Day 45 - Hausen imTal to Sigmaringden - Planned Spontaneity

August 4, 2018

Day 45 - Hausen imTal to Sigmaringden

Another lovely day, up in the mid 30's until after the rain cooled things off a bit. We did a fair amount of up and down but it was a short day at only 24 kms.

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We were quite willing to cut this day a bit short so that we would have time to tour the castle.

First of all we took our time getting away from our wonderful hosts. Look at the lovely breakfast they prepared for us. They made sure we were taking extra food with us for lunch.

Once again, such lovely people, really looking to make new friends rather than looking to make money.

More of the same, pastures, forests, quaint towns and the river and the cliffs but deceivingly flat at first.

Looking back on the town we were staying in

Farmers picking up hay bales in the fields

I don't need to read German to see that these cliffs were formed over millions of years

Looking back at that lovely little town we just went through. The whole setting is just like the fairy tales

We see quite a few other touring bikers. Some are laden as heavily as we are, some (most) much lighter

The river is just so beautiful here. Often we can see trout swimming around.

There are a lot of simple recreational facilities that show up as we go. This is a very popular trail and they are obviously proud of it. Actually there are several trails that keep intertwining as we go

Look at this house just plunk! up on that rock. A lot of the buildings we see look relatively modern yet were first built centuries ago.

We also see bridges that are no longer in use or are used for cars or trains. The radweg often has its own bridges

I thought I would record this so I could look it up later

Love the frescoes on some of the buildings

And colorful shutters with flowers in the windows never disappoint

We were both so busy looking at the surroundings that we missed the turn. But the guy with the tractor sent us back

I just can't get over how wild and beautiful the river is at times. Not wild water like rapids but wild as in remote looking

Every now and then a suspended style of bridge

We saw a lot of evidence of boys and girls camps. What we call scouting is very big here, Baden Powell was a German name, of course, and youth programs flourished even during the war years, involving both boys and girls. That part of tradition carries on big time

Our trail joined with the Kings and castles trail at some point and we went way up to this cloister

We even went through one of the buildings. It is still an active monastery of some kind

This church was dedicated to Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers

This was a huge field. From a distance we thought it was sunflowers but when we got up close we could see they were smaller and not the same kind of flower. But it is still a part of the save the bees project

We climbed a little tower looking over the river and across to Sigmaringen

But we could also see (and hear) what was following us into town

Some pictures of castle and buildings before we find a place to take cover

It is easy to tell which towns survived the war more intact than others. Sigmaringen is one of those towns that still has quite a few of the middle ages buildings intact.

We parked our bikes under the arches of the rathaus

And took cover under the restaurant umbrellas

Just a half hour or so of rain, we had checked into the information people, found a place to stay and deposited our things so we could walk up to the castle

Everything looks pretty dry but it felt much fresher because of the rain.

A lot of bikers had seen our bikes in the protection of the rathaus arches and had done likewise. Ours are long gone by now but quite a few were still being retrieved

For the age of this building, it is still very straight. Must have been well built and maintained.

A lot of grand buildings in the castle area of town

A church on the walk up to the castle gate

Looks like I got this one sideways. It is one of the frescoes on the ceiling of the church in Sigmaringen.

The ornate nature speaks to the wealth of the Hollzern family who build it next to their caste.

The angels faces give you an idea of the detail in the carving and painting.

Entrance to the castle. The tour was interesting but also gave clear meaning to the phrase "conspicuous consumption". Wealth was evident but even the "trophy" room had an absurd number of animal trophies. How many animals do you have to kill for it to be enough?

After the tour of the castle during which we were not allowed to take pictures, we sat down to some eis. The section of castle that we toured was a very small part of the building structures. The family no longer lives there but it houses the business of maintaining their assets.

The day had certainly regained its hot sunny disposition and these kids were doing what we know our grand-kids would try to do: sit on the fountains

Erika liked the big boot and little boot hanging from this store. If you are going to sell shoes, advertise with class!

This was the Gasthous we stayed in (taken the next morning). It was basic but clean and provided a good breakfast.

Today's ride: 24 km (15 miles)
Total: 1,760 km (1,093 miles)

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