4th May 2016........................Mostly sunny, 12C

Morning campers…..it’s nearly 7.30am on Wednesday 4^th and I’m writing this from the home of Katja and Stefan.  As I type I’m looking out of our bedroom window over what should be beautiful German countryside in the hamlet of Oberrot……I say should be because at the moment the whole area is shrouded in mist.  There are only about half a dozen houses in this hamlet and there is a working dairy farm across the road where Katja collects their milk every morning directly from the vat.

The calves from the farm across the road - they spend most of their lives inside

It is an old home dating from the 17^th century which they have and are, renovating. I stopped counting the rooms after the first half dozen, but it is huge and substantial.  Thick beams and doors, solid wooden triple glazed windows, three or four storeys (I lost count) solar, wood, oil powered, and central heating keeps its large rooms snug and warm.  The main lounge area has catered for 50 people. It is a great room with feature windows overlooking the serenity of this gorgeous spot.

After a breakfast of fresh bread from the bakery with five different types of cheeses and meat and or marmalade and jam….delicious !...we sat talking, before preparing to venture out for a day of sightseeing. The guys had a couple of places they wanted to take us today, the first being Wangen, a beautiful medieval town with wall still intact. Dating back to the 1500’s, it, like many other towns of this era, is well maintained with any upgrades being required, done in that style…and boy, do they do an exceptional job. Spent a good few hours wandering around, looking at various aspects, including the obligatory church, which like the vast majority, turns out to be amazing…!

Tried to change some New Zealand currency at a couple of banks without any luck….and unfortunately when we attempted to use our cash passport, we had forgotten the prescribed pin number…so our hosts funded our days activities and lunch….thanks guys….our turn tomorrow..! 

It was a nice day and when you were in the sun, quite warm, however any form of shade and you could feel the temperature drop…..certainly not what we’ve been used to this past N. Z. summer.

Driving later on in the afternoon toward Waldburg and a very old fortress perched high on a hill…( without the lonely goat herd ) it was great to see the amount of small roads ideal for cycling and even the more main roads, all with cycle paths….one of the reasons we love this country for riding.

Waldburg Fortress

Some scary characters in Wangen museum

After a short, but steep climb to the fortress, we spent the next hour and then some roaming in and around this solid structure, dating back to 854…..friggin amazing..! Yet, once again, Europe is filled with all this history and you could spend a lifetime exploring all the wonders that are available.

BELOW: This guy was not too impressed by two kiwi 

tourists and had no problems showing his feelings!

As the afternoon began to fade, we journeyed back home, calling in to Kisslegg, the town closest to Katja and Stefan. Here stands a fantastic example of a catholic Baroque church ….(Christine Goodin, you would love it…!) You certainly don’t have to be religious to appreciate the beauty and finery of this wonderful structure. From the moment we entered the main doors, we had our mouths open oohing and aahing at the paintings, lining the walls and ceiling and gold adorning the sculptures.

And this, apparently, is nothing, to what we have lined up to see tomorrow….how is that possible? 

Anyway, enough drooling over the church as we had a castle to go and see next.

Through the village of Kisslegg to the new castle which has the amazing feature of a stork nest on one of the chimneys.  

Apparently the stork came and built her nest on the only working chimney on the palace and so they had to shift the nest onto a different chimney - which would be no easy task as the nest is huge!

The new castle in Kisslegg - if you look carefully you can see the stork nest on the right rear chimney.

Back to Oberrot for another delicious dinner including white asparagus spears about three times the size of our normal green asparagus and extra delicious in a cheesy sauce.  Tonight we were able to stay awake until 9.30pm before the jetlag kicked in and we hit the hay.