Hell Valley Railway

 It was my last day in Freiburg! I had a couple of things I wanted to tick of the to-do list here... 

First : Whilst I was in the black forest, I had to try some Blackforest Gateaux (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte). Direct from the source. So I headed out into the old town and found a likely looking cafe, who were happy* to oblige.

It was rather good! I ought to point out that the fork, plate and table are a somewhat small. At a glance the perspective makes it look like I got a pretty huge kafee & kuchen! They were bug, but not that big.

After that I booked a train ticket. Departing from Freiburg's main station every half hour, the Höllentalbahn (which translates to "Hell Valley Railway") heads out west and high up into the black forest.

It's a stunning route that gradually takes you higher, through tunnels and past some rather picturesque scenes and one particularly huge bridge. I tried to take some snaps, but don't think they really do it justice. 

I was stopping at Titisee, a popular tourist town sitting beside a small lake (see meaning lake). The air was fresher up here, and like with Schauinsland there were residual patches of snow here and there. 

I did a small bit of walking around one side of the lake. There was a small trail to follow, and there were a fair few holiday makers & hiking folk around. 

 It was about mid-afternoon, and once I'd had my fill taking in the lovely scenery I decided to head back to the train station. Once there I grabbed a Puddingbrezel & coffee for the journey & did not have long to wait before I was heading back down the valleys.

Tomorrow I would be having even more of a "train-fest" needing to catch at least three to get to Munich airport - where I would be (trying to) rendezvous with some friends flying in from England to meet me for the final leg of the trip. So once I got back to the hotel I had a quiet evening getting things sorted and having a general chill. 

* At least I assume they were happy. I've found that nearly all locals seem to have a degree of reserve towards strangers here. Even hotel & other hospitality staff who as a rule in any other place would at least appear to be welcoming. I'm pretty sure it's not unfriendliness & just how things are in this region - or Germany as a whole? Guess I can compare with Munich

Freiburg's Highest Point

 Today I would be meeting with some people from the area that my brother's partner had kindly put me in touch with. We were to head to Shauinsland, a 1284m elevation accessed by Germany's longest cable car.

I met with Sylvia and Ludwig at Freiburg main station, and caught a tram, and then a bus out of town to the Shauinslandbahn station. We chatted amiably. I had a grasp of German that I would describe as... basic. The same was true of their English! Although I think that their English was probably better than my German was. That being said - I was able to speak and be understood with what I did know, and when Sylvia dropped into German for a while, I understood a pleasing amount of what she said!

The cable car ascends steeply and rapidly, and you are rewarded with great views of Freiburg below.

The summit still has some residual winter snow, although in Freiburg it had been a positively balmy 15 degrees. The views, of course, were fantastic. You can see to the Vosges mountain range in France; the Rhine (although this was obscured by distant fog) the depths of the black forest, and the Swiss alps.

There are hiking trails at the top, and so we took a stroll, firstly to the highest point with a viewing platform / tower (unfortunately that was shut, although the views were still great) then afterwards we walked 1km or so to Engländerdenkmal - a monument to several English boyscouts who became lost & died during a blizzard on the peak in the 30s.

After that, we stopped at the restaurant at the cable car station for some coffee and cake - very tasty! Then returned to Freiburg. There was a brief panic where I thought I had lost my ticket for the cable car. Sylvia spoke to the operator though - and he let me through anyway. I did feel like an oaf. Of course I found my ticket as soon as the car started it's journey back down. Then another blunder on the bus - I didn't have any cash to buy a ticket - and busses did not take card! Sylvia had some cash so stepped up again and bought a ticket for me.

Oh dear.

Back in town I thanked Sylvia and Ludvig - giving them a small gift of some chocolates I had brought with me. Hopefully it assuaged some of my earlier ticketing missteps! 

In the evening I had a positively colossal wrap & chips at O'kellys - which was a highly reviewed Irish themed sports pub. It was mega mega busy. I was aware Freiburg were playing in the bundesliga tomorrow - and had half a mind to watch it there, but couldn't imagine how they'd cope if that's how busy it was - not on a game day!

To Freiburg

 Another sunny day dawned in Germany. I feel like I have been lucky with the weather! Today I would be heading west, and south into deepest darkest Germany. Freiburg im Breisgau.

I had found the hauptbahnhof - central station - yesterday (and transferred there a couple of times too on the way to & back from the gig) so was pretty happy I knew where I was going. I bought an s-bahn ticket and before I knew it I was there.

Helpfully, the app tells you everything you need to know about inter city trains if you've reserved: your carriage, seat number, platform, and even which bit of the platform the carriage will be at. The overhead signs have all that information on as well, so it was all quite easy to follow.

 I did need to transfer at Karlsruhe. There was a small delay to both trains I'd selected too... but as I was used to atrocious trains in England (and because I was not familiar with anything here) I'd left a half hour transfer window, which looked to be ample.

And then I was off.

The journey was easy. The transfer went to plan, despite the delays. I had some time to wander around Karlsruhe, and popped into a Backerie for something sweet. I saw some doughnutty things with "Roggenbrötchen" written in front. I attempted to ask for one, but baffled the lady, who tentatively picked up a roll next to what I wanted. I resorted to pointing and got the right thing, which turned out to be a Berliner. A later check revealed that at first I had indeed asked if I could have one rye roll. I guess the signs were a bit wonk.

I boarded the next train and enjoyed my Berliner watching the hills and woods roll by. I was later to learn that the Berliner is a somewhat seasonal treat made in large quantities at that time of year. It was not dissimilar to a jam filled dougnut. Very nice.

Then I was in Freiburg! 

After checking into the hotel I didn't have much of a specific plan, so headed out to wander the Altstadt / old town a bit. I was immediately struck with how different from Stuttgart it was!

It was very picturesque & quaint. Much of the buildings here were restored medieval buildings. It had a lively vibe too, being a university town. The Freiburger Munster was a towering spectacle at the heart of it.

As evening drew in I decided to head to a restaurant I liked the look of I'd spotted whilst wandering, which I think was a chain place. I don't mind eating by myself but here they had me surrounded by a bunch of group tables, it was busy too so I felt like a bit of a spectacle!

Still, I couldn't fault the food and the staff putting in the effort.

Kultur

Today I was going to indulge in some art and music.

My plan was to hit Stuttgart's "cultural mile" and explore the centre, then in the evening I had a ticket to see a musician I like called Tommy Emmanuel. 

After I'd eaten breakfast I headed out. I got to the road almost without needing a map, and hit the cultural mile near the bottom. It was right next to the rathaus, which lonely planet informs me boasts a vintage paternoster lift (where there are no doors and it just continues on a permanent loop). I wasn't sure it was open to the public, so gave that one a miss.

Further up were various museums, but I eventually hit my goal of the Staatsgalerie (state gallery). It was very interesting. Below are a couple of pieces I liked in tiny version mode. I don't want to be done for copyright or anything, but hopefully illustrates that the gallery has a broad range of works from modernist, expressionist, classical, romantic and more. It also had a number of originals from Andy Warhol and Picasso.

After that some more general wandering. Stuttgart is a very interesting looking place. Lots of brutalist, cubic art deco sort of buildings put together in interesting ways... huge square windows and blocky, kind of industrious. Business like... Then some 18th century sprinkled in.

Anyway I bought a butterpretzel for a light lunch / snack and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the gig!

I spent quite a long time back at the hotel agonising over how the hell I was going to actually get to the theaterhaus - which was in a more northerly part of the city. Well over an hour's walk away so not really do-able by foot. Although I did seriously consider it. I somewhat settled on the idea of trying for an uber / taxi. I went on to the theater's site to check that the show was still on or if there was any news, and noticed an alert at the top of the site warning of increased visitor numbers today because of the show. It had a link for general info, which I followed. That page informed me that if you had an event ticket, they said it gave a free return trip on any VVS transport. 

Hm, what could that be?

Any public transport in the city, Google informs me. Perhaps that could be an option. Then I spent ages more checking the VVS site & learning what stops were where etc and trying to plan a route for that. COMMENCE NOTE SCRIBBLING!

After a spot of dinner I  headed out to find out if I could make it to the theaterhaus.

I had of course done miles more prep than I needed. I basically just needed to know the train number and destination. Made it there with ease. Stuttgart's mass transit system is pretty good!*

I got to the theaterhaus with no trouble, sat in my seat and got chatting to a nice man about the show, my trip etc. When I thought to ask him & double check I was in the right seat - I of course wasn't. Oops! Apparently my ticket was for the Tribune (grandstand) - further back with the muggles. He kindly showed me to the actual right place & then it was on with the show.

It was phenomenal! Tommy Emmanuel is an absolute genius and I kept thinking - wow look at that old bugger go! He's still got it.

An English guy called Mike Dawes supported, who was also very good. He came back at the end to do a few numbers with Tommy. Fun highlight was a cover of smells like teen spirit by Nirvana. 

After that a quick and efficient train ride back to the hotel & straight to bed to be fresh for the trip to Freiburg tomorrow.

* probably not a hot take at all, is it.

Stäffele walking tour

 I awoke on the first proper day in Germany. It was bright and sunny, and the city looked inviting out the window. Strangely I felt apprehension*. I had some coffee, cereal and fruit and started to plan the day. 

I had half an idea to explore the centre on the first day, but it turns out that quite a lot of attractions in the city were closed on Monday! Oh well. I had a back up plan - suggested by the Lonely Planet guide to Munich, Bavaria and the Black Forest which was a Stäffele walking tour. Much of Stuttgart sits in a massive valley. In the Southern part of the city, are a network of stair cases built by vinters to quickly access the vineyards on the valley slopes - back when the city was more known for it's winemaking. 

So I headed out. I had plotted the route into google maps and had that on my phone - so was fairly confident of the way - although it would take about a half hour to get to the start at Marienplatz. It was a clear, bright and chilly day. It was busy and the weather was pleasant - but there was an odd quiet in the air. I knew the elections were coming up so wondered if it had anything to do with that. 

I was in good spirits, though. I made my way to Mareinplatz and began to follow the route. Ostensibly, looking back on some of the photos, it wouldn't seem that great. It's just a bunch of stairs. 

However it takes you through some very nice neighbourhoods with interesting buildings. Combine that with the history, and some rather fantastic veiws - I can highly recommend giving it a go (on a nice day). I stopped for coffee in a cafe in the square. I think the waitress was slightly amused by my attempts at German, although continued to use German rather than switching to English which was either a good sign that my efforts were appreciated - or maybe she didn't know any English. I finished the tour on the other side of the valley. I did encounter a somewhat mad German man, sat near the bottom of the stairs. He immediately started babbling away at me. Amongst other things I think was trying to tell me the "mountain" was shut on Mondays. He gave up when I asked him (in German) if he spoke English.

On the way back I stopped in a little supermarket for some supplies. I was wary. In Brazil I'd had an embarressing and difficult time trying to use their automated tills because it was all in Portuguese, no pictures, and completely different to ones I was used to in England. It meant that a rather put upon looking Brazilian lady had to come over and basically do it all for me making me feel like an idiot. This time, I thought, I'll wait a little longer for a manned till so as to be able to use by basic German skills, point & gesticulate if needed. At least smile, apologise and try to win them over if all goes wrong. But disaster - the automated till assistant picks me out in the rather busy checkout area and says something to me ending in "kart". Clearly: are you paying by card... come use these machines. "Oh, Ich spreche kein Deutch" I explain (I speak no German). "It's ok. Pay by kart?" he said in a somewhat reassuring way. So a little reluctantly I acquiesced. Nearly immediately I am presented with prompts I don't understand which the chap has to deal with. I can't find where the bags are so he has to show me where those are hidden, in a little out of the way shelf under the packing area. Then to leave is one of those gates where you need to scan your receipt, but I'd accidetally buried mine - so the chap has to do that for me as well. I felt like a baffled, flustered old git. On the plus side it was a somewhat amusing learning experience, and turned out fine in the end. I had my supplies. 

In the evening I had a lovely Swabian platter at a restaurant more towards the city centre. It seemed a lot more busy and built up than where I had been on the walking tour - so I looked forward to exploring it more tomorrow!

* I think I often do on the first day or so, adjusting to not having my normal routine & being in a completely foreign place. Language barrier? Culture shock, maybe? Oh well - that's the whole reason I like doing this I suppose :)

Stuttgart. The Start of a Jaunt to the south of Germany

 Many a moon has passed since I wrote in this blog - mainly a pandemic, but some other stuff too. Buying a flat. That sort of thing. I did end up heading out on that Cyprus internship mentioned in the last post. I did keep a diary of sorts about that - and will write that up soon, but I find myself in Germany! 

Short story long: At the end of last year I decided I wanted to finally get good at guitar. Or at least, get to a standard I find acceptable. It led me to source a guitar teacher. That led me to definitively list all of the songs I would like to play - so that I could give that to the teacher and they could better structure what to teach me. During that process I found a couple of songs by a folky singer-songwriter called Joshua Hyslop, Spotify informed me he was on tour. Looking at the dates I saw that he would be playing in Brighton where I live! I had to book that. I thought - what better way to gain inspiration and motivation that to actually go and see him live! 

I continued to build up my list of songs I'd like to learn. At the "end goal" level of fingerstyle - there were some songs played by an exceptional guitarist called Tommy Emmanuel. Spotify informed me he was also on tour. I checked the dates, and at that exact moment he was in the US and would then head to Europe, before finishing in Australia where he hails from. Well since I was on a "let's get inspired by guitarists" kick, and had just booked to go see Joshua Hyslop I thought: well why the hell not go see Tommy Emmanuel too?

At that time it was early December, and the notice was way too short to go to the US. I did seriously consider Australia, which would have been around March. However I decided that was too expensive. With the flat purchase I was slightly financially "winded" so didn't feel in a position to be forking out thousands on a lavish trip to oz (although that is on my bucket list!). So that left me looking at Europe dates in February. Eventually I settled on Stuttgart. Mainly because of the venues I checked where he was playing - most had pretty poor options for seats left. Mostly right at the back & at the edges. But Stuttgart had one available seat fairly far forward. 

Aside from that reason, I have also never visited Germany. I had a vague interest in the prospect of seeing southern Germany; the black forest and Bavaria. So with that I started booking things*.  The plan: 3 cities over 10 days. I start with Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Wuttenburg - then catch the train to Freiburg im Breisgau to the south west. 3 days there on the doorstep of the black forest. After that I catch the train over to Munich, capital of Bavaria. There I will be meeting some friends who will be joining me for the final 3/4 days in the city.

It was quite astonishing how quickly the holiday came around. Maybe it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise since it was only a little over 2 months. I caught a national express coach to Heathrow, hopped on the plane and it was a little over an hour before we were descending through the bright white clouds into the murky winter evening over the frosty forested countryside outside Stuttgart. 

It felt slightly surreal, and the book of Grimm's fairy tales I bought at the airport seemed like an appropriate accompaniment to the journey.  

It was lightly snowing, dark and very cold as I stepped off the plane. I was picked up at the airport by my transfer driver . His car was a mega modern Mercades. So modern in fact that I was not able to find the handle to shut the door on the sleek ergonomic interior with it's shiny finish and intricate lighting system. 

It was getting a little late when I was dropped off at the hotel. Feeling a bit sleepy I decided to just eat there. After an exceptional salad with Stuttgart style ravioli and a nice Stuttgart Hofbrau pils I toddled off to bed. 

* Not really an interesting detail, but part of this booking stuff was actually be fulfilled as a kind (but late) birthday present later, meaning I did end up having to juggle some stuff