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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 1901741" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>Thank you for the likes I have received. You know who you are and I would just like to express my thanks for your thoughtfulness.</p><p></p><p>We thought that today we would take the train to Freiburg, taking advantage of the free travel scheme for visitors. At breakfast the cook came to our table to wish us a good morning and we took advantage to ascertain the best station to use from Biederbach. He suggested Oberwinden, a village not far away, as there was ample free parking right next to the station and from the car park to the departure platform was only a couple of yards. He also told us that the trains left Oberwinden at 15 minutes past the hour. We thanked him for breakfast and for the information and were shortly driving to Oberwinden.</p><p></p><p>Sure enough, the information he had given us was spot on. After a comparatively short drive we found the station car park, parked the car and walked the couple of yards to the platform. We had about five minutes to wait and the train, a fairly short one with only two carriages, pulled in on time. We boarded, found two seats and settled back for the 40 minute ride.</p><p></p><p>The train began to fill up, mostly with students and schoolkids. There were a few older people, but the scenery we were passing through kept us entranced. From the regular pastures, like billiard tables, to steep forested hills and the picturesque villages - we were glued to the windows next to our seats.</p><p></p><p>The train stopped regularly and people got on and off. It was a regular domestic route we were following, and apart from those who were on their way to their studies the rest of the passengers were largely farming people. Then about half an hour after we had climbed aboard we began to pass through what was obviously a cityscape - mostly suburban houses at first but then we came to industrial estates and factories. We were clearly passing through the outskirts of Freiburg, which is not particularly large, but is one of the principal cities of the Black Forest area. Another is Baden-Baden but that was a bit further than we wanted to go for a day.</p><p></p><p>40 minutes after we boarded the train pulled into its final stop and we climbed out among the jostling throng who all headed off busily to their classes or their shopping. We waited until the platform was clear and then began taking stock. The first thing was to study the departures board so that we knew what time to be back at the station for the return journey. Next was to discover which direction to take to get us to the old town.</p><p></p><p>Practically everybody had headed off towards a set of steps which were situated just outside what looked like the main entrance. We made for the same steps and found that at the base of them there was a passenger lift. Give your legs a break whenever possible is one of our mottos, so we took the lift and in a few seconds found ourselves facing a street with a sign saying Altstadt (Old Town). We set off at a gentle stroll, taking in the shops, the cafés, the bars, and all the other varieties of retail trade.</p><p></p><p>A while later we arrived at a square which had an impressive church surrounded by market stalls. Around the perimeter of the square, wherever a café or restaurant was situated outdoor tables had been set up. We made our way to the church which has the only Gothic church tower in Germany, constructed in the 14th century. It survived the bombing raid in November 1944, which says a great deal about the construction methods used 700 years ago.</p><p></p><p>The interior was extremely dark and though we had a little time to take photos of the stained glass windows there was some kind of ceremony in preparation so we left as the ushers seemed to be getting somewhat agitated.</p><p></p><p>Outside we stopped at a table and ordered iced coffee as the day was getting warmer. That was a pleasant way to enjoy the sunshine, the bustle of the square and the delicious coffee. We lingered over the coffees, savouring them as long as possible but, finally finishing them, we toured the stalls. A great many cuckoo clocks were on offer, but they’re items that both of us find easy to resist. Candles were also to be found in abundance as was honey and beeswax potions and ointments.</p><p></p><p>I always like to look over the cheese stalls as I’m forever open to new types that I’ve never tried before and there were a couple with not only locally produced cheeses but a nice variety from just across the border in France. Fish was another staple on offer and we looked over the variety on display. Back in the 1960s when we lived in Central Germany very few Germans ate fish. I think this was a hangover from the days when refrigeration was largely unknown and any fish arriving in Central and Southern Germany spent a week or two in transit so they didn’t smell very nice once they arrived, and anybody eating them was usually violently ill. However, things are looking up now and Germans seem to enjoy their fish nowadays as much as people in their neighbouring countries.</p><p></p><p>A butcher’s stand was prominent and we spent some time studying their offerings. Germany, as is well known, is famous for the quantity and quality of their sausages, and every butcher has a variety on sale. This stand was no exception. Let me try to list a few of the different types - salami is Italian in origin, but most countries make their own nowadays and there’s an enormous variety to be found. German products, and this list is nowhere near exhaustve, are: Bierwurst, Schinkenwurst, Bratwurst, Weisswurst, Thuringerwurst, Knockwurst, Bockwurst, Blutwurst. There are between 1200 and 1400 different varieties, depending on which source you trust. If you haven’t already guessed, Wurst is the German for sausage.</p><p></p><p>After studying some of the varieties on sale we were feeling rather peckish so we looked at a couple of the restaurants and, choosing one, took a table outside its traditional looking premises. A waiter duly appeared with menus and we ordered a couple of glasses of white wine to be going on with. As we knew we would be eating at the hotel that evening we decided that a light meal was what we needed. German portion control errs on the side of the large appetite. Finally I chose Bratwurst (they’re ususally grilled) and potato salad.</p><p></p><p>We waited so long that I called the waiter over and asked what the delay was. He said he’d go and check. And duly returned with our Bratwurst. If you like the standard English sausage you’ll almost certainly enjoy a Bratty with a serving of German mustard, which is different from English mustard and the French variety. They were delicious and we wasted no time in polishing them off. They go well with a glass of beer, but the white Burgundy we had ordered complemented them equally well.</p><p></p><p>After paying we explored the streets around the square for a while, then passing the cafe where we’d had the iced coffee earlier we fell into temptation and stopped for another. Then it was an amble back to the station. I was bemoaning the fact that the streets and pavements of Freiburg were all cobbled, which is rather hard on the feet when you’re walking all day. We’d noticed in most of the towns we had visited during our Rhine/Danube cruise that cobblestones were used profusely to surface the roads and the sidewalks. I didn’t know there were that many cobblestones in the world. Without that little complaint on my part I might well not have been paying so much attention to the surface I was walking on because suddenly I noticed that there were groups of cobblestones here and there that had been coated in brass and there was a text on each one. I stopped to read the first one and found that it mentioned the name of a lady who had lived on that spot prior to WW2. It noted that she had died in Auschwitz and gave the date of her death. I read some of the others and they were all victims of the Nazis. This is all part of the modern German’s way of facing up to the horrors of the Nazi years and making atonement.</p><p></p><p>We reached the station in good time for the homeward bound train and found it standing at the station with its doors open. We took our seats and once again were able to enjoy the scenery we were traversing.</p><p></p><p>For dinner that evening I chose filet mignon and once again I found the meal wonderful. This is a modest, rustic hotel, off the beaten track, yet it produced some of the finest food I have had the pleasure of enjoying. I said to Jackie that we’d have to come back to this village soon.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 1901741, member: 9985"] Thank you for the likes I have received. You know who you are and I would just like to express my thanks for your thoughtfulness. We thought that today we would take the train to Freiburg, taking advantage of the free travel scheme for visitors. At breakfast the cook came to our table to wish us a good morning and we took advantage to ascertain the best station to use from Biederbach. He suggested Oberwinden, a village not far away, as there was ample free parking right next to the station and from the car park to the departure platform was only a couple of yards. He also told us that the trains left Oberwinden at 15 minutes past the hour. We thanked him for breakfast and for the information and were shortly driving to Oberwinden. Sure enough, the information he had given us was spot on. After a comparatively short drive we found the station car park, parked the car and walked the couple of yards to the platform. We had about five minutes to wait and the train, a fairly short one with only two carriages, pulled in on time. We boarded, found two seats and settled back for the 40 minute ride. The train began to fill up, mostly with students and schoolkids. There were a few older people, but the scenery we were passing through kept us entranced. From the regular pastures, like billiard tables, to steep forested hills and the picturesque villages - we were glued to the windows next to our seats. The train stopped regularly and people got on and off. It was a regular domestic route we were following, and apart from those who were on their way to their studies the rest of the passengers were largely farming people. Then about half an hour after we had climbed aboard we began to pass through what was obviously a cityscape - mostly suburban houses at first but then we came to industrial estates and factories. We were clearly passing through the outskirts of Freiburg, which is not particularly large, but is one of the principal cities of the Black Forest area. Another is Baden-Baden but that was a bit further than we wanted to go for a day. 40 minutes after we boarded the train pulled into its final stop and we climbed out among the jostling throng who all headed off busily to their classes or their shopping. We waited until the platform was clear and then began taking stock. The first thing was to study the departures board so that we knew what time to be back at the station for the return journey. Next was to discover which direction to take to get us to the old town. Practically everybody had headed off towards a set of steps which were situated just outside what looked like the main entrance. We made for the same steps and found that at the base of them there was a passenger lift. Give your legs a break whenever possible is one of our mottos, so we took the lift and in a few seconds found ourselves facing a street with a sign saying Altstadt (Old Town). We set off at a gentle stroll, taking in the shops, the cafés, the bars, and all the other varieties of retail trade. A while later we arrived at a square which had an impressive church surrounded by market stalls. Around the perimeter of the square, wherever a café or restaurant was situated outdoor tables had been set up. We made our way to the church which has the only Gothic church tower in Germany, constructed in the 14th century. It survived the bombing raid in November 1944, which says a great deal about the construction methods used 700 years ago. The interior was extremely dark and though we had a little time to take photos of the stained glass windows there was some kind of ceremony in preparation so we left as the ushers seemed to be getting somewhat agitated. Outside we stopped at a table and ordered iced coffee as the day was getting warmer. That was a pleasant way to enjoy the sunshine, the bustle of the square and the delicious coffee. We lingered over the coffees, savouring them as long as possible but, finally finishing them, we toured the stalls. A great many cuckoo clocks were on offer, but they’re items that both of us find easy to resist. Candles were also to be found in abundance as was honey and beeswax potions and ointments. I always like to look over the cheese stalls as I’m forever open to new types that I’ve never tried before and there were a couple with not only locally produced cheeses but a nice variety from just across the border in France. Fish was another staple on offer and we looked over the variety on display. Back in the 1960s when we lived in Central Germany very few Germans ate fish. I think this was a hangover from the days when refrigeration was largely unknown and any fish arriving in Central and Southern Germany spent a week or two in transit so they didn’t smell very nice once they arrived, and anybody eating them was usually violently ill. However, things are looking up now and Germans seem to enjoy their fish nowadays as much as people in their neighbouring countries. A butcher’s stand was prominent and we spent some time studying their offerings. Germany, as is well known, is famous for the quantity and quality of their sausages, and every butcher has a variety on sale. This stand was no exception. Let me try to list a few of the different types - salami is Italian in origin, but most countries make their own nowadays and there’s an enormous variety to be found. German products, and this list is nowhere near exhaustve, are: Bierwurst, Schinkenwurst, Bratwurst, Weisswurst, Thuringerwurst, Knockwurst, Bockwurst, Blutwurst. There are between 1200 and 1400 different varieties, depending on which source you trust. If you haven’t already guessed, Wurst is the German for sausage. After studying some of the varieties on sale we were feeling rather peckish so we looked at a couple of the restaurants and, choosing one, took a table outside its traditional looking premises. A waiter duly appeared with menus and we ordered a couple of glasses of white wine to be going on with. As we knew we would be eating at the hotel that evening we decided that a light meal was what we needed. German portion control errs on the side of the large appetite. Finally I chose Bratwurst (they’re ususally grilled) and potato salad. We waited so long that I called the waiter over and asked what the delay was. He said he’d go and check. And duly returned with our Bratwurst. If you like the standard English sausage you’ll almost certainly enjoy a Bratty with a serving of German mustard, which is different from English mustard and the French variety. They were delicious and we wasted no time in polishing them off. They go well with a glass of beer, but the white Burgundy we had ordered complemented them equally well. After paying we explored the streets around the square for a while, then passing the cafe where we’d had the iced coffee earlier we fell into temptation and stopped for another. Then it was an amble back to the station. I was bemoaning the fact that the streets and pavements of Freiburg were all cobbled, which is rather hard on the feet when you’re walking all day. We’d noticed in most of the towns we had visited during our Rhine/Danube cruise that cobblestones were used profusely to surface the roads and the sidewalks. I didn’t know there were that many cobblestones in the world. Without that little complaint on my part I might well not have been paying so much attention to the surface I was walking on because suddenly I noticed that there were groups of cobblestones here and there that had been coated in brass and there was a text on each one. I stopped to read the first one and found that it mentioned the name of a lady who had lived on that spot prior to WW2. It noted that she had died in Auschwitz and gave the date of her death. I read some of the others and they were all victims of the Nazis. This is all part of the modern German’s way of facing up to the horrors of the Nazi years and making atonement. We reached the station in good time for the homeward bound train and found it standing at the station with its doors open. We took our seats and once again were able to enjoy the scenery we were traversing. For dinner that evening I chose filet mignon and once again I found the meal wonderful. This is a modest, rustic hotel, off the beaten track, yet it produced some of the finest food I have had the pleasure of enjoying. I said to Jackie that we’d have to come back to this village soon. [/QUOTE]
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