RADFAHREN
On Tuesday I biked the Stuttgart Radel-Thon. The route is 79 km around the city of Stuttgart. Here is a great link to the map for your reference. I started my route by riding to the Goldberg train station here in Boeblingen to take the train through the woods to Rohr where the route begins. The website advertised the route to be paved and some gravel. In reality, the path is crushed stone, giant rocks, some smooth pavement, road, dirt paths in the woods, and crappy pavement covered in dirt, leaves, and rocks. I was instantly irritated and my brand new tires were not happy. So it was slow going and I had to watch for the signs since the route weaved in the cities and woods. I got lost twice because the trees and bushes were overgrown and blocked the signs.
I convinced myself that my efforts were worthwhile since I really wanted to finish the route. The nice part was that I saw a lot of the area. My favorite part was around Bad Canstatt, and not just because the path was paved, but the view was also spectacular. Here are some pictures from this wine area...
.jpg)
After being four hours into the ride and stuck in the woods going uphill around Gerlingen on a deep gravel path, I called it quits and rode down towards the city center on the road to catch the train back to Boeblingen at Schwabstrasse. I was smart enough to bring plenty of water, GU packets, and snacks to keep me going while I rode, but not smart enough to get off the path when it became unfit for a road bike (which was immediately). Now I can say that I almost finished the Stuttgart Radel-Thon!
LAUFEN
*Disclaimer - I am very grateful to the soldiers that serve and make many sacrifices for the US and I mean no offense. These statements are just my opinion.
So I have been going for jogging/walking/running exercises during the day to be active. There are wonderful paths behind our apartment in the woods on both sides of Panzerstrasse. The American base Panzer Kaserne also happens to be located in these woods. The base is surrounded by fences, barbed wire, trees, and giant signs that say to STAY AWAY so I have always kept a distance. Well last week I was running in the woods, listening to music, and in the zone when I dropped to the ground because I felt like I was being shot at. The gunfire was loud and echoing through the trees. I literally jumped out of my skin in fear for my life. I soon realized that I was near the Panzer shooting range and the soldiers were practicing. I have heard gunfire from our apartment in the residential community on numerous occasions but until recently, I was not usually around during working hours of week days. I understand that target practice is necessary and I would prefer if American soldiers knew how to shoot but I honestly have a problem with a gun range being so close to the community. Germans (and Americans not involved in the military) should be able to enjoy the serenity of the forest near their home without the BANG of guns. The noise is too loud and quite unsettling. I did some more research on the public's opinions and here is what I found:
- Here is an article from June 2012 that highlights how upset the community is. I am glad to hear that the base doesn't shoot on weekends and German public holidays.
- It says here that the Panzer Kaserne has an outdoor shooting range and an indoor firing range.
- I had trouble finding articles in English but would be interested in finding out what our neighbors think of the noise if we were staying here longer.
SINDELFINGEN
The city of Sindelfingen next to Boeblingen had a Great Festival Weekend Saturday and Sunday that we checked out on Saturday. We biked there and locked our bikes at the biergarten at Sommerhofenpark to walk around the park. There were three stations at the park with tents, booths, and presentations. Each station was from a time period when what is now Sindelfingen was occupied by others. Most of the displays were completed by school children of varying ages that have been studying the time periods. It was all put together very well! The city is celebrating 750 years of existence, I believe. We were able to understand and learn quite a bit even though most of it was in German. I have become an expert at looking at pictures, paying attention to body language, and listening for the few words that I do know.
After meandering around downtown Sindelfingen looking at booths, vendors, and historical displays, we biked back to our favorite local brewhouse, Schonbuch Brauhaus. We spent the later afternoon and early evening on the patio drinking hefeweizen, pils, radler, and their brand new pale ale. Yes, they definitely have an American style pale ale and check out the label. It is relatively dark in color for a pale ale and pretty weak on an IBU scale, but an excellent first attempt for a German brewery.
WANDERN
On Sunday, we hiked! Baden-Baden is a short one hour drive away and offers plenty of hiking in the Black Forest. We started on the 60 km Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, or Black Forest High Road in the late morning and stopped right away to do a short hike. We followed the Panoramaweg to the Geroldsau Waterfall. The path is mostly gravel and an easy 1.5-2 km round hike to a small waterfall. I really enjoyed being in the woods and walking along the stream.
Then we drove on the windy uphill road again to stop at a scenic overlook to eat our sandwiches. After a quick lunch in the sun, we continued to a large trail-head with parking possibly near Buhlertal. All of the trail-heads are labeled and the parking lots have plenty of maps with signs. We chose a 4 km hiking path and started in the correct direction. Unfortunately we somehow got off the path in the woods and ended up not completing the round route. The path was a much harder hike through the woods and around giant rocks and just about as wide as a deer path, but quite enjoyable. The viewpoints were gorgeous and very scenic! It we had more time, I could easily spend all day doing some of the longer hikes in the area.
No comments:
Post a Comment