Both of us slept really well so we got up early and went to church. The service was wonderful and even Ted was able to sing a few verses! The Chaplain confirmed what we had just read and what was in hearts last Friday night! We will continue to seek Him for direction.
After church, we stopped at the PX/BX to return the medicine Ted didn't want and I picked up their catalog. If I can't find something in the store, I'm sure it will be in the catalog!
Ted wanted to show me where he had been working for the past week and the "Mall" on Panzer base. The photos don't do the area justice and I'm sure very few civilians ever get to see it. So here's your look! Hopefully, I'm not violating national security by posting these! The photos are still not coming out right. I think it's the sun but I'm going to have to buy a new camera because I believe we shipped the cords for our digital camera. Or perhaps I can get some cords for the digital without buying a new camera.
Next Stop: Commissary on Patch to do some minor grocery shopping. It's funny, the "baggers" at the commissaries are volunteers. They don't get paid so military personnel and civilians (like us) tip them to help us with our groceries to the car. I don't know why they don't get paid. They look like high school students. It's a good way for them to learn 1) the value of volunteering and 2) an appreciation of a tip!
The car needs fuel so after we drop off the groceries at home, we stop to get gas. The car is diesel so we cannot get the fuel on base. However, with the fuel card we have, we can get fuel at any Esso station (haven't seen those in years, have you?). We find the card needs to be renewed in a few days but there's still about $60 on the card. We wonder if that money goes away or gets transferred. We're hoping it gets transferred otherwise we'll have to re-evaluate how we use that card! Time will tell, of course!
I don't remember who but someone told us to visit Tubingen. That person only said that the buildings were very old and it was an amazing town. It's only about 30 km from where we live so it's a perfect outing for a Sunday afternoon except that what we didn't know was an afternoon would not be enough to explore this extraordinary town.
We travel on the B27 until we reach Tubingen. The GPS lady takes us right to the old section of Tubingen. It's hard to find a parking space but after much looking we find one under an overpass and about a kilometer from the square. It's a beautiful sunny day and although we brought sweaters, we didn't think we'd need them.
We started walking towards the first square we saw before we parked the car. There were TONS of people and families about - from elderly couples to modern-day bikers holding hands. We think there must be a University or some sort of school here because there is so much more graffiti than in the other towns we've visited. And there are bicycles everywhere! From the tiniest tots to fathers toting those made-for-bicycle baby carriages to the elderly cruising along; some with fantastic head-to-toe bicycle gear and others with regular everyday clothes. These people surely know how to live! The fountain you see in the photo below must have been used for horses in days gone by. It is clearly marked that the water is not for drinking.
The buildings are incredible! Some are four, five and six stories high and the workmanship of each building is outstanding. They are all so different. I would imagine the owners 0f most of the shops, cafes and "Beergarten" that are on the first floors of these wonderful old buildings actually live above the shops. What a short commute, huh? Most of the shops were closed but many of the cafes and restaurants were open. As we walk along the very narrow streets, I wonder about what it was like to live here in the 14th and 15th centuries. I imagine the ladies in their dresses, the peasants walking along, the horses and carts with produce going to market. I don't think I can do this town justice by describing it to you, so I'm depending on the photos to do it for me.
Every time we turn a corner and go down another street, we come to another square. Each one more beautiful and charming than the last. The one you see below had tables that were associated with a Pizzeria place that was located across the square. There weren't many tables. I'd say there were probably about a dozen. We decided to have an early dinner there. As we sat outside looking all around, enjoying the people, the buildings and listening to the bells toll, we were in awe once again that we were even here. It really is a bit surreal.
I didn't realize it, but the Pizzeria was located across a street that allowed cars. As we were sitting there, a HUGE bus turned the corner and slid past one of the tables. It couldn't been more than two feet away from a little girl sitting at that table. She didn't even bat an eye. My quick in-take of breath cued my husband to see what I was looking at. We held our breath until the bus maneuvered past the remaining tables. Now keep in mind that not only are there tables in the square but tables on the sidewalk across from the square and adjacent to the street as well. And the waitress had to traverse that busy street every time she had to wait on a table or bring a drink or food. Unbelievable! If you were there, what would you think?
I found out later that the waitress was Italian (she looked more German than Italian - if there is such a thing). She later told me she was from Sardinia and the chef was from Pescara!
It was getting cold by the time we finished eating (only because we were in the shade and the wind was kicking up. I couldn't help but think how incredibly pleasant this square must be in the summer time. It's still mid-spring and mild but it's not nearly warm enough to be without sweaters, at least in the shade. We decided we needed to get out into the sun to get a bit warmed up and we were curious as to what was down one of the streets. As we walked, we realized that even in these streets there was no sun because the buildings were so tall and so close together. All at once we come out into another square and into the sunshine. This square has a fountain and a church with bells (probably the ones that were ringing while we were having dinner)!
We continue to walk but we know we haven't even scratched the surface of this town. There are so many tiny alley ways and streets that we just chose streets that looked interested (and which was closest to us). All of a sudden we came into another square. I keep using the same words to describe this experience because I'm having a VERY difficult time describing it...but it was unbelievable!
I just stood there in awe of the magnificence of these buildings and those who created them all those years ago! The last photo in this group was a building that was built in 1435! We even chatted about whether or not this town was affected by the bombing in WWII. And I can't even imagine how long the people who built these buildings toiled away on them. It must have literally taken years and years to build them!!
Sadly, we decided it was time to head back to the car but we didn't want to retrace our steps so we took another route going back in the direction of the car. Up hilly streets and around corners, looking into alleyways and admiring the workmanship on the very, very old doors. I was impressed by the fact there are many streets that cars cannot go, not just because the streets are narrow but because these buildings are built on hills, so many of the narrow streets have stairs, and not roadways! They certainly didn't know anything about barrier-free construction in those days!!
On the way back, we saw a house with an incredible vine growing in front of it. I told my husband we HAVE to come back in the summer because I want to see that vine in full bloom. There's also a river (which you can see a hint of in the third photo). We definitely have to go back to see the river as well.
There was also a pedestrian (and bicycle) tunnel going from where we ended up to the very first square that we saw when we parked the car. Silly me, I had forgotten to take a picture of it. I think at one time, it must have been a tunnel for cars. We had gone in a total circle! By this time our legs were hurting, but a good kind of hurt. We were happy to finally see the car.
It seemed that the trip back was quicker than the trip there. We decided to stop at our favorite Gelato store in Bonlanden before going home.
All in all, we had a great day (just not long enough to see everything) and with just a little bit of coughing from Ted.
It's time for bed. Gutten Naben!
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