salami than the supermarket could offer. With breakfast out of the way we headed out to Sachsenweiler and parked on the corner of Mennostrasse. There were not too many changes. The concrete electriciy pylons had gone and the flats had some serious renovations including extra balconies. Immediately Dad was recognised by a man doing gardening. A bit further down the road a blue Daf 66 was parked: a rare sight these days. And suddenly Anita popped up and we found that we had a future date for coffee and cakes.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

We strolled towards the pub with lunch in mind but no food was to be had. The chef had already packed up. Gone were every single shop. The grocery store converted so no fresh brötchen any more. The vending machines that sold convenience foods like filter coffee gone. The little bank where mum used to visit now an empty shell. If you want any shopping now you have to trek to town. Lidl, Aldi and Kaufland have killed off the corner shop. So we went off to Steinbach and the Alpine restaurant where the girls all wear traditional Swiss outfits. We had a splendid pub meal and some lovely beer and where Theo chose the first of his many schnitzels.

From TamPicsBacknang2008

The wasps were interested too and I wafted them away but if they were too persistent then they got squashed. After lunch we took a stroll in the woods above Steinbach taking the car as far as we could along a farm track. We reached a hut that was ideal for scenic picnics. The rain came down a little and we went back to the car and back to Allmersbach. I went on a little expedition with Tammy first to the local graveyard where the snails came out in force after the rains. Then we went along the edge of the maize fields admiring the rolling hills and farms at sunset.