What a nice university town less than an hour south of
Stuttgart! It reminded me a bit of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the best of
Germany thrown into the mix. We parked in one of the garages just outside of
old town, having been alerted that on-street parking is tough to find and
time-limits are strictly enforced. It was a short walk past vegetable vendors
and florists, to a warren of cobblestoned streets leading uphill past assorted
shops and cafés, including a record store (yep, real vinyl!).
The City Museum is closed on Mondays, FYI, but there are
plenty of other things to see and do. There were bookstores with titles in
English, a super falafel place with well-spiced lentil soup, and plenty of top
name brand shops from muesli to bath products. On a serious note, a church shop
on the main square featured a reconciliation video of Germans apologizing for
the war crimes of their grandparents to Jewish and Polish people around the
world during several “Marches of Remembrance”. Very powerful and moving. A rock
had been thrown through the church shop window the week before.
One of the large churches had an organist rehearsing so
loudly that we could hear the music outside, so of course we went in! A lovely
chocolate shop enticed us to buy gifts for other people, and we climbed the
hill to the castle for fantastic views over the city. We didn’t go into the
castle museum, but will do so on a future visit. There were flyers for lectures
and activism on social justice issues – I may need to take some advanced German
classes so I can understand more complicated vocabulary in order to attend some
of those events.
We picked up a bunch of fruits and vegetables from an
outdoor vendor on the way back to the car, so be sure to bring along your
reusable shopping bags- though there were thin plastic bags available. We look
forward to returning in the warmer weather, and again when it gets cold next
December for the chocolate festival.
