All my childhood, springtime in England was filled with the morning and evening songs of thrushes and blackbirds! The thrushes, with their speckled breasts, sang from open perches, loud and clear. They had many songs, and each one was repeated several times. Browning said it well:

That’s the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture…

But the blackbird – the blackbird sang from more hidden places, with a lower, richer tone – a less demanding voice, and songs that were never repeated – improvisations, arias – call them what you will. I always loved the ‘blackie’ singing near my bedroom window, on a late spring evening, when it was quiet all around.

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Sommersdorf, the castle, the Schloss, our home for two weeks, came into view at the end of a long drive from Munich airport on Wednesday, April 24, 2002. We passed through lovely countryside and small towns with red roofs and domed churches. The roadside and fields were yellow; near at hand were dandelions – more dandelions than you could ever imagine – everywhere you looked. Fields farther away were checkered with brilliant yellow too; not dandelions, but oilseed rape, a common crop here which produces what we call canola oil. The trees were leafing out and blossoms were everywhere. And Sommersdorf was impressive, with its tower, its turrets, its bridge and moat, and fishponds nearby, as we found our parking place by the long low barn, near the bridge to the castle-keep.

Our apartment was through the courtyard and up a steep staircase, with dark wood and tapestries on both sides. On entering we found a large and most pleasant living room, warmly furnished, with a pot of flowers on one small table and a freshly baked strudel on the other. One of the two casement windows opened over the moat and the end of the chapel, with a big tree nearby. From the other we could see our car parked, and down the drive to the archway and the cottages on either side. While the castle is stone-colored, old and somewhat forbidding, the cottages are bright with color wash, flowerbeds and lawns. The bedroom was also roomy, with large old furniture and a huge king-sized bed, made up with separate quilts on top, and a candy on each pillow! And all was immaculately clean. The bathroom was tiny, with a small stand-in shower, washbowl and toilet – and the kitchen – well, it was the tiniest place you could imagine! Actually it was the width and depth or a door! Yes, that’s right! And it contained a small refrigerator with two electric burners on top; a small sink with a minute (and untried) dishwasher below it; a coffee-maker fastened to the wall, and a cabinet above with a microwave, a toaster and a couple of pans on a shelf. The door of this cabinet was permanently opened and fastened back against the wall, where it held small bins containing cooking utensils, a can opener, a bread knife and so on. In fact all we needed for our two week stay was in place, and the frig had supplies for supper and to spare! There was an invitation from our host to join him for breakfast at 9 a.m. on his ‘side’ of the castle – and we looked forward to meeting the Baron, Dr. Manfred von Crailsheim, and his new dog, Moritz. Our neighbors in the two apartments were from Pennsylvania, and we made their acquaintance right away.

After an early supper we watched CNN on the TV – opened the windows to the evening sun which was shining on the moat… and… YES! The blackbird sang! What a delight that was, and one to be repeated every evening we were there! I found I could see him on a favorite branch, if I sat quietly and waited for his evening song.

By the time we crossed the courtyard the next morning to meet Manfred, we had realized that living in a fourteenth century castle didn’t mean sacrificing today’s comforts! Our apartment had a wonderful heating system, with tall, slim radiators in every room, which responded quickly to the turn of a knob; there was endless and very hot water on tap, and the lighting in every room was excellent! All these, as well as the quiet charm and comfort or our rooms were to make homecoming very pleasant, at the end of a ‘tourist’ day.

Manfred greeted us with warmth and humor, and in excellent English. He welcomed us into his dining room, filled with candlelight and a table laden with good things to eat. A delicious buffet was presided over by Frau Schmidt, the smiling ‘domestic staff’ of the castle – who does everything necessary in three part-time days a week! (Moutdoors, Herr. Funk is in charge, three times a week also, to deal with gardens, ponds and so on!) As we ate and got acquainted, Manfred told us the key things about the castle and also about the neighborhood. He suggested places to visit, restaurants and shops, and towns near and farther afield that he thought would interest us. He has provided many brochures in our building as well as his own detailed and practical one about Sommersdorf, and promised us a candlelight dinner and tour of the castle the following Monday. We – all six of us – left feeling thoroughly welcome and at home, and ready to begin our adventures and explorations of Franconian Bavaria.

Each day we fared forth, regardless of weather! Sometimes it was showery, with sun in between, sometimes it was overcast and sometimes we had a sunny day, but most days it was cool and one needed a sweater and often-another layer towards the end of the day. Our car, the smallest, a stick shift Opel, was good. The heater worked, and we got good mileage – with gas at around $4.00 a gallon, that really helps!

We decided the next day’s doings after supper each evening, and started out with a trip to nearby Ansbach, finding a small supermarket and fruit/vegetable/post office combination conveniently en route. Ansbach had an island of antiquity in the center of a modern ‘sea,’ including a big shopping mall. This didn’t surprise us as nearby were US Army quarters for some 28 thousand military personnel. Obviously some of these quarters are currently in use but we didn’t see any US uniforms around the town. The Altstadt had cobbled streets and interesting old buildings and churches. Later we were to discover that it also has a most modern and up-to-date railroad station with a nice bookshop. From here we took the train on an overnight visit to Munich, about which more later.

The Romantische Strasse, or Romantic Road, runs North and South, just to the West of Ansbach and Sommmersdorf, and we visited many of the towns on that lovely route over the next days. The scenery is gentle, the towns old, with half-timbered buildings, lovely churches (many Lutheran and few Roman Catholic in the area,) small, attractive shops and restaurants on the town squares, serving good and generous portions of home-made food. A Kleine Telle is often available as a senior portion, and even that often gave us an evening sandwich at home! The roads are good, even the minor ones, and very well kept and the signs clear. Not every little village is on the map, we found, and so sometimes we just drove on till we found a place that was!

I should speak about the Autobahn here. We traveled a lot on these legendary roads, and … Yes! They are fast! They are also immaculate – no trash, no strips of rubber tires on the roadway, beautifully maintained, always giving a smooth ride. Truck drivers are exemplary! They stay in their right-hand lane all the time, going at their own fast pace. They never tailgate or barrel down on a motorist. In fact, all motorists drive with a safe, respectable distance between them and the vehicle ahead. I guess that’s what makes the speed so efficient. We were tremendously impressed and never felt intimidated in our small car, among the denizens of the Auto-bahn! Also, we never saw an accident or a police car in 13 days of daily driving! Some record!

We started on the Romantic Road right after breakfast on that first full day, and I’ll share a few of the high spots we found.

FEUCHTWANGEN is a small town with half-timbered houses on the square. It has two churches, side by side. But better yet, for us, a fine small museum of Franconian arts and crafts: Frankisches Museum. We learned so much from our time there about the traditional life of the people – the lady urged us to come in –“Ist schoen, ist sehr schoen!” she said! And indeed, it was. We returned there the next Sunday, hoping to catch a concert in one of the churches. Unfortunately, we had the time wrong, but we went to the service that was taking place and really enjoyed it. It was a Lutheran congregation, a full church, and a brass band to accompany the hearty hymn singing and a really uplifting experience. We were to visit so many more churches, originally Catholic, now Protestant/Lutheran, that Martin Luther and the Reformation had new impact for us. Feuchtwangen also has a Romantik Hotel – The Greifen Post.

DINKELSBUHL (11,000) is not far away. It is actually the town where Dr. Manfred v. Crailsheim runs a dialysis clinic, which his guests are welcome to go and see. The town is charming, old, and walled, and it has a beautiful Gothic church with three naves and amazingly complex fan vaulting. It was May Day and people were sitting at tables drinking beer and listening (?) to a ‘workers’ leader giving a speech. We saw many maypoles in the villages as we drove on, like the one being created at Sommersdorf.

NORDLINGEN, about 20 miles away, is a really charming town about which we hadn't read much. Actually, it lies in a millions-of-years-old meteoric crater called the Ries Basin! Its church has much in common with that at Dinkelsbuhl. The towns’ people were setting up stalls and beer tables and having a celebratory time. Reading The Lonely Planet led us to an old red barn now converted into a pizza house called La Fontana. It was really excellent, and we sat entranced as the Italian waiters cooked and served delicious pizzas from a central clay oven in the middle of the restaurant. This town also has a ‘hall church’ like Dinkelsbuhl, with tall narrow pillars separating the naves.

ULM, on the Danube, is much larger (160 thousand) somewhat industrial city, about an hour’s drive from Nordlingen. Strictly speaking it isn't part of the Romantische Strasse – but is it worth a visit? It has the largest church tower in the world! 530 feet high! Its foundation was laid in 1377 and the tow towers and the spire were added in 1890. It is beautiful! The masonry is pierced like lace all the way up, and the whole effect is light and airy. Inside there is a no transept, emphasizing its vastness, and there is a beautiful lacy wooden cover over the pulpit that has a little 2nd story pulpit inside it, with a tiny flight of steps – ‘for the invisible preacher’! I.e. the Holy Spirit! The fan vaulting is glorious, soaring up, with both plain and stained glass windows filtering the sunlight onto the creamy stone. The choir stalls, from the 1470’s, have wonderful Biblical and pagan figures carved on them – men on the left, women on the right side of the choir! And all this is accessible to the visitor to examine.

ROTHENBURG This is the quintessential Romantische town – it reminded us of Rudesheim on the Rhine. So perfect in every detail that it has almost a Disneyesque quality to it. And I don’t mean that in a derogatory way – just that it’s almost too like itself to be true! It’s a walled town, with steps in the sidewalks to help you climb the main street. The little shops are full of good quality kitsch, and we enjoyed looking at them all. We also enjoyed coffee and a schnee ball! That is a goodie about the size of a tennis ball made of strips of fried dough. We had ours flavored with cinnamon and sugar, but you could have a chocolate et al. There were many tourists here, both from Germany and from Japan – and we saw that there was a lot to enjoy and to BUY!

WEIKERSHEIM On our first brief visit we saw the outside of a great palace, with the forecourt and the town square all being restored and cobble-paved. We glimpsed vistas of beautiful gardens too, so we ate at the Gasthaus Gruner Hof, and vowed to return to see the inside of the palace. This we did, and it is a splendid sight! It was the seat of the Counts von Hohenlohe, dating from 16-18 centuries, and bears witness to a lavish lifestyle, much given to high living, and entertaining to the hunt! The tapestries and furnishings are as good as any I have seen and the restorations and money spent on them is truly impressive. The gardens are formal and full of bloom, especially tulips. The stretch down from the palace, ending with two enclosed orangeries - glass houses where exotic plants and trees could survive and provide a pleasing background in colder weather. The showstopper is the Rittersaal or Knights Hall; a huge room bedecked with hunting scenes and life-sized stucco wall sculptures of animals of the chase! These project out into the room creating a truly awesome sight! I read that guests rode on horse back into this hall. I can believe it!

WURZBURG This city of over 125,000 is on the River Main. It was hugely damaged in one devastating air raid in WWII, but it has surely risen from the ashes. The residenz of three Prince-bishops of Schonborn is associated with two famous names: Balthasar Neumann, the leading figure in German Baroque art of the 18th century, and the Venetian artist, Giovanni Tiepolo. The Four Continents, Tiepolo’s vast ceiling over the huge Neumann staircase, represents the world known at that time. In size it is mind-boggling – in fact, the largest fresco in the world! And recently restored – giving the lie to the guide books! Room follows room, and we were fortunate enough to be led by the English (!) curator of the project, who was full of incidents and sights to entertain us- including a toilet in a closet! A silver room, a white room, a room of mirrors, with Tiepolo ceilings and panels everywhere! The palace is not furnished so one is able to focus fully on the walls, ceilings and windows – and they are enough to take up one’s whole attention! And everything in such perfect condition – gleaming as new! In some rooms there were three-dimensional figures, or ornaments or swaths of fabric, standing out from ceiling or wall. I asked if these were done in stucco – and was amazed to learn that they were made of papier-mâché! Three hundred years ago! The chapel and the gardens were in keeping with all this splendor - almost too much to take in!

SCHWABISCH HALL is not on the Romantic Road, but we made a little detour to visit and were glad we did. This is an area of industry, but the town’s Altestadt is great! There is wonderful half-timbering all around the square and the great church of St. Michael is reached up 57 – yes, 57 steps! The day was Sunday, and a First Communion was taking place. Children in their best clothes were streaming out of the church with families in tow, flowers and ribbons were everywhere! No Sunday shops were open but one café, right on the square, served us a delicious lunch! And we found a little bakery, just about to close, round a corner, and were able to buy bread!

NURNBERG We spent a day there ringed around with much industry. St. Lorenz Church has the beautiful Annunciation carved by Veit Stoss, suspended over the altar and the stone Tabernacle reveals the sculptor Adam Kraft’s self-portrait! We spent almost all day in the Germanisches National museum. Every aspect of German life is portrayed here, from pre-history through the Middle Ages. The displays are superb and seem endless – one could stay for days! It is really a complete portrait of German culture and science over the centuries.

This feels like a good time for a change of pace – a change of place also – in this account of our Bavarian travels, lest you become tired of lists of the places we visited and found so interesting; especially sincere so few of the visual images captured on film can be shared with you! So…

One evening about halfway through our stay, we met Manfred in the courtyard at 6 p.m. for a tour of the castle. First sight: the crypt under the chapel! Bending low and entering a narrow passage way we came to a long narrow room where coffins were kept. Theses contain the mummies of family members who died over the years, and whose coffins were stored there. Apparently the natural conditions of air circulation, moisture from the nearby moat, and the cold temperature maintained by the thickness of the ancient stone walls, have caused these bodies to become mummified by nature itself. We saw two or three of them – Manfred just raises the lid and tells about the deceased; one apparently an army officer who ‘died with his boots on’ and there they are, on his feet, to this day!

From the crypt on to the upper floors, where we saw the library, the Renaissance guest room, and an attic full of all kinds of artifacts and furniture – an indescribable array of ‘stuff’! E-bayers would have their life’s work cut out in this room! Also of great interest, vestiges of some beautiful frescoes on one wall- by whom?

Next came the candlelight dinner in the beautiful old dining room. We foregathered in the living room for drinks, starting with a champagne toast and the opportunity to meet several other guests who were staying in the yellow cottages in the grounds. These can be rented year round by the week. (Also mentioned should be two guest bedrooms in the old castle, available to b&b guests – one, the Renaissance Room, we saw, is very large, with beams and pillars, antique rugs and tapestries, and a huge bed – the whole place looking suitable for a royal levee!)

We spent an hour admiring Manfred’s collections - one of tobacco pipes is considered very valuable. Then there was a portrait of him in medieval armor, painted from a photograph, and surprisingly realistic. Manfred is a member of a large family who form a corporation, owning the castle and the other properties still in the family. Apparently he is the chief administrator of the group and is dedicated to doing everything he can to restore, maintain and develop Sommersdorf into a viable entity that really contributes to its own survival and success, as a business venture. Untourists are showing great interest and enthusiasm for both the Baron and his Schloss – this must be helping!

We went in to dinner. The table gleamed with silver, crystal and candelabra. Frau Schmidt presided in the background, and after a delicious salad, Manfred carved wild boar and venison and appropriate vegetables were passed. Wines of the region are delicious! Dessert and coffee, and more talk ended a most convivial evening – not without its surprises!

Manfred has traveled a lot, including time in the U.S.A., and is an excellent conversationalist – animated and humorous. He obviously enjoys his role as host to international guests. His work, nephrology, takes him daily to Dinkelsbuhl, where he runs a very up-to-date Dialysis Clinic, which he invites his guests to go and see. Some who did were very impressed with the facility.

There are several more places we visited which interested and appealed to us so much that we should tell a little about them here.

BAMBERG- a city of about 71,000, lies on the Regnitz river, which weaves in and around it. It suffered almost no war damage and has a great artistic heritage, wonderfully preserved. The Altstadt is really on an island, with the great Dom on the West side. The cathedral is huge and impressive, with four towers. The main door is especially beautiful. Inside there are 3 naves, and 2 choirs with an altar at each end – with no stained glass, the early Gothic vaulting is naturally lit, and is just radiant, when the sun shines. The Bamberger Reiter catches everyone’s attention. Standing by a pillar of the eastern choir is t his larger-than-life statue of a horse and rider, so life-like that they could be from the Renaissance, rather than 1225-30, when they were actually carved by an unknown sculptor. Do the y represent a Hungarian king, or the ideal of chivalrous virtue? No one knows – but they are beautiful and arresting! There are also some wonderful misericord carvings of both animals and human heads, which impressed us. Nearby is the Diocesan Museum, with treasures ranging from a splinter from Christ’s Cross to the skulls of a king and queen. We spent some time here looking at the paintings, so well displayed. Most are by little-known artists. One in particular intrigued us: a small, rather dark painting of fourteen chubby babies, sitting in a circle around an especially radiant and chubby baby – all with haloes – and in the middle of a field. In the shadows, to one side, a shepherd leans on his staff, while his sheep graze around him. We were conjecturing about this story when a very nice German couple came up and explained it to us. These babies represent Vierzehnheilegen (the fourteen holy ones) protecting the Christ Child. They are fourteen saints of intercession who appeared, along with Christ, to a shepherd in a vision in 1519. The gentleman told us that Balthasar Neumann deigned and built the famous Rococo church of pilgrimage on the traditional spot, about 30 miles away, in 1741. This we decided to find another day.

From the Dom we climbed 100 steps and paths to Michaelsberg, another huge monastic church, which is nicknamed ‘the botanical gardens’, as it has close to 600 medicinal plants and herbs painted on its vaulted ceilings. They are beautiful! We climbed down from here, admiring the views on the way, and especially glad of the chance to sit for a while across the river from ‘Little Venice’, looking at the colorful houses, with flowers and boat docks, which have earned this area its name. This was a pleasant way to end an energetic and fascinating day.

One day we took and early train from Ansbach’s super, modern station, to Munich, leaving our car in the long-term parking lot. By changing twice en route, we were able to get a very reasonable round trip fare – about 21 euros. (We equated the euro with the Us dollar – it was, in fact, a little more in our favor than 1:1, so that was nice for us!) The train was very comfortable, clean as a whistle and not crowded. We were interested to observe our fellow passengers, especially on the way home the next day, when we had a little giggling game with some 6th grade girls going home from school, who found us ‘objects of interest!’ When they departed they said Goodbye – one even said God bless you!

In Munich we had made a reservation at the Hotel Splendid, before leaving Sommersdorf, so on arrival we bought day passes on the tram and quickly found our way to the Hotel, right on the tram route, and in a very nice part of the city. Our room was charming, with two single beds and, though small, conveniently and well furnished. We didn’t waste time getting back on the tram to head for our chief destination: the Alte Pinakothek – the old art gallery. We’d really been looking forward to this and were not disappointed.

As we had eaten our lunch on the train, we were ready to start on THE ART after a quick cup of tea and a shared piece of cake! The art works are arranged by country or region, e.g. Flemish, German, Italian, etc, and within that framework, by century. Each major ‘school’ has a major gallery, with small rooms off it with works for closer viewing. This works really well. There are title and artists on each frame, no wall tabs, and in each major gallery are copies of the total catalog, with illustrations, descriptions and comments – one copy in German and one in English. What a splendid idea! It really works, especially on a day when there aren’t too many viewers queuing up for a turn at the books or trying to get close enough to peer at little wall tabs! We were very lucky! The Durers were fine!

And the Reubens – I’ve never seen so many of his works, nor did I realize how huge some of his major paintings are. They are all beautifully and simply hung, with space and daylight, and many of the related cartoons are hung in the smaller rooms adjacent, so one can go back and forth.

I was much taken by Cornelius van Poelengurgh – know nothing about him but will look him up. I took a photo of one of his works: Bildniseines Madchens. This allowed, without flash, and one can move as close as one wishes. Guards are few and friendly! Many paintings are under glass. We asked about this and were told that during ‘bad times’ people have been known to throw ‘stuff’ on the artworks to protest some political event or other, so the glass had to be imposed! Sad, isn’t it?

There was a fine Flemish collection with many Brueghels and another amazing artist called Kessel. Indeed, there were many fine and moving paintings – what a feast! We stayed for hours! The tram rides home gave us a chance to admire the gorgeous horse chestnuts, just at their peak.

The next day we spent several hours across the street, at the Neue Pinakotek, which has paintings from the late 1700s up to the French Impressionists. While this is an interesting gallery, it is not a vast collection, nor as outstanding as that of its neighbor, in my estimation. However, the Renoir and Manet were very worthwhile, and some good pieces by Cezanne, Van Gogh and Gaugin. There is a third museum with 21st century works in the city, we were told, and a home for them opens in September of this year. We ate lunch and enjoyed the environs of the city and – took the train to Ansbach, having fulfilled our mission with real enjoyment! Munich feels like a vibrant city – attractive to the eye, well kept and with friendly, busy, courteous people.

In case you’re wondering, we did find the Church of the Fourteen Holy Intercessors, the Vierzehnheiligen, one day! We drove North and East, between Coburg and Bamberg, and there it was, on a hillside in an open and lovely valley of the river Main. We pulled into a large parking lot as dozens of uniformed men wearing medals and carrying banners were streaming down the hill from the church along with their women-folk and youngsters – many people of all sorts! In fact, a pilgrimage! We climbed a steep half-mile to the dark ochre sandstone church, twin towers, an imposing front entrance, and surrounded by diocesan buildings bespeaking retreat centers, a convent, etc. Everything was in immaculate condition, and as we entered the church it was crowded, despite the several hundred we had seen leaving the area! A mass was in progress and we had to just stand where we were for a while. What a sight of Baroque at its most – effulgent is the only word! Colors everywhere especially gold and blue, putty, masterly stucco work, and in the middle of the transept a huge altar to the 14 saints of the intercession, each on bearing the symbol of his suffering or martyrdom. Raised up in the middle, among candles and flowers is the Virgin Mary, on a sort of ‘celestial float’, all in a riot of colors, white and gold. Beneath this alter is a small cave-like spot into which one may look, showing the earthy rock on which the vision appeared to the shepherd in 1519. Needless to say, the great Balthasar Neumann designed this basilica in 1741. It looks as if it were finished yesterday. At the end of the mass we were able to look around at leisure and I found, in a more obscure spot, a stained glass window with panels depicting the shepherd and his flock, as well as the Christ Child, reminiscent of the picture I had seen in the Bamberg museum. Across the valley from here may be seen the huge monastery of Banz – built in 1695, and currently used as a center for political seminars – a kind of ‘think-tank!’ We felt somewhat overpowered by the effect of so much rococo decoration – and took a quiet route home – Coburg looked too busy for us!

It remains now to say a little about the city of REGENSBERG. This we planned to visit on our way to Munich and home! We left early on the Tuesday morning, May 7, and drove there, commenting as we went that the yellow of the dandelions that had greeted us two weeks ago had yielded place to the gentle beige tones of the dandelion clocks, whose seeds were floating in the air. REGENSBERG is on the Danube and was once a Celtic town. Its buildings are impressive, especially the Dom of St. Peter, which dominates the city. It has wonderful stained glass from the early 14th c. and a statue of a lovely laughing angel. The towers were only added in 1860! Nearby is the Alte Kapelle – this has to be the most successful rococo symphony we have ever seen. White, gold, and blue dominate the decorations, with a touch of green in just a few places. It has been under restoration for a long time, and we talked to the young man who is nearing the end of redoing the gold in the last altar. Next month, he told us, he will finish the task. It has taken him twelve years to do the whole chapel. We were awed by what he told us. He will be glad to have it complete, but he has enjoyed it! ‘Perhaps they will give you a raise, a promotion or at least a party!’ said Linda. ‘That would be nice, but I don’t know’, he replied. ‘Well, maybe God will give you a party, Himself!’ I suggested. That made him smile! What dedication and what beautiful work he has done!

So we journeyed on to LANDSHUT, where we had made a reservation at one of the chain of Romantik hotels. It turned out to be a charming town and an equally charming hotel – the Furstenhof. We had a lovely little room with twin beds, in a mix of Victorian and antique furnishings, and sparkling linens. A good shower, a TV with CNN, and we were ready to walk out into the town – our last one – and sit on the square and enjoy an ice cream. This was just what we did! And strolled the banks of the Islar river – it turned out to be the warmest and sunniest afternoon of the whole trip – about 74 degrees, and so very pleasant. This town would be a show-stopper in its own right if it weren’t just a bit out of the main stream, but for us it was ideal!

In half an hour the next morning we were at Munich Airport – the car was turned in and the Idyll was over, and still…. The black bird sings!