We drove through a gray and misty day with occasional showers from CH through about 12 miles of Austria and on into Germany. After a fairly easy drive up the Autobahn toward Ansbach, we followed the Baron’s directions and were in Sommersdorf about two PM. Sommersdorf is a nice little metropolis of 170 souls, so there was not a crowd to greet us. Of course the Baron was at his practice in Dinkelsbuehl, but the directions on the door of the castle in English told us how to reach the caretaker, who got us situated in the Carola apartment.

If you have never been transported 500 years or so backward, I don’t know how to describe the place. The pictures will give you an idea. Herr Funk was gracious and kind to get us in the place with our baggage, introduce us to Moritz, a beautiful and gentle black Labrador "mix", and give the Baron a call. Manfred von Crailsheim also welcomed us and arranged a breakfast in his apartment with us the following AM.

The Carola apartment sits in a tower of the castle and is a spacious and beautifully decorated abode. It is a real contrast in time to sit in this centuries old castle with a microwave, CD player, TV, and CNN! The living room is large with brocade chairs, oriental rugs, etc. Old prints of all sorts decorate the walls, and in all rooms, there are windows (screens in at least one per room). There is an extensive "How to Live in a Castle" booklet, as well as a great booklet describing the history, villages, cities, etc. of the area. Were all history books written like this, I would have had far better grades.

After a bit of unpacking and exploring this out of mind apartment, we took off for what? Food! The brochures left for us and an inventory of what Idyll had left for us in the fridge, gave us an idea as to what little we needed for sustenance. The grocery was only a mile or so back, and we found our needs, as well as nice lady who spoke German and English. She seemed adept at spotting Idyllers. We stocked up and returned to our medieval home to wonder at a place so rich in history, surrounded by a moat, and yet enriched with the modern enhancements (including CNN) that we all enjoy.

The solitude is wonderful, and we feel safe as we crawl into our beds surrounded by the moat and Moritz.

Never stayed in a castle before and there is a powerful sense of history from the moment you enter. As we finish off the fresh homemade apple strudel that greeted us upon arrival, I can’t help but wonder what those people in the middle ages ate and more importantly, how they survived.

This Untour is certainly going to be unique.

Since we were in the same time zone as CH, we had no "lag" as most Idyllers experience. The day dawned as the night had begun, with showers, wind, and gray skies.

The coffee tasted good, and the weather prognosis looked good for tomorrow. We met the Baron at 9 AM for a nice buffet breakfast in his apartment. The Baron is a real baron, but you would never know it if you saw him. He is a gentle and educated man without any pretension whatsoever. Along with other Idyllers, we listened to his ideas and suggestions. We eagerly accepted an invitation from our host to join him for a castle tour and candlelight dinner next week. For now, we learned where the common room was with its brochures, maps, etc. which are for our use. This area includes a large kitchen which one can use instead of the one in a given apartment. It includes a sitting area as well as a library.

After getting some ideas and information, we decided to spend the remainder of the day in Ansbach, a town nearby. Ansbach was a brief visit for this time, but we enjoyed the old town, did some shopping, and had a late lunch at a fine Balkan restaurant with sauerbraten with large dumplings called Knoedel and a Balkan meat plate of sausages and cutlets. A nice German dark beer and a Croatian red wine did add to the meal. Ansbach could be called a city, but one finds that the old town takes you a long way from city life. After we waddled out from lunch, we made a visit to the St. Johanis church, a protestant cathedral. It appeared to me to be just a hair away from a catholic cathedral, and I wondered if it would have met Martin Luther’s approval. Then it was time to get the car and head back home to "our" castle in the hinterlands.

Tomorrow promises better weather, so Dachau is our plan for the day.

Again I am reminded how nice it is to know a little of the language in whatever country one visits. For those of you who have been on Untours before, you know that Idyll puts some basic phrases and definitions in the tour books. People seem to appreciate hearing Americans attempt to say "good morning, please, thank-you," etc. Our waiter in the restaurant seemed surprised that we even tried. Of course, since we live in the German speaking part of Switzerland, our command of German is a bit better than a newcomer’s might be. Being able to translate the menus, however, is a must! Unless of course, you like surprises.

Today could be described as "The Umleitung (detour) to Hell". We drove toward Munich, as the day brightened. Our goal was to visit Dachau, the WW II concentration camp that was the first of Hitler’s living hells for so much of humanity of that day and time. Let’s just understand this right now; DO NOT do this in a car. Too crowded, autobahns can be stacked wall to wall, country roads are beautiful but convoluted, there are many "Umleitungs" that make the convolutions even worse, and it is a long, long day. If you wish, I think that the best way to do this is to go to Munich on the train from Ansbach, take the bus to Dachau, and then have fun in Munich that night with a return the next day. The highlight of the day for us was the return to the castle with a cold martini following shortly thereafter.

The drive to the outskirts of of Munich of which Dachau is a suburb, is a nice ride through some forests that are deep in darkness. My navigator was asleep, but I made my way. Later, we arrived in the town of Dachau (can you imagine having to say that you were from Dachau?) It is no longer the small artist’s village as it once was; it is a busy small city. There are signs to the Denkmal KZ (concentration camp memorial), and we paid a small fee to park next to the camp. There is no fee to enter the camp. The place was full of all sorts of visitors. Israelis, Americans, others from who knows where, and importantly, German teenagers. The Germans here, as the Austrians in Mauthausen where we visited in Austria, are determined that their descendants will know and be aware of the "Nazizeit" (time of the Nazis). It is not uncommon to see tears and an occasional person weeping for a lost relative.

In Mauthausen, the day was rainy, cold, and gray. In Dachau, it was pretty and warm. This was not a day to fully feel the despair that seeps out of the place. Dachau has an extensive museum. The exhibits are not pleasant nor pretty. A child does not need to visit unless they are capable of understanding what went on here. There is a movie explaining many things about the place in English several times a day. It was a nice day to walk among the various memorials to all. To stand in the crematoriums, or walk through the gas chambers (for some reason never used) gives one a feeling that no matter your own imagined trials and tribulations, you don’t have a clue as to what real trouble can be. People hold hands. My pictures show an open place, but remember that most of the barracks are gone and only the foundations remain.

After several hours, we left for home determined not to go in such an adventurous way. We took the Autobahn from Munich toward Nuremberg with the idea that we could cut off to Sommersdorf as we got closer to home. This plan worked, but not well. Why? Because of numerous "Staus" (traffic jams). We could be tooling along at 80-90 MPH and then have to stop and go along for some time at a walking speed. We never found accidents or breakdowns to explain these Staus. Map consultation revealed a "shortcut", at which we jumped. About a mile along this way, we ran into a one lane Stau instead one of three lanes. Finally this revealed itself to be the result of a traffic light. After that, the sailing was smooth except for "Umleitungs", It seemed that every small village had at least one of these. This required many routes through village streets and byways. Lots of quaint scenes but little progress toward home. The day was pleasant, so it could have been worse. The shortcut was a bust too. Home did look good at the end of the day.

No matter how much one sees, reads, or hears about the Holocaust, it is still impossible to fully "feel" what so many millions experienced. Is spite of the extensive historical documentation of the events leading up to the opening of the "camps," it is still incomprehensible how human beings could have committed such atrocities. I had visited the museum at Dachau in 1968, two years after it opened. On that day, we were the only ones in the place and noticed that previous visitors who had signed the guest book were from every place other than Germany. Today, 34 years later, it is different. We saw many German students of all ages, some in large groups going through the museum. We have been told that it is part of the curriculum.

Wherever our roots, we need to all heed the famous quote of Santayana that one sees upon leaving the camp: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

This day was beautiful. A trip to Dinkelsbuehl was our project. Before we left, I was on the tower steps looking out a window. I looked up to see a small and pretty three year old face looking silently at me. I said "Hello" in my best German and addressed her with "du" as one does with children. She said she was Emily, here with her parents. Turns out Emily is a twin, and Barbara had already met her other half, Julie. Can you imagine being in kindergarten and saying that your grandpa lived in a castle? That would get you some major points on the Totem pole. Anyway, soon we were on our way to another day as Idyllers.

Dinkelsbuehl is a midsized town with a great old walled city in its midst. It is where Manfred has one of his offices and isn’t very far from the castle. It is a bit "touristy", but unlike some places, this doesn’t detract from it being fun to visit. We parked at the wall and entered through one of the several old gates. Inside the walls, one feels transported back to the middle ages. All buildings are in the style of that time. Besides that, they are just beautiful in color and with flowers decorating their facades. This was the day before the end of a festival celebrating the town’s children who saved the town from being destroyed in The Thirty Year’s War. It is said that all the children went out of the walls and begged the enemy to spare the town. The enemy was so impressed that they did just that. The Church of St. George is spectacular even to a person like me who says they are all alike.

It was fun to see all the costumes and to ogle all the wares in the stores, but we moved along with a plan to visit some of the villages we had seen signs of along our way to Dinkelsbuehl. There seemed to be dozens of signs to roads leading to places of which we had never heard, so we took turns deciding which to take. Since this was Saturday afternoon, things were quiet with most signs of activity lacking. No matter, we found some things to see in places like Duerrwangen and Langwurth. Among such things was a castle that had been restored as an office building.

After returning to the castle in the evening, we got a call from the Baron asking us to join him in a village party to be held on the castle grounds. This was a church sponsored affair, and we went to see what the locals were like. There was food, beer, music, face painting for the kids, and a very popular ride in crates on a roller conveyor belt for the children. The local church band played too. We sat at a table with Manfred and some of his friends. They welcomed us warmly, and we had a very nice time practicing our German with them. Of course, most of them spoke better English for one reason or another, than we did German. Some were in businesses that required English, some had relatives in the USA, and some had been there on vacations. By and large, I have to say that the Germans are a hospitable group and enjoy Americans. This was a great way to end the day. Manfred invited us (if we were available) to come to another party tomorrow evening that he is having for his dialysis patients. Food, drink, and other things that he usually tells them not to have. He is a very interesting man.

Another really nice day with cool temperatures and a great breeze. I explored the castle grounds, church, and moat. This moat has some large carp, as well as smaller "feeder" fish, in it.

Today’s activities included a visit to Feuchtwangen where we had fun seeing the old town. The Franconian Museum is very interesting with both room exhibits and cases of old objects on several floors. The old fire engine and the painted wagons are unusual. The whole building is a museum itself. The unique church with its colored interior caught our eye also. Since this was a Sunday, things were subdued, but people were in the restaurants. We stopped in the Cafe am Kreuzgang for a snack. I had an anchovy sandwich. A new ezperience. If you like anchovies, it hits the spot. Barbara had a specialty called ice coffee. It was a lot more than just coffee and ice. People watching in places like this is always fun. Two grand old dames next to us looked older than sin itself but were having fun. There are so many stories these people could tell. They lived in interesting, as well as terrifying times. We cruised the shops like my friend Albert enjoys on a Sunday. It is very economical when they are closed.

Next, we hit the Romantic Road toward Schillingsfuerst. It was nice to see so little traffic along this stretch of rolling hill country. We made our way upwards to a peak in Schillingsfuerst where there was a falconry and sat out in a stiff breeze looking out over the countryside. Since we had seen falconry and eagles last year in Austria, we opted not to visit the exhibition held twice daily. We headed back homeward along the small back roads and through the villages of Leuterhausen (home of the German equivalent of the Wright brothers), Neunstetten, and Elpersdorf. Each town has its own character.

We arrived home too late to join the baron’s patient party but did enjoy a quick visit with his friend Lisolette and his three year old twin granddaughters. Then it was time to plan a trip to Rothenburg on Monday.

Awakening to a beautiful day, we did some laundry in the castle laundry room, which has two washers and a dryer. Then it was on to Rothenburg. It took only a few minutes until we were there. Rothenburg is tourist city in spades, but it retains a fairly non-commercial atmosphere. Even the McDonald’s is hard to recognize because it conforms to a Middle Age motif. We parked outside the walled old city all day for 3 Euros. Euros at our visit were on a par with the US$.

Entering the city through one of its gates, we found another world. Although this world was filled with tourists from all over the world. Narrow streets and even narrower small alleys are lined with any sort of shop. There is no sidewalk hawking, and I didn’t feel the "come on, we’ve got you" mentality.

We visited the Church of St. Jacob (James). This really is almost like a museum. The focal point for us was the intricately carved wooden altar called the Altar of Holy Blood done by Tilman Riemenschneider. This altar houses what is said to be a drop of Christ’s blood as a relic. It depicts The Last Supper. It is nice that they have chairs where one can sit and study this piece, since it is an intricate work. Down in the main church to the left is an altar to the Virgin Mary. As one approaches this, a dove hovers over the head of the lady. A small window open to one side allows any breeze to cause the dove to appear to hover with movement over the head of the statue. Of course, the main altar and the nave of the church are impressive.

After some window shopping, it was time for a lunch of a seafood risotto, which I found ordinary but not expensive. Barbara’s schnitzel was a better choice, but with a glass of Frascati and a wheat beer, neither of us faced malnutrition. Then it was on on to buy some armored knight soldiers for a grandson, and a visit to the Weinachten (Christmas) store. Anyone who has heard of or has been to, Rothenburg likely knows of this store. Since Rothenburg was one of my mother’s favorite places in this world in her travels, I had heard about this place for some years. The joint is so big and full of so much that one cannot describe it well. At the same time, this store values its merchandise at a bit higher level than I might. Still, we left with a small sack of gifts and mementos for next Christmas.

We went to the Rathaus at three o’clock to see what was billed as a living Glockenspiel. OK, if you wish do this, but it was a disappointment to us. The clock strikes three, two windows open, and two mimes stand there. That’s it. No semblance to the Glockenspiel one sees in Munich. I would have a lot more fun in a cookie store. Speaking of cookies, we decided to buy some "Schneeballen." The only snow balls that I ever enjoyed were balls of crushed ice soaked in a flavored syrup. These concoctions are a bit different. They are softball sized balls fashioned of strips of dough into which have been woven flavors of all sorts. Real butt builders in my opinion, but sinfully good. They keep well for 6 weeks according to the lady in the shop. We ate those later, but not 6 weeks later.

Next was a special interest of mine. A visit to a museum devoted to crime and criminals (draw your own conclusions). This is a study in torture, law in the Middle Ages, punishment as it was handed out in earlier times, etc. They seemed to have the novel idea that a criminal be punished the same day as he was found guilty. I found it interesting to see all this. Barbara did her best but went for a coffee to wait for me. It was a well populated exhibition with lots of folks in it. There are good English labels on the cases. Did you know that an argument with your wife could involve fines, a shameful object on your door, and an obligation to give your neighbors a tankard of wine? Wives who argued with their husbands could be put into collars of wood or iron, but if a man let his wife hit him, he could be in deep Kim Chee too. Anyway, we enjoyed speaking with a nice lady at the counter at the end of the tour who helped us with our ignorant German and joked with us about the Foehn that the Germans have also.

After a walk toward the gate to our car, we decided that Rothenburg was a possible spot for us to return before we head back to CH. It would be a near impossibility to do it all in one day. That, to me, says something about the ability of this place to attract visitors.

Now, heeeer’s Barbara:

We heard and saw more Americans here than anyplace else so far. The shops, especially the ones with china and crystal, are exquisite and even a treat just to look in without buying.

My feet hurt quite a lot today and I thought back to last year’s IdyllChat conversations about best shoes for touring, walking, etc.

Some people complained that those discussions weren’t interesting enough to even be there. You know what? Shoes are important for Untourists.

Today, I was wishing I could remember what kind were touted, so I can buy a pair tomorrow.

Today was a day that makes an Untour nice for us. Sleep late, do laundry, have a late breakfast, read about some things to do on other days, have lunch, and try to get out of the house before early afternoon.

We talked to Manfred as we left about a fairy tale play here this weekend and played a bit with Moritz, the successor to Max, who has gone to the Great Beyond for puppies. Then, we headed toward Abendberg where we stopped to check out the castle and goof off over a coffee and a beer. The day was nice with some high clouds, and no one was hot at all. We tooled around the village which has two old gates at its borders. Then drove up to the castle/hotel, had drinks, practiced our German, and wound our way back home through a combination of small country roads mixed with the Autobahn.

Then, visceral things (food) took over. Of course, we had to eat tonight. So, we stopped at "our" grocery store to buy things for a supper of beef stew, peas and carrots, and Knoedel (a great substitute for rice or potatoes that is a spiced ball of dough that soaks up the juices just fine). Along the way, we found a bottle of a Greek red wine which helped the stew and cleared our palates. It is fun to be in a place where the cashier in the store looks up at you, smiles, and tries to speak English or decipher your German. After a visit to the "Fruit Take Away Store" a half block away to get fresh mushrooms, plums, and some wonderful blueberries, we headed back to our "Schloss" to unwind. That we did do.

And here is Barbara:

The only thing to add about today is that Vance took a picture of me standing by a sign to "Roth" Germany. I sent it a dear friend of mine whose surname is that by marriage. It makes you wonder how many other Americans are named after towns in Germany????

A trip to Nuremberg was on our agenda today. It is about a forty minute drive from the castle along the Autobahn. The drive to a city was not as bad as I expected, but the next time, I would park a bit closer to the old town, since we know a bit about the city now. However, the lot at the Adcom Center was only two blocks from our goal.

The tourist office is across the street from the main train station and is just inside the walls of the old city. As always, they are super helpful, and we got started from there. The WCs in the bottom floor are also Swiss clean and free. Using a city map of old town, we had a nice wander through some great places.

The first stop was to go to the Otto Schmidt lebkuchen store near the entrance gate, just to get a catalog for Christmas gifts. Otto Schmidt is an old baker who makes wonderful goodies in beautiful boxes for the traditional cookies common at Christmas. I used to order them when I was in the USA, and now, I have a new catalog for this year.

Then, it was on into the old city. It is a mix of old and new in this "most German of German cities". There are some very nice modern department stores mixed with Pizza Hut, Burger King, and of course McDs. Also, a lot of Turkish snack shops. Then, there are small shops of all kinds. Some are expensive and some are not. Small hotels are abundant, and it reminded me of the old town in Luzern.

Museums and churches are at almost every corner. It would take days to see them all. The St. Lawrence (Lorenz) Church, the Fountain of the Six Virtues (I forget them all), the Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche), and the Beautiful Fountain (Schoener Brunnen) got us through a great market place to LUNCH. Now understand this, I had no breakfast, but my coffee, on purpose because lunch was a planned event. The books in our apartment and the Baron had told us about the Nurenberger Bratwurst. These are small sausages served with a horseradish sauce instead of mustard. One of the renown places to have these with a wonderful sauerkraut is the Bratwrusthaeusle just before the church of St. Sebaldus. We sat out on a nice patio for our lunch, but you can go into a small and smokey (the grill is in the room) room to sit too. The sausages are like links in the USA but are far better. You order by numbers (10 is my number) and get sauerkraut and horseradish as side dishes. The bread and pretzels are in a dish on the table with an honor system. The dark beer goes well with this. On some days there is a special soup with sausages, onions, and other goodies in it served in a copper pot. The prices for two were very reasonable and hunger does not afflict you again that day. You can also buy canned and vacuum packed cooked sausages inside the restaurant.

Properly satiated, we went into the Church of St. Sebaldus. This, among all the churches that I have seen so far, was very interesting. In 1945, Nuremberg, as the city of the Nazi central thought, was blown to bits by 550 British bombers in one day. Be sure to get the postcards of before and after this. Looking today, it is amazing how restoration has been done. It was poignant to see a cross sent by the cathedral of Coventry to this church with an appropriate wish for forgiveness from all sides. One can see well the signs of new restorative work, as well as, the pockmarks of the bullets that still mark the walls here.

We then walked back toward the beginning of our walk, having decided to go to another part of the city to see more of this city’s history. We hopped on the tram at the main station (#9), and went to Luitpoldhain at the end of the line. A short walk brought us to the former Nazi Party rally grounds. These are the spaces and structures that we have all seen in documentaries showing the meetings of hoards of people with their hands held high while the little Austrian corporal yelled himself hoarse. The largely unfinished structures ooze the megalomania of the times. One of these buildings, The Congress Hall, houses The Documentation Center and an extensive exhibit "Fascination and Terror". It takes about two hours to go through this exhibit which is packed with the history of the National Socialist Party. There are short movies and an English audio guide which one gets on admission and carries while seeing the rooms full of posters, interactive displays, and oral histories . As usual, there are a lot of young Germans seeing these things, no doubt with a sense of disbelief. I saw some just sitting and holding their heads. It is an excellent education in how a dictator can take over merely by giving people who have lost hope, just that. The afternoon was gray and rain threatened; adding an appropriate mood to this.

It was short ride back to the main station and the car, and then a 40 minute trip back to our castle in the country. I found Nuremberg an easy city in which to drive.

Barbara’s take:

As traumatic as the events we relived today, the Documentation museum is a "must" for all visitors to the area. It is by far the most impressive exhibit that one could hope to see. As well, we finally got the German viewpoint on how it all could have happened.

After a long day yesterday, we took a short one today. We began with Ornbau, a small village in our neighborhood. This another of those small walled towns with beautiful gates and walls. Ornbau has an old bridge with a statue in its midst. We walked along the path that parallels the wall and admired what we found out was the town garden. Great looking veggies and flowers. One house had a trellis of a pear tree covering a side from top to bottom. The owner at his door told us the pears were for Schnapps. Many of the houses are decorated with flower arrangements in windows, etc. This looks a lot like Alsace and CH. There is also a strong dialect spoken here, but if one speaks in German or English there is usually a reply in that language.

We perused a few shops and watched as people got ready for a village festival this weekend. A young lady asked if we were on a holiday and told us the best spots in the village to see things. Near the main gate, we came upon a store that looked like it had one of everything. We asked the young lady about public WCs. There are none, but she invited us to use hers. Then she spoke really great English, and while surveying all the variety of things, we found a Fliegnschutz. This a great little thing that is decorated colorfully and serves as a protection from flies when placed over a plate or bowl. It was interesting to hear about how Germans have adjusted to the Euro. Many things still have two labels on them with a price in both Marks and Euros. This young lady echoed what we had heard before. "It is a bit hard for the older people, but working in a shop, one gets used to it quickly." Apparently, prices went up about 100% but wages did not. The sales lady said last year a kilo of cherries was 6 DMs, and this year a kilo cost 6 ECUs. This should have been 3 ECUs according to the exchange rate of about two to one.

As we moved on to our next destination, Wolframs Eschenbach, we drove through rolling hills and fields of grain and corn. This village was almost identical to Ornbau except its modern parts outside the walls was bigger. Lunch was our goal here. We had read in one of the books left for us by Manfred that the Alte Vogt (old town crier) was the spot for a good meal. This was no exaggeration. I had a three sausage Blaue Zipel. A bowl of broth with three fresh wurst cooked in it along with onions, bay leaves, black peppercorns, and Juniper berries. It had a sweet-sour flavor. Barbara continued her quest for the perfect sauerbraten. It was good too. Then it was time for a walk through this village with buildings dating back to the 13th Century and a visit to the church with its tiled steeple. The houses here have decorative "Sgraffiti" on doors and corners as one sees in the Engadine regions in CH.

An early trip back home for a nap and to get ready for tonight’s castle tour and dinner with the Baron. First, Manfred took us on a tour of the castle and the newer apartments in the adjacent building. Of course the most interesting thing was a flashlight trip through the catacombs. There, in a deep recess, lie six or eight coffins from adult to infant in size. Opening one of these, one sees one of the mummies that have been there for some centuries. Some of these are known relatives of the Baron while others are unknown people. No one is really sure exactly why the mummification is so good here.

Then it was on to see some of the newer apartments which are housed in a building just outside the moat. These are grand and spacious with a great blend of The Middle Ages and the modern world. Later, we were treated to a very nice dinner with the Baron and his family. It was great fun to hear how this man grew up in a castle. One can only wonder how many games and imagined adventures took place here.

Barbara says:

Hardware stores in Germany are more like the American equivalent of the old general store, only better. In small villages, brides-to-be even "register," so the local guests don’t have to go very far to buy wedding presents. Don’t miss these "untourist" shopping spots while visiting small towns on your journey.

A trip to the wine country near and along the Main River was today’s project. We teamed up with a couple of Idyllers from Oregon and drove toward the towns of Ochsenfurt, Sommerhausen, Roedelsee, and Iphofen. It was a gray day and nice and cool.

Each of these villages is in the midst of sloping hills filled with vineyards, and each has its own quota of wineries offering tastings and sales. This is mostly white wine country, but I found very interesting dry red along the way. We stopped for some supplementary caffeine in a little village at a Gasthaus. In doing this, we stumbled upon a man and wife owners who were delightful. While we drank our coffee, we got some great practice time with the master of the house. A grand old German gentleman who deigned to speak some Hochdeutsch instead of the local dialect with us and was lots of fun. We learned that the next day was his 80th birthday. He told us stories of his WW II service of 3.5 years in Russia. It is my impression that this length of survival time on the Eastern Front was distinctly unusual. He told us of his brother’s death in what is now the Czech Republic, and we noted that each village has a war memorial with names of those killed in both the great wars. It was hard to leave, since I am sure that a day with this man would have given us a lot of german history. Of course the next day, he was to have a grand "round" birthday (all birthdays ending with a zero are big occasions and require a day and night long celebration). It is very nice to experience the regard in which Germans have for Americans.

Driving on, we came to the small walled villages, and we stopped in Roedelsee first. Manfred had asked us to get some Sekt (Champagne) that is made under his label if we got there. It was our pleasure to do this for the man with whom we had drunk his last bottle. We spoke with Herr Schmidt, and he fixed us up with a tasting, as well as loading our car with our purchases. He also recommended a nice place for lunch. LUNCH!! Time to eat! When we arrived at this spot a short walk away from the winery, the lady greeted us and said that Herr Schmidt had called to announce our eminent arrival. We had fun with our "menu German" and a very nice lady who brought us delicious dishes of Schweinbraten, chicken with mustard, Bratwurst, and Pfifferling in a cream sauce. What are Pfifferling? I guess in the USA and France they would be called Chanterelles. In CH, they are Eierschwame, and anywhere they are known as wonderful mushrooms of a golden color. This is Pfifferling season. Being a vegetarian with these would be easy. These are served with a wonderful bread dumpling suited well to soak up the sauce.

Next, came the old walled town of Iphofen. This another of those old walled and gated villages. We parked just outside the walls, crossed a moat, and wandered about through a small and beautiful town. Our quest was the Zehntkeller. After stopping at a bakery to ask, we found our way rather quickly to the place, which turns out to be a nice hotel and restaurant. "Nice" in this context means out-unbelievable-standing in ambiance, service, etc. We wanted to order a "Schaufel" (shovel). Manfred had suggested this in his excellent literature left in the apartment. A Schaufel is a shovel shaped tray in which you can have a choice of small glasses of the wines offered on the wine list (over 55 choices). A shovel of three costs about 4 ECUs. this and the whole place were nice to experience. Great people watching too. A walk back to the car was punctuated by a visit to the catholic church, as always, a museum of art.

After a circuitous journey through rolling hills and vineyards, the castle looked pretty at the end of the day. A theater group is putting on a medieval production of "The Emperor’s New Clothes" tomorrow on the castle grounds, so we get a little dose of culture then.

Barbara adds:

Again, it must be obvious that a big part of our Untour is eating, drinking, and sampling local cuisine and libations. Another nice part of an Untour is a chance to meet locals and other nice untourists as we have on this trip. We’ve already exchanged e-mail addresses, etc. and I have the feeling we will stay in touch a long time.

The agenda for today was to visit a Troedelmakt (?Junk) in Burgoberbach, a neighboring village to the castle. The plan was to check out this market for treasures and then return for the afternoon performance by the local players of the fairy tale. Well, it turned out a bit differently. We went to where we thought the market was to be. Nothing. So we asked one lady, who gave us directions, and we wound up at the same empty spot as before. Then back to the village where a couple of girls told us again. Back at the same spot. Either our German was defective or something was wrong otherwise. We found a lady who had just pulled up and asked her. She said, "right over there, but it is tomorrow". A check of the billboards confirmed that we had misread them. So tomorrow , we will give it another try. We aren’t even jet lagged.

That postponed for a day, we had lunch. The Gasthof Krone in Burgoberbach, the village next to Sommersdorf, had a nice non-smoking room and good food. The younger members of the family speak excellent English, and I believe you could get an English menu, if you asked. By all means try the Zwiebelrostbraten which is a nice salad, a large steak covered with crisply fried onions, and Pommes Frites. This cost me 10 ECU. A good drink to go with that is a Russen. This is a mixture of some good wheat beer and lemon soda. It won’t make you sleepy.

With an hour plus to wait until the play at the castle, we took some back roads to some small villages. At Herrieden, we stumbled upon a grocery store not unlike a small Sam’s Club. This occupied us until it was show time at the castle.

There were two weddings and the local playhouse production at the castle today, so things were jumping. We already had our tickets, obtained that morning from the director who had also arranged for castle guests to get reserved parking close to home. The production of "The Emperor’s New Clothes" was lots of fun. It fascinated the kids and amused the adults. It was fun to participate with the local folks in this. Later, I saw the Emperor mingling with the wedding guests still in his "clothes". I am beginning to think that all of Germany speaks English.

The German people are active and energetic and wherever you go, there is always a sense of the appreciation of culture and music. Germans seem to enjoy having a nice wholesome good time. There is a sense of community in this small village and its environs. At $ 5 euros per adult (not sure how much admission was for a child) the play was a bargain and performed very professionally. When I mentioned this to a local, active in this volunteer community theater group, he said: "We just keep the admission prices low so that everyone in the community can come." Another fun day in this land of knights, castles, and fairy tales.

After a lazy morning, we were successful in finding the Troedelmark. This was indeed treasures and junk, but we had a good time seeing all of it and the locals. We did pick up a new tablecloth and a pair of zip off leisure pants. Bargaining was allowed, so this was at less than the asked prices.

Then we drove a few kilometers to Neuses, a village in our backyard. There is a Gasthof there called the Braunes Ross, and there we lunch in the Biergarten. The Carp that I had was a first for me. Being from the South, I love catfish, and this was like that but a bit more "earthy." Manfred had said that some guests had enjoyed it there. He mentioned it that as an afterthought. We should have taken the clue. Then it was back to the castle so we could get ready to go to another castle for an afternoon concert. Along the way from our parking place, we talked with a third grader who is taking English. He was so happy to be able to practice with us. As always, talking with the children in German is less intimidating for us, so we enjoy it.

Afternoon was reserved for a concert in Dennenloe, a small village nearby. I dressed formally for this event (long pants). This was by a chamber group and held at another castle where a friend of Nicci’s (the daughter in law of Manfred) lived. This castle is really new real estate compared to "our" castle. It was built in 1742. In lots of ways this reminded me of Newport. A mansion with gardens in which the concert was held, the huge Copper Beech trees, classical music with lots of sophisticates and at least one pseudo sophisticate (me) listening. At 25 ECU a ticket, I wasn’t that impressed, but then I grew up with hillbilly music in Tennessee. There was an hour of music, a pause of an hour for picnicking, and then another hour plus of music. A new Idyll friend and I swapped cars with our wives and fled to the local Gasthof for a cool beer. This turned out to be fun. We found about one third of the orchestra there, as well as a precious small girl who was the granddaughter of the owner. She has had a course of English in kindergarten and gave me a vocabulary test. We had a grand time with this little open mind. All three generations were friendly and most hospitable. What stories could they tell?

Now here’s Barbara:

What a great way to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. It was also interesting to see, even in a small village, how sophisticated and what music aficionados the local people could be. Like so many times on this trip, we were the only Americans in the group.

Our term here is coming to a close, and we have bittersweet feelings. We want to go back to our CH home, and yet we have had such fun here with the Castle, the Baron, his son and his family, the many things to see and do, getting some great German practice with sympathetic folks, and making some nice new friends from both here and the USA. Tomorrow is the last hurrah and packing, as we leave on Wednesday, and a new group of Idyllers comes in to the castle. A real treat awaits them.

We teamed up with our Oregonian friends in a two car caravan to Noerdlingen. Noerdlingen sits in a meteor crater formed 15,000,000 years ago by an asteroid. After people appeared, it was built as a walled city that today remains the only Bavarian city still never invaded, so its walls and gates remained intact to this day. It is a short drive from the castle and is one of the nicest old towns in which to wander. Restaurants and shopping abound, but there are some great cultural spots. We were there on a Monday, so the museums were closed. The Church of St. George was open with a choir and musicians practicing. We walked up the 350 steps to the top of the church tower named "Daniel". You will have to go to the church to find out why the tower is called Daniel. It costs 1.60 ECU to go out the tower on the balcony where there is a great view. You don’t have to pay until you get to the top, so if you give it up before you get there, it is a free ride to walk back down.

After that, I had a liquid lunch and watched the rest eat spaghetti. Then we shopped for shoes, (nice Birkenstocks here), wandered, checked out bakeries, etc.

Then the wilds called us, and we drove to the lake regions a bit closer to home. The Brombachersee is a man made lake with cool shores where we spent a couple of hours on our duffs solving the world’s problems. No bathing suits for the lake, but that was our fault. After a coffee, we headed home to our place to recover and plan our last day.

Barbara adds:

I had been missing the lake that we see from our house in Switzerland, but today made up for it. It was good to be near water even though we couldn’t swim. We saw some very well-kept campgrounds, much nicer than the usual version in the US and we all wished we could stay longer and longer. Our new friend from the US was fascinated by how clean all of the restrooms are in Germany. After a visit to one he would invitingly say: "Oh, you gotta see this one!" He finally got up the nerve to ask one of the English-speaking waitresses, how they manage to keep the WC’s so clean. She simply replied:

"Sir, we clean them."

The last day in the castle is occupied with packing the bags and car. We did manage a quick trip to Weidenbach to buy some groceries to take home. The day after we arrive home is National Day (4th of July) in CH, so everything will be closed. We scouted out a Gasthof there for our last dinner but found it was its "Ruhetag" (rest day). This is the once weekly day that most of these places have on varied days in the week.

We managed lunch in our village at the local Gasthof, made arrangements for a farewell dinner tonight with friends, packed most of the car, and took naps. In the evening, we went back to the Gasthaus Krone in Burgoberbach for a nice dinner on the terrace.

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On hot days, one appreciates that the castle walls are 6-8 feet thick. Only at windows does one reach a thinness in the walls. This keeps things warm when it is cool and cool when it is warm.

The moat is alive with Carp which provide a big aquarium for entertainment (especially when you toss a bit of toast into it). It is nice at night, to be disturbed only by the jumping of the fish.

The availability of scores of maps, brochures, etc. in the common room, as well as the big kitchen which is open to all, is nice. Our kitchen was very large and spacious. We cook a lot at night because we enjoy the new variety of foods that we find in other countries (and we enjoy eating them). I would add some utensils if I were here longer. A strainer for pasta and a bigger pot for cooking the same come to mind. I simply went to the community kitchen and borrowed what I needed. I bought a sharp paring knife, but otherwise, all was adequate. Most Idyllers wouldn’t miss these things.

Our oven was a combo microwave, convection, and normal use like here at home. These could also be combined. There is plenty of hot water, but if you need more, the button on the thermostat controlled water tank works fine. The sink in the kitchen has its own hot water heater too! Now, get this; there is a dishwasher! We used it once for the fun of it. It will hold a service for two and a few other things, but it does a good job.

Lastly, one can only say that Manfred (The Baron) and the whole family are the least pretentious, most open, and the most genuinely nice people you can meet. We were encouraged to enter into all the activities and use all of the facilities with warmth. In our two weeks, I did not meet a person that was not friendly and interested in Americans. A few feeble words of German from our friends from Oregon was always greeted with welcome and good humor. Our poor German grammar was accepted without disdain.

One final word from Barbara:

As much as we love Switzerland, after this Untour, we will always have a warm spot in our hearts for Germany and Schloss Sommersdorf. I mean, where else in the world could we stay in a castle for two weeks, meet such nice people, experience history, culture, music, cuisine and much more at Idyll Untour prices??

What a bargain, what memories, what fun!

Vance Roy