The castle and salt path: Dottingen to Schwabisch Hall
We started the day well, with a hearty German breakfast. We were rolling early by our standards as we were on the road by 9:30. We had some hills right off the bat, but nothing too long or arduous. The weather was brilliant and is forecast to remain the same for the next couple weeks. We can't quite believe it ourselves.
First up was Braunsbach, just 5 km up the Radweg. The flash flooding was at the end of May, and the clean up effort has been huge, but most of the affected houses and buildings are still empty. There were people working at restoration everywhere we looked. I was particularly taken with a house where someone had put flower pots in the empty windows on a main floor where there was nothing. I am sorry we didn't get a picture of that.
An example of Braunsbach. If you haven't checked the link in yesterday's entry, please do. The destruction was unbelievable. The clean up is a massive job. We all know it could happen to us, but we don't really expect it to. People were smiling and laughing in town, and the bakery was set up in a trailer. A fine example of incredible resilience.
We carried on down the Radweg feeling very grateful, and reminded that life can turn on a dime. This was a flash flood after all. Soon though, we were dazzled by the autobahn. It is hard to comprehend how big these things are until you are dwarfed by them. We stopped to take pictures and met a lovely Russian couple who were doing the same thing.
He was kind enough to take a picture of us together.
Then it was a beautiful ride. As we approached Schwabisch Hall I told Keith I was ready for a coffee break. We had only done 22 km but it had been hilly and he was in complete agreement. We rocked our way into town (negotiating another detour) and oh my goodness what an amazing place this is. By the time we were caffeinated we were talking about just stopping, and then we learned at tourist info that a fantastic Picasso exhibition was at the art gallery - free admission no less - and we decided to just stop. As Keith said, this is what we came to Europe for. What a great decision it was.
Walking up the street deciding which coffe shop to choose.
This is such a cool spot. We were checked into our charming hotel and at the Picasso exhibit by 1 PM. The exhibit was amazing. It is only here for a limited time. We really enjoyed it. Then we walked miles through the old town and visited the historical museum as well. Unfortunately we only had 45 minutes there as it was excellent too. What a great day.
The courtyard of our hotel, where the bikes are resting comfortably.
Once through the second museum we headed to the salt baths. What a hoot. There were three large pools and two small ones. One outdoor, the rest inside. We soaked ourselves in the salty water, sat in the bubbles and thoroughly relaxed. At one point I was nodding off. I have more pictures I would like to post but they are taking ages to load so will add them in the morning. The GTW needs her beauty sleep. Off to Aalen (today's goal) tomorrow, and we have been warned...there will be hills!
An art gallery we visited in an ancient cellar. It was nice and cool. We walked down steep stairs...Keith had to duck, and admired the paintings.
What a neat city this is. We had so much fun exploring. Of course this meant our legs didn't get much of a rest, but hey, walking uses different muscles, right?
