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Published: June 15th 2009
Hostel
The view from the window of our hostel on the river.A long, long time ago, 3 years to be exact, Brittany used to live in the storybook town of Tubingen, Germany. She had a fabulous friend, named Kristy, who also came to visit her in the lovely town all those years ago. This weekend they set out on a journey to revisit the town that looked like it was straight out of a fairytale. This is their story.....
We set out for Tubingen via the mitfahr (carpool) and got a different perspective of Germany. By carpooling, it is a cheaper way to travel and you get to meet people from all over the place. We met a young couple by the names of Julia and Johannes who got us to Tubingen safely (and quickly!). When we arrived in Tubingen, we checked into our hostel, which was situated right on the shore of the Nekkar River (which also flows through Heidelberg). The room was great (except for a low beam that I kept smacking my head on), and the view from our window was beautiful and peaceful.
The entire weekend centered on relaxation. We headed down to a outdoor stand and had lunch by the river. We walked around the
Castle
Inside the castle grounds... wondering what magical creature (or really short groundskeeper) might inhabit this house. town for the good majority of the day, visiting the local castle, walking by the church and university (where Brittany used to study) and through the park. After walking through the park, we turned a corner into a small street and found a gathering of cafe patrons listening to some local musicians. It felt like we had just been dropped into a movie, as we walked, the musicians played a smooth song that could very well have been the soundtrack to the weekend. We sat and listened for a while until the musicians packed up and moved on.
After walking on further, we talked about life and how surreal it was for Brittany to be back in Tubingen. She absolutely loved it here and was originally looking for a job here before being hired in Karlsruhe. She still said that the small town felt like home to her and it was comforting to be back.
While walking along the streets, we heard music again. Apparently our musician friends had moved on to another location, as we passed them again, still playing their soothing sounds. We wandered up to the castle and sat beneath the trees, observing nature, and
Grounds
The castle grounds, this is where the archers come to practice. later, the archers that practice in the castle grounds who were passing by. We had lost track of time and decided it would probably be a good time to get some dinner, so we went down to one of Brittany's favorite restaurants and had a marvelous meal. Upon sitting down at the table, we again heard music... once again, we had found our musicians from earlier in the day. The were playing the song "I Could Dance All Night" which we felt was appropriate, given that we were completely content with the day. At dinner, we had a German couple sit down at our table (we were leaving soon) and had a great conversation with them.
That night, we went out to some local cafes and pubs to see a little bit of the Tubingen night life. We had to be up early in the morning to check out of our hostel, so we only ended up staying out until 2, but we had a great time.
The next day, after checking out of the hostel, we headed down to the River to relax and enjoy the day. Once again, everything is closed in Germany on Sundays, so
Awesome.
Castle? Nope, frat house. Instead of late night hazing... these fraternities live in castle-style buildings and do fencing and swordplay. we didn't have much to do but relax. After the river, we went to the local park so that Brittany could get some of her work done for her training that started Monday while I read a book (thank you Amazon Kindle for iPod...). While in the park, we saw a strange man who had stripped down to a speedo and was talking to himself as if he were holding a conversation with another person on his picnic blanket. He also proceeded to walk through the park (still speedo-clad) as if he were a king or celebrity, addressing his loyal fans and waving to crowds of people that didn't exist. The park was full of awkward moments.
After a leisurely time in the park, we went back through down and stumbled upon a gathering of booths, which housed art and items created by some of the locals. We looked around for a while and admired the craftsmanship of the Tubing-ers before moving on to get lunch (and ice cream). We then headed back down to the river to nap and listen to the sounds of nature. We decided that we had relaxed enough for the day, but our ride
Markplatz
In the city center of Tubingen, this is the central market place. back didn't leave until 10 PM.
We went to the train station to see what our options were, but in the end, decided to sit at a restaurant for a few hours, eat slowly, and watch a movie on my iPod. We rode back to Karlsruhe with two locals, Daniel and Chris who were working and studying in Karlsruhe (respectively). We had a relaxing weekend, but learned that you can actually have too much of a good thing. It was wonderful to revisit a town that I didn't think I would have the opportunity to see again and to step back into the feeling of walking through the pages of a storybook!
Tonight, I leave for Paris until Friday. Au revoir!
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MIchele & Grandma & Grandpa
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Hello from Minnesota
We are enjoying seeing all of the pictures of your trip. It looks like you are having a good time. Keep safe and hope to see you when you get home. We are looking forward to seeing your mom in July. Sorry you won't be here also but will see you sometime. love, Grandma and Grandpa