Freiburg
We decide to do just one day coach trip with Shearings. It's more than enough after spending a good one and a half days coaching all the way from England to Basel, Switzerland to begin the cruise proper. It depends what you are looking for. The trip took up from Breisach where we moor to Freiburg, then the Black Forest for lunch before going onto Lake Titisee.
We pass lots of gentle slopes covered in vines while traditional chalet type farms nestle in amongst the greenery of velvet rolling hills. There's something about vines that has nothing to do with the alcohol. Maybe it's because they remind me of gentler times.
We pass lots of gentle slopes covered in vines while traditional chalet type farms nestle in amongst the greenery of velvet rolling hills. There's something about vines that has nothing to do with the alcohol. Maybe it's because they remind me of gentler times.
Freiburg apparently is one of the sunniest cities in the whole of Germany and a hive of activity. It's known as the gateway to the Black Forest and so attracts lots of tourists, eager to sample the local first class vino before making off 'to the Woods'.
Once again the locals seem to have taken to their bikes in a big way. Our guide, Iris, tells us that there are supposed to be more bicycles in Freiburg than there are people!!!, Judging by the number we saw in just a very short while, I can believe it. We, however, leave the coach in the main square then amble towards the town centre at a pace we can all manage.
Freiburg is an ancient university town. It seems as if musicians play at the slightest opportunity on every street corner for our delight. Round another corner another group of artists faces daubed chalk white perform an elaborate mime that has the crowd but particularly the children entranced.
Once again the locals seem to have taken to their bikes in a big way. Our guide, Iris, tells us that there are supposed to be more bicycles in Freiburg than there are people!!!, Judging by the number we saw in just a very short while, I can believe it. We, however, leave the coach in the main square then amble towards the town centre at a pace we can all manage.
Freiburg is an ancient university town. It seems as if musicians play at the slightest opportunity on every street corner for our delight. Round another corner another group of artists faces daubed chalk white perform an elaborate mime that has the crowd but particularly the children entranced.
The ancient cathedral dominates the city and is surrounded by a wonderful market, much bigger than the one at Basel. Its stalls crowd almost up to the cathedral entrance much as it's done down through the centuries. Once again I marvel at the way this tradition has survived in an otherwise fast changing and sometimes very challenging world.
I can't wait to explore once again. I love all the fresh vegetables stretched out across so many stalls; so many colours, so many fresh fruits and vegetables: red, yellows, orange, green, aubergine and many shades in between. Bananas strung out above a stall crammed with apricots, grapes, lemons and much more. Quite apart from a place to buy fresh produce, it seems like this is a place to meet, talk and exchange views. It's a market place that remains a place for the locals rather than just the tourists although there are also some crafty bits to take away. It's lovely to see Freiburg has managed to retain most of its character in spite of us tourists spilling into the town.
Round the corner there's a second and much smaller square, where we sit and watch couple after couple emerge from the Rathaus after their civil weddings. Actually there are two Rathaus; the Altes, (old) a magnificent 16th century structure and the Neues (new 19th Century), now the tourist office.
We sit on an island surrounded by a system of gutters, or drains, known as Bachle. These run all over the old town but our guide Iris is at pains to tell us that these certainly are not nor have never been drains or open sewers; they are a system devised to provide water to fight fires and feed livestock going back centuries. They contain water diverted from the local River Dreisam. Just off the square is another market stall selling wooden boats children can float in the Bachle, and then pull them along. There's even a festival to celebrate them.
Bachle beware:
Be warned! Local legend has it that if you trip into one of these drains, who could very well end your days in Freiburg after marrying one of the locals. Me I could have lingered for more than a few days longer in this beautiful city.
I can't wait to explore once again. I love all the fresh vegetables stretched out across so many stalls; so many colours, so many fresh fruits and vegetables: red, yellows, orange, green, aubergine and many shades in between. Bananas strung out above a stall crammed with apricots, grapes, lemons and much more. Quite apart from a place to buy fresh produce, it seems like this is a place to meet, talk and exchange views. It's a market place that remains a place for the locals rather than just the tourists although there are also some crafty bits to take away. It's lovely to see Freiburg has managed to retain most of its character in spite of us tourists spilling into the town.
Round the corner there's a second and much smaller square, where we sit and watch couple after couple emerge from the Rathaus after their civil weddings. Actually there are two Rathaus; the Altes, (old) a magnificent 16th century structure and the Neues (new 19th Century), now the tourist office.
We sit on an island surrounded by a system of gutters, or drains, known as Bachle. These run all over the old town but our guide Iris is at pains to tell us that these certainly are not nor have never been drains or open sewers; they are a system devised to provide water to fight fires and feed livestock going back centuries. They contain water diverted from the local River Dreisam. Just off the square is another market stall selling wooden boats children can float in the Bachle, and then pull them along. There's even a festival to celebrate them.
Bachle beware:
Be warned! Local legend has it that if you trip into one of these drains, who could very well end your days in Freiburg after marrying one of the locals. Me I could have lingered for more than a few days longer in this beautiful city.
