Route description for Germany REDA 2025

How beautiful Switzerland is. We drive leisurely through the Reuss Valley via Bremgarten, Mellingen, and Brugg.

Although I have driven this route countless times, I still find the villages, the river, and simply this little corner of Switzerland worth seeing.

A simple parking lot near the sports and military field. That doesn't sound very attractive, but you'd hardly believe it - the local recreation area of the town of Brugg is right next to the parking lot. The cycle paths and walking trails start right at the parking lot. We cycle over a suspension bridge to Gebensforf. Cross the Aare and the Reuss and end up in my godchild's cozy new home. We bring a plum tree as a gift. It's almost a feat to transport a tree like that by bike. The cozy evening just flies by. So late in the evening we cycle directly back to our warm camper's room via Windisch.

• The night was short but the sleep was very deep. Enough to enjoy our second day of vacation. We start today as we ended yesterday, with a short bike ride. We are invited to brunch at Daniel's brother's. So we spend a leisurely morning with fine delicacies. Thank you for the excellent breakfast. We are back in the camper around midday. I call to find out whether we can spend the night at the RV park in Winterthur, because we have an RV viewing appointment tomorrow at 10 a.m. Great, the overnight stay is approved. Since we don't want to arrive at the industrial site in the early afternoon, we think about an afternoon program here in Brugg. Daniel's siblings all live nearby, but apart from Yvonne, in Kölliken, no one answers the phone. What the heck, we are on vacation, so we just drive about 20 km west instead of east and visit Yvonne and Roli. Here we enjoy warm hospitality again, THANK YOU. Now we're finally heading east to Winterthur. We're driving overland and I'm trying to enjoy our beautiful Switzerland through the eyes of a tourist. Today I chose the many roundabouts as a special subject for my photos.

The journey through Winterthur puts a lot of strain on our navigation system, on me as co-pilot, and especially on Daniel, the nerveless driver. We end up narrowly missing the entrance. So, for better or worse, we have to do an involuntary lap of honor, because turning around or stopping is impossible. Instead of calculating an alternative route and guiding us to our desired destination, our beloved navigation system quits and doesn't give us any further information. So I have no choice but to direct Daniel back to the entrance with the help of Google Maps. We make it at 6:00 p.m. The office worker is just about to head off for a well-earned break. Being the friendly guy he is, he greets us and even gives us a restaurant recommendation. We settle down at Gerry's Bar, an Italian restaurant, and enjoy a great pizza. The short walk back to the camper also serves as our digestive walk. Now we're looking forward to a slightly longer night so we can continue our journey tomorrow, well rested.

Before we continue on our way, there's a camper inspection to be done. This is, after all, the reason we're here in Winterthur. At 10:00 a.m. sharp, Sibylle, Orfeo, and Nerea arrive at the campsite. Together with Daniel, they inspect the new Rimor. Daniel, the camper expert, advises and notes everything that needs to be retrofitted or modified on their own new camper. Nerea retreats to our camper for a while and fortifies herself with sausage and bread. Shortly after 12:00 p.m., the three of them set off for home to Lucerne. Daniel and I decide which route we'll take today.

Our rough plan is to spend a few days in Munich next week. That means for today, we're driving west toward Allgäu. We enter the parking space in Immenstadt into the sat nav. To get through the Swiss cities of Winterthur, Wil, and St. Gallen quickly, we take the motorway to the Austrian border. In Austria, we stay on the motorway until the "Dornbirn Nord" exit. This motorway is toll-free for us, so we both feel a certain tension. We wonder if the "Gobox" is still working. At the first checkpoint, it beeps, and we both breathe an audible sigh of relief; it's working. From Dornbirn onward, the landscape changes abruptly. We're driving through the "Bregenzerwald" region, a lovely, hilly landscape, quite winding in places and, above all, hardly any industry, but all agriculture. Shortly before Müselbach, we turn onto an unnamed white road. This means it becomes even more rural and idyllic. In short, we're enjoying the drive through Austria. In Krumbach, we buy our breakfast bread and some meat for dinner. From here, it's only a few kilometers to the German border. The nearly 20 kilometers on the German side, to Immenstadt, also lead through the mountains. We see remnants of snow, and shortly before Immenstadt, we pass a cable car whose ski slope is still accessible all the way down to the road. Of course, this is only thanks to the artificial snow. Immenstadt is located on the "Alpenstrasse" and the "Alpensee." That actually sounds romantic and a bit touristy, so we're hoping the parking spot is in nature and close to the town. But unfortunately, we don't feel at home here. The spot is a huge parking lot, and the location isn't all that bad; you're on the outskirts of town, and you could probably quickly reach the small town center on foot. Unfortunately, the sun isn't shining over the mountains; both the town and the parking spot are in a patch of shadow, which bothers me too much on today's sunny day. Daniel empties the toilet, and then we move on. We decide to drive to around 1,000 meters above sea level, where a farming family is supposed to be offering a parking space. Park4nigt promises friendly farmers and a fabulous view.

Daniel winds his way up an increasingly narrow road. I wonder if we'll find what we're looking for up there? The sat nav shows they've reached their destination. Daniel stops at the farmyard. Three small boys are playing there. As soon as I get out, the three boys are already standing next to me: "Do you want to camp here?" "Yes, can you tell me where to go?" The cheekiest boy explains to me: "The two of us live here, that guy lives over there and you can park your camper there too." The boy in question adds: "Just drive there and then knock on the door." But knocking isn't necessary. We've barely arrived at the Brackenberger farm when the young farmer's wife comes towards us. She greets us with surprise: "Oh, you're early." I explain to her that it's almost 5 p.m. and ask if that's too early. But as soon as she says it, I understand what she means by early, because she says with a smile: "You're the first this year; campers don't usually arrive this early before Easter." She and her husband quickly clear the one pitch they are offering for 20 euros a night. She seems pleased that the season is already starting. And we are pleased to have found such a great place to stay overnight today. We quickly put the chairs in front of the car and enjoy a cup of coffee under the last rays of sunshine. The view and the sounds are unique. Indian runner ducks quack, donkeys graze, cows graze and moo, and the cat Mowgli roams around the car. From our spot we can see down into the valley and up to the other farmers. Simply agriculture at its best.

Today is another truly "magnificent day." We have breakfast in the camper, but then nothing can stop us. First, we enjoy the sunshine on our private forecourt. The weather also entices hikers out of the house, as quite a few walkers stroll past "our" farm. Around midday, we pack our steel horses to explore the surrounding area. Our plan is to visit a waterfall and the "Hirsch" restaurant in the nearby village of Vorderburg. The farmer's wife explains to Daniel the various routes to reach our destinations. The muddy trail down to the village is long, steep, slippery, and rocky. Apart from one unintentional full-body contact with the ground, I find the path quite acceptable. A little outside Vorderburg, we encounter another spark witch; we saw these fires in all the villages yesterday. Are you familiar with the tradition of spark bonfires? No, then you're like us. In the restaurant, a young local couple told us about this old tradition with some pride. The young man even kept watch last night. But I'm copying more detailed information from the internet.

"Every year on the first Sunday after Ash Wednesday, the bonfires are lit. This old Alemannic custom is intended to drive out the winter and is widespread not only in the Allgäu, but also in Vorarlberg, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. On the Saturday before the bonfire, old wood is collected in the village and burned on the bonfire. The core of the bonfire is the so-called bonfire fir tree, which is stripped of branches down to the top, and on top of which the bonfire witch is placed. This witch doll is made of straw and filled with a charge of black powder. The explosion of this charge is said to bring good luck. As soon as the bonfire is built, the bonfire guard takes over. Its purpose is to prevent residents of other villages from igniting the bonfire prematurely. This "game" is still associated with the custom in many places, and time and again a bonfire is successfully lit early. On bonfire Sunday, the bonfire is then ceremoniously lit after dark. It's said to bring bad luck if the spark tips over before the witch's doll explodes. Some old farmers' sayings are also based on the spark fire. For example, long icicles on Spark Sunday are said to promise long flax. More interesting for today is the farmers' saying that if you see many stars on Spark Sunday, you'll get many cherries. Let's see if we see many stars today.

On our bike ride, we pause briefly at the bonfire. Although it's only midday, the first festive visitors are already arriving. There's plenty of beer, coffee, and cake. We continue to the waterfall. Although it's rather small and man-made, I'm amazed at how many hikers walk to this destination. Our bike ride continues through the village of "Morgen" to the "Hirsch" restaurant. A hearty lunch fortifies us for the journey home. For the return trip to the camper, we take the narrow road we drove up yesterday.

With a fine cup of coffee we enjoy the almost excessively warm March weather.

PS We'll leave the bonfire festival to the locals. Up here, we're enjoying the restful silence and the starry sky. Whether that means there will really be more cherries this year is still up in the air. 😉

As the weather forecast had warned, raindrops woke us up. Luckily, it wasn't exactly heavy, persistent rain, but the temperature drop of about 10°C was still very noticeable. How glad we were that we packed everything for our camper last night, so we could have a leisurely breakfast, pay the farmer for two nights, and then set off for our next overnight stop. Because of the change in the weather, we chose "Bad Wörishofen" as our new destination last night. True to our holiday philosophy, we drove all along side roads and main roads. We slowly wound our way down to the village of Vorderburg, where we saw the traces of yesterday's bonfire. I was amazed at how large the burned-out circle of grass was and that a small fire was still burning in the middle. Well, these bonfire festivals are really a big deal in the small Allgäu villages.

As you can see from the photos, the parking space and the area in front of the thermal baths are both uninviting. I also find the prices – €13.00 for the parking space (including electricity and waste disposal) plus an additional €22.00 per person for a two-hour entrance fee – rather expensive by German standards. Nevertheless, this trip was worthwhile, and we had a wonderful rest.

Today's cross-country journey is hard to top. Just outside of Bad Wörishofen, we turn onto a narrow side road. Then, for several kilometers, we drive right and left, true to our motto: "follow your nose." Since, as co-pilot, I constantly have to give turn-by-turn instructions, I hardly get a chance to take photos. Whatever, we simply enjoy the ride. Sometimes we get the feeling that the narrow road leads directly across the front courtyards of the farmhouses. We do our daily shopping in a village shop, where a chatty customer explains to us that we're no longer in the Allgäu, but in Upper Bavaria. And lo and behold, from Weilheim in Upper Bavaria, this becomes quite official, and to our amazement, we drive a few kilometers on the "German Alpine Road" again, which of course also means that the snow-capped mountains are once again in sight. We leave the Alpine Road again when we turn towards Bad Tölz instead of Garmisch-Partenkirchen; from this junction onwards it becomes noticeably more “urban” again.

The parking space on the Isar River is very well signposted, even before entering Bad Tölz. The site is, as described, directly on the Isar River. It's large, flat, and, above all, quiet. Bad Tölz's old town is only about 500 meters from the parking space. So we decide to stroll along the banks of the Isar and then enter the old town at the Isar Bridge. The old town center is small but extremely beautiful. It's car and bicycle free. The houses to the left and right of Marktstrasse are in very good condition and beautifully painted. I'm amazed at how old these townhouses are. I saw one house that was over 600 years old. On the way back, I read an information board about the town and the Tölzer Land region: "South of Munich, between the Isar and Loisach rivers, stretches the Tölzer Land region. Mountains and lakes, churches and monasteries, towns and villages, tradition, culture, health, and all sorts of sporting activities—the Tölzer Land region offers holidays for connoisseurs, those seeking relaxation, athletes, families, and gourmets—in short, for every taste.

Bad Tölz, the historic spa town on the Isar River, long profited from the lucrative salt trade. This is reflected in the townscape; the facades of the gabled houses on Marktstrasse, also called the "most beautiful ballroom in the Oberland," are particularly impressive. Tranquil alleys, the historic spa district, inns, and cozy cafés—all of the town's sights can be easily explored on foot.

Today we want to look for a parking space in Munich for three nights. We entered the "Allianz Arena" parking space into the navigation system. This space costs €20 per 24 hours, including electricity and waste disposal, so it's more ideal for us than the Olympia parking space, which doesn't include anything. The distance to the city center is also perfect for us—about 13 kilometers on a bike path.

So, we're heading for Munich, so as co-pilot, I'd like us to approach Munich on the Autobahn. I suspect this way we can simply take the "Allianz Arena" exit and drive directly to the parking space.

But one thing at a time; we're still in Bad Tölz. And to my amazement, it takes a really long time before we pass the end-of-town sign. It's a really big town. And my amazement continues. Instead of quickly getting onto the autobahn, we wind our way through the countryside, just like yesterday, leisurely and wonderfully. About 50 kilometers before Munich, we reach the autobahn. But here, too, there's little traffic; nothing to indicate that we're approaching the Bavarian capital. The closer we get to Munich, the more lanes the autobahn becomes, and slowly the traffic also increases. We cross huge autobahn junctions without any problems, change autobahn numbers, and feel reliably guided by our navigation system. Everything is going well; I'm only a little surprised when I don't see any signs for "Allianz Arena." So, quite confidently, we take the "Dirnismaning" exit, drive into the village, and, now a little hesitant, turn onto a narrow industrial road. After a few meters, Daniel stops abruptly. Our favorite sat nav wants us over a narrow bridge, past a no-entry sign, and then on along a gravel road. No, that's not how it works. To make matters worse, we see the arena in the distance, but we can't take that route. We turn around and, with the help of Google Maps, head back onto the motorway. But anyone who thinks we'll end up right at the Arena is mistaken. We drive a few kilometers on the motorway, then we're told to take the exit, go straight ahead, and get back onto the motorway... I don't know how many times we took that twist and turn. Finally, the exit sign said "Allianz Arena," and you won't believe it - at exactly 12:00 p.m. we're at our overnight spot, right in front of the Allianz Arena.

We're really wondering if this is the only access to the park. We don't know. It doesn't matter, the main thing is that we found our destination.

You have to give the architect credit for that; the arena is an impressive building.

We feel comfortable at the campsite and enjoy the direct connection to Munich's bike path network. The noise from the highway takes some getting used to, but it's bearable. We settle in for four nights, as the city tour "Schmankerltour" has been postponed to Saturday. Whatever, we have time and no other plans yet.

I wake up in the middle of the night to the heavy rain pounding on our roof. Oh my God, I think to myself, if it rains like this all day tomorrow, our visit to the Deutsches Museum will probably be canceled.

Luckily, the weather is changing to "changeable." Mostly wet in the morning, with increasingly longer dry breaks around midday. We get our e-bikes ready. Daniel programs the bike computer. Pack our bags for the museum visit and, above all, dress warmly. Our day trip begins, leaving the Arena Arena, briefly along the highway, after a short while crossing the main road, and then along the bike path for about 12 kilometers. We follow the sign for "Marienplatz" to the Isar River. First, we cycle along a puddle-filled forest path, then we cross the English Garden and finally along the Isar to Museum Island. In this cold and drizzle, I didn't feel like photographing the otherwise beautiful bike path, sorry. Luckily, it only drizzled lightly during the ride, so our pants weren't completely soaked, just dry enough for the museum trip. I think the admission price of 8 euros per person (seniors) is good value. But unfortunately, we are greeted by a completely different museum than it was 30 years ago. We're much less fond of today's exhibition style. Nevertheless, we linger with interest in various halls. Bridge and hydraulic engineering, machines and their inventors, aircraft, and finally, technology. Here I learn why I'm so drawn to amber. 🙈 See photos.

Tired and hungry, we prepare for the return journey. If only navigation systems weren't so tricky. Just like our car navigation system, our cycling navigation system is up to its tricks today. Daniel enters the Allianz Arena as our "favorite location," the navigation system calculates, and instead of 13.6 kilometers, it spits out a route of 110 kilometers, back to the farm in the Oberallgäu region. After a few restarts, Daniel turns off the navigation system because we already know the way back, and besides, the bike paths here in Munich are excellently signposted. From the English Garden, we can simply follow the "Arena" sign. GREAT.

We arrive at our camper frozen, wet, and covered in mud. Luckily, our living room warms up quickly. A good meal and a warm cup of tea fortify us for a peaceful evening.

Let's see if the weather is as cloudy and changeable tomorrow. Then we'll probably stay in the car and treat ourselves to a real day of rest.

We're now standing in front of this impressive football stadium for three days. There's no city tour planned today, and the weather is so cold and wet that we'd rather spend a proper day relaxing in the camper. Between reading, playing, cooking, and... I do a bit of internet research about the Allianz Arena. Upon arrival, I praised the architects for their idea of designing such a football stadium. Now I can write with a bit of pride: "Who invented it? Two Swiss, of course." The Basel architectural firm Herzog and de Meuron won the competition in 2001. The foundation stone for the football stadium, which seats 66,000 people, was laid in 2002, and the building was completed in 2005. The website "baunetzwissen.de" states: "The design impresses with its innovative building shell and the associated opportunity for two football clubs to identify with their stadium. Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich will both host this sports arena in the future. The stadium's facade is one of the largest membrane shells in the world. It consists of 2,800 pneumatically pre-tensioned ETFE foil cushions. The extremely transparent foil has a light transmittance of 93% and, with a thickness of 0.2 mm, weighs just 350 g/m2. At the request of the developers, the stadium's facades can glow in different colors, depending on which team is playing. Almost a third of all cushions are illuminated by approximately 25,000 fluorescent lamps in varying colors of white, red, and blue. The area of the illuminated facade shell is approximately 24,000 m2, with a total area of 64,000 m2. As you can see, we're stuck on the "exterior." Daniel and I are definitely not football fans and therefore forgo a tour of the stadium. The football museum doesn't appeal to us at all either. So we enjoy our spot in front of the magnificent building, occasionally chatting among the bustling tourist crowds in front of the stadium. And, of course, we're amazed by the patient security guard at the bridge. His shift starts at 8:00 a.m., and he stands, sits, briefly goes into the small booth, then stands, sits... until he finishes work in the late afternoon. It's a mystery to us how he endures these long and particularly boring days.

The alarm goes off at 8:00 a.m., and today is the end of our rest day. Today is the day for the "Schmankerltour Altstadt" (Old Town Delights Tour) in Munich. It starts at 1:00 p.m. at the Isartor. Unfortunately, the weather is more wintry than spring-like today, so we dress as warmly as possible and set off around 10:00 a.m. in drizzle and an icy wind. To avoid having to ride on the muddy bike paths again, we choose the bike path that runs alongside the main road. Thanks to our bike navigation system and the good bike path signage, we reach our destination without any major detours at 11:00 a.m. We park our bikes under the arbor by the Toy Museum, right next to Marienplatz, and walk back to the Isartor. Completely frozen, we are glad to be able to warm up at the Haxenbauer restaurant. We rarely enjoy a hot chocolate like we did here. But we aren't satisfied with just the chocolate. With a pan of cheese spaetzle, we prepare for the popular culinary tour, including a beer tasting, of course. As if revitalized, we arrive punctually at the Isartor, where our city guide greets us.

The description below for the "Weis(s)er Stadtvogel" (White City Bird) city tour reflects what we were able to experience in the two hours. Thanks to a group of friendly couples from Munich, this tour is even taking place. The minimum number of participants is 10, and without the group, we two are the only tourists. The tour guide confirms that many tours have to be canceled this time of year. Fortunately, we can enjoy this tour through Munich's old town today. In addition to the wealth of interesting information about beer consumption, beer production, and Munich's history, we also enjoy the delicious delicacies.

Old Town Tasty Tour

City tour through Munich with extensive tasting

On this tour, we'll indulge in Munich delicacies. After our cosmobiodynamic welcome drink at the Isartor Gate, we'll embark on a culinary journey of discovery through the Old Town. Try your hand at being a beer sommelier with a guided beer tasting and sample traditional Munich baked goods with Munich's best Obazda (spicy cheese). Upon arrival at the Viktualienmarkt, the market butchers will offer a special treat. Finally, we'll stroll to another institution of traditional Munich cuisine: the Schmalznudel (dairy noodles). There, we can watch how our Auszog'ne (dairy noodles), Strizerl (dairy noodles), or Schmalznudeln (dairy noodles) are made, which we'll then enjoy.

• refreshing welcome drink

• traditional Munich Pfennigmuggerl from the Hofkunstmühle

• best Obazda from the Viktualienmarkt

• moderated beer tasting 3x 0.1l with crispy pretzels

• hearty Leberkas roll from the Metzgerzeile

• freshly baked Schmalznudel from Café Frischhut

Today we have a less hectic start to the day, as we don't have to leave the parking lot until 12:00, which is when our day ticket is valid. Well rested, we enjoy breakfast and do a thorough cleaning of the house. However, something's wrong with our sat nav again, as it wants to direct us back out of the parking lot via the gravel road and the farm bridge. To leave Munich as smoothly as possible, we let Google Maps guide us onto the autobahn. From there, our sat nav finds the way again. We drive briefly towards Dachau, then turn onto the No. 13 towards Ingoldstadt. We are amazed at how little traffic there is on this main road. As in the last few days, we drive through idyllic countryside. As soon as we leave the autobahn, we see deer several times. A total of 15 deer are grazing near the road. Near Pfaffenhausen, we turn onto a side road to Geisenfeld. This route may be called the "German Limes Road," but for us it's the "Hop Road." We've never driven past so many hop fields, or such large ones. Shortly before Essing, we cross the Danube, and as the weather forecast on the radio announced today: "It's sunny near the Danube," the sun really does blind us. This beautiful and varied ride ends at a small hiking parking lot on the Main-Danube Canal at the entrance to the village of Essing.

We originally only drove to Essing because from there we can follow a beautiful tourist road, north to Beingries and then directly through the Altmühl Valley. But then we discovered how much this small town has to offer: the wonderful parking lot, the pretty village with a very good restaurant, the Main-Danube Canal with its fantastic cargo ships, and of course, not to forget the Tatzel Bridge. We're saying goodbye to all of that around midday today and looking forward to the highly recommended tourist route. The drive along the canal is highly recommended for many kilometers. To our surprise, although we didn't see any deer today, we did see a flock of wild geese pecking at worms in the field. They remind me of the story by Selma Lagerlöff, and I chuckle to myself, thinking how funny it would be if I could see the tame goose Martin with little Nils Holgersen here. But I can't dwell on fairytale thoughts for long, because the weather suddenly takes a turn. Instead of sunshine, we're first surprised by rain, which soon turns to sleet. The white grains make visibility difficult and start to touch the ground. Not only the weather but also the road layout, which doesn't match the sat nav's expectations, requires utmost concentration. Our solution is to repeatedly enter via points and then delete them in good time so we don't accidentally drive into city or town centers. Despite my utmost concentration, I miss the turnoff to the Altmühl Valley in Beingries. I thought that if we kept driving towards Eichstätt from here on, we'd automatically end up in the Altmühl Valley. Wrong thought, because I soon see that our road layout and the image on the sat nav don't match the road map at all. Upon closer inspection, I realize that we're driving over the hills to the right of the Altmühl Valley. At Pollenfeld, we turn right and arrive directly in Eichstätt in the Altmühl Valley after all. We now curve along our favorite route without any problems. We drove this route a few years ago and were absolutely thrilled back then. Today, our enthusiasm is more limited. On the one hand, we suspect that the trip through the Altmühl Valley in the opposite direction would be much more attractive. Above all, you'd get a longer and better view of the Burgstein rocks near Dollenstein. On the other hand, the early days of March don't seem ideal, as the brown, bare trees and rain clouds cast a rather gloomy picture. Whatever, the trip was still beautiful, and we can always cycle through the otherwise scenic Altmühl Valley again. We follow the Altmühl to the town of Treuchtlingen, then continue via Heidenheim and Wassertrüdingen to Dinkelsbühl.

I found an answer online as to why so many people visit Dinkelsbühl: "In 2014, the news magazine "Focus" named Dinkelsbühl's old town the "most beautiful old town in Germany." In 2021, CNN listed Dinkelsbühl as the "Most Beautiful Town in Europe." Dinkelsbühl was the only German representative in this ranking."

The parking space on Mönchsrother Strasse, right next to the cemetery, is highly recommended. For €8.00 (24 hours), waste disposal is free, and electricity and fresh water are available for a small fee. The site is just a few meters from the Nördlingen city gate, allowing us to explore the town briefly on foot. The entire old town is surrounded by a city wall, and there are city gates in every direction.
To the east is the "Wörnitz Gate." It is the oldest gate and dates back to the Staufen period, at the end of the 14th century.
To the west is the "Segringer Tor." This originally mighty, four-story city gate was severely damaged by the siege of Swedish troops in 1648 and completely collapsed in 1649. In 1655, it was rebuilt in the Baroque style in its present form, with its characteristic onion dome.

To the north, the "Rothenburger Tor" (Rothenburg Gate) was, along with the Nördlinger Tor, the most important entrance and exit to the city. The upper floors housed the loopholes and prison cells, some of which were so small that prisoners couldn't even lie down. Suspected witches were tried here.

Since the city tour doesn't start until 11:00 a.m., we can take it easy. As usual, we have breakfast and, even though the sun is shining, we dress warmly today. We ride our bikes to the tourist office because after the tour, we want to cycle around the city walls. It's hard to believe, but today, on a perfectly normal weekday, nine people are taking the city tour. And not all of them are well-traveled tourists; one couple even lives nearby. The tour starts at the tourist office or the House of History. A brief chronology of the city's founding: Around 730, a Frankish royal court is considered the nucleus of the settlement.
Around the 10th century, construction of a fortification with a rampart and ditch at the intersection of two old trade routes.
1188 First documented mention as “gift of Emperor Frederick I etc.”

We realize that we are standing on very ancient ground here. The tourist office is located in the old town hall, next to it is the Lion Fountain, and not far away is the Wörnitz Gate. Every year in July, for 10 days, this location provides the imposing backdrop for the town's handover of the Kinderzeche (Children's Mine). For the people of Dinkelsbühl, this festival is the so-called 5th season, and guests and onlookers are warmly welcome. From the Wörnitz Tower, the tower bell is clearly visible. The tour guide explains to us how important this bell was in the Middle Ages. All four gates were closed at sunset. To ensure that traders and farmers working in the fields could enter the town before closing time, the bell rang half an hour before closing time. Our tour continues to the Minster, a late Gothic hall church. Here, the guide explains to us the uniqueness of the town's religious mix. After the Reformation, the town was equally populated by Protestants and Catholics; both were allowed to use the church, and both denominations had to be represented in the government. That actually sounds very modern, but in this case it led to the town having to spend significantly more money and thus becoming increasingly impoverished. As a result, the imposing church tower, which was probably planned, could no longer be built, and therefore the small tower of the previous church still stands today next to the hall church. We continue along the town wall to the Spitalhof, a complex of buildings that resembles a small village. Here, too, we hear many exciting stories and, of course, also learn about the current use of the buildings. After the Spitalhof, we reach the Rothenburgerturm (the Witches' Tower) and continue along the old and stately row of houses on the main street. Here we see that the town consists almost exclusively of half-timbered houses, many of which are hidden behind plaster. The fact that the town has so many half-timbered houses is also due to the aforementioned impoverishment; the townspeople could only afford this inexpensive architectural style. Today, they are, of course, grateful for this unique townscape. The town tour ends on the market square in front of St. George's Cathedral at 12:00 noon sharp. Of course, there's still much to tell about this small town, and if you look at the city tour on the map, this is only a small part of the entire old town. For us, it was good; we learned a lot of interesting facts and now see the city with different eyes than yesterday. But one thing still bothers us, and as we learned during the city tour, we're not the only ones: the sheer volume of traffic through these beautiful old alleys and streets is extreme. There isn't a single meter of pedestrian zone in this city.

After the city tour, we hop on our bikes and cycle around the outside of the city wall. This route was recommended by our guide; you pass playgrounds and some of the city's many ponds. The park-like grounds are well-kept and beautifully landscaped. Our tour ends at the Segringer Gate, and so we cycle down Segringer Strasse toward the market square. But what do we see after a few meters? The Eichner Old Town Bakery is open today, whereas yesterday it was closed. And what do you get at the bakery? That's right, our long-awaited Bienenstich (bee sting cake). So we can warm up and fortify ourselves at a small table inside the bakery with hot chocolate and a delicious Bienenstich (bee sting cake). Afterward, we head back to the camper without stopping.

The sun shines until sunset, but the cold wind is simply stronger than the warmth of the sun today. So we stay in the warm room and enjoy the usual camping life.

It's a true joy to start a new day's travels in such sunshine and, to top it all, no wind. Today we certainly don't miss our winter jackets, as the sun is already warming us up. It seems as if spring has suddenly exploded from its winter slumber. It's almost T-shirt weather; snowdrops, daffodils, and narcissus are blooming in the meadow, and we campers are more likely to strike up conversations now that the cold is no longer forcing us into the car. So we chat with our neighbors before we continue our journey. Although our morning chat isn't just due to the warm weather, but rather due to our "starting problem." Daniel forgets to retract our jack stands. He starts the engine, and at the same time a warning signal sounds on the jack stand indicator. Normally this isn't a problem; the safety system retracts the jack stands automatically. But today it's quite different; a warning light indicates a breakdown. The jack stands won't retract, and the control panel seems to be locked. The jack stands remain down, and so we are locked out too. Daniel and I know that Daniel can raise the supports manually in an emergency, although this is a complex installation. Daniel can't find any information in the manual about how to fix this. In the meantime, of course, the neighbors have come to visit us and are looking on with pity at how things are going. We still have one more try: Disconnect the system from the power supply, i.e. do a reset, and see what happens. Luckily, Daniel can raise the supports without any problems. After disposing of the water and toilet and filling up with fresh water, the journey begins again. Alternating over countryside and then through industrial towns, we slowly chug out of Bavaria and into Baden-Württemberg. Today we find that there are an extremely large number of solar panels on the roofs; even a church roof is completely covered with power generators. Parallel to this, there are also many wind turbines. Renewable energy production seems to be very much promoted here.
From Künzelsau, we turn once again onto a tourist-friendly road, the "Württemberg Wine Route." We would have realized that we were driving through a wine-growing region even without the road's name, as endless vineyards stretch across the hills.

In Forchtenberg, we easily find the parking spot; it's very well signposted. Like yesterday, we're parked next to a cemetery. But this spot is considerably more idyllic. The Kocher River rushes in front of us, fruit trees stand beside us, and just a few meters away, on the other bank of the Kocher, is the small town of Forchtenberg.

The Forchtenberg Castle ruins tower above the small town. According to Google Maps, you can climb the observation tower. With the wonderful weather we're blessed with today, we naturally want to cycle up to the castle. I found the following (abbreviated) information online: "The Forchtenberg Castle ruins are the ruins of a medieval hilltop castle near Forchtenberg in Baden-Württemberg. Konrad von Dürn is said to have been the builder. To consolidate his holdings, Konrad built the castle on a mountain spur in 1234. The construction of the castle was also connected to the founding of the town of Forchtenberg below. The castle changed hands several times over the centuries, being destroyed and rebuilt until finally, in 1989, the town of Forchtenberg took over the complex and, for 1.3 million euros, extensively renovated and secured it, making the ruins accessible to the public." Luckily, we were on e-bikes, as we hitchhiked up the pretty steep hill. But the view from up there is really good and the whole castle complex is worth seeing. Once back down in the town, we cycle a few more kilometers along the Kocher River. Unfortunately, we have to take the same cycle path back because there is only a cycle path on one side of the river. We enjoy the peace and quiet in our car until we go to the Italian restaurant in the evening. Diagonally across the street, we see a German couple who were next to us yesterday also pulling into this parking space. Maybe we'll run into them at the Italian restaurant, that would actually be nice. No, they aren't at the Italian restaurant, but the small restaurant is already packed; we're amazed at how popular this place is, even though the owners only took over a month ago. We congratulate the landlords and hope that business continues to be so good for them. In any case, we can warmly recommend the restaurant.

Today's trip is entitled "From the almond blossom to the snow and back to the almond blossom" with the addition "including kilometers of detours.

But let's start with the departure. There's a veritable exodus from the huge (300 RV) campsite. We're still having a leisurely breakfast, as campers are already queuing at the waste disposal station. At around 11:30 a.m., we join the queue. Fortunately, there's no rush; on the contrary, people are chatting and helping each other. At 11:15 a.m., the time has come. We drive along route 37 toward Kaiserslautern. The route is marked as beautiful for tourists. With today's rain and the brown, bare trees, the narrow valley has a rather gloomy autumnal feel. Aside from the road, stream, and railway, there's not much else here. Oh, I almost forgot: several outdated, partially disused paper mills still line the roadside. The route isn't as negative as it sounds; on a sunny summer day, it would certainly be idyllic. What's less idyllic is that we can't turn onto Route 48 in Hochspeyer. Due to construction work, we first have to bypass the village and then drive right through the narrow streets of the hillside village. This is the only way to get to the recommended "Franco-German Tourist Route." Another problem is our navigation system. It insisted on going to Kaiserslautern in Hochspeyer. Even now, as we're driving on such a beautiful, mountainous, but wide road, it keeps wanting to turn off again and again. It's getting tiresome, so we turn off the "truck" setting again. Now we're finally on the same page, the navigation system and we. Now we can enjoy this wonderful mountain road even more. Since our camper isn't equipped to French standards, we certainly don't want to cross the French border. So we leave Route 48 at Rinnthal and take Route 10 toward Landau in der Pfalz. But as I said, we're driving in "detour mode" today. Before the second tunnel, which we were supposed to use to bypass Annweiler, there's a barrier and a detour sign. This detour points to route 48, so we drive close to the French border through the spa town of Bad Bergzabern anyway. Since we absolutely want to drive south on the German Autobahn, we head back uphill toward Landau. Then we drive a few more kilometers through the countryside and are already back in the middle of the almond blossom and vineyard region. So I can better photograph the blossoms, Daniel cleans the windshield. Shortly before Karlsruhe, we reach the Autobahn. For once, we're taking this expressway so we can bypass the city in peace. Peace!? If a detour isn't bothering us, our oil pressure light is flashing for a change. We pull over to the emergency lane, pop the hood, top up the oil, and continue on our journey. Soon we reach the Baden-Baden exit, where we leave the autobahn and take route 500, another recommended scenic road. I hadn't realized when planning that this was the Black Forest High Road. Now, as we drive, we really feel it. We drive up to 1000 meters above sea level, with snow on both sides, and we once again see skiers. It's hard to believe the climatic contrasts we're driving through today. In Bad Peterstal, we consider spending the night at the parking lot near the town entrance. The spot is really just a parking lot on the street, and it's still very expensive, so we keep going. Actually, it's not that far to Gengenbach. If it weren't for the detours. Because at the turnoff toward Zell am Hammersbach, there's another "No Entry" sign. A detour via Offenburg. Oh no, I actually wanted to bypass that town. What the heck, we have to go through it. We take the 28 to Offenburg, the 3 through Offenburg, and finally the 33 out of Offenbach. This road leads us directly to the wonderful campsite in Gengenbach. And what greets us at the entrance to Gengenbach: a whole field of almond blossom trees.

No dreams, we both just slept soundly. The location here is perfect, central, yet not noisy despite the nearby road. As our vacation days are slowly coming to an end, we are already leaving this beautiful place and are planning to spend the night in Staufen at the Belchenblick campsite. Of course, I'm choosing roads recommended for tourists again today. So, instead of driving via Offenbach to Freiburg, as would have been logical, we're driving via Hasloch into the Elztal. I actually assumed we'd be entering the mountains again here, but that's not the case. In the walking section, we drive through a lovely, rural valley. Between Elzach and Waldkirch, our sat nav wants to take us via Simonswald on a narrow road. Before we even turn, we see the height restriction of 2.85m. Our camper is exactly that tall. So we forego this suggested route and instead venture the mountainous route via Kandel, past the Altersbach waterfall. Excuse me, the roadblocks are starting again. After Kandel, the road is closed; the bypass goes via Waldkirch. Well, then we'll just enjoy the high-altitude road through the Glottertal valley via the "Black Forest Clock Road." I don't see any cuckoo clocks or any other clocks, but the landscape is once again lovely and beautiful. We enjoy the quiet drive and joke that we certainly won't encounter snow today. Perhaps this would have been true if we had driven via Titisee as originally planned. But a few kilometers after St. Peter, or just before Waldau, we take the shortcut via Buchenbach to Totau. From Totau, another extreme mountain road begins; to the right, we see the summer toboggan run and to the left, the mountains, with our road winding up between them. In Wieden, contrary to our expectations, we're back in the snow. According to the navigation system, we now only have a few more kilometers to Staufen. Shortly after Wieden, we only have to drive down to Münstertal via Spielweg and Obermünstertal. At the relevant junction, Daniel stops and says: "We're not going down here." Of course, the road is only approved for vehicles up to 3.5 tons, and our car weighs 4 tons. At the nearby parking lot, we consider where we should drive. We set the navigation system to truck mode again and see which route it suggests. His suggestion is down the mountain, then via Au to Staufen. This route at least bypasses the nearby city of Freiburg. Instead of the few kilometers to Staufen, we now drive another 35 kilometers. From this parking lot, it's all downhill, and extremely so. The gradient is listed as 14%; we can't even count the hairpin bends on this 11-kilometer mountain stretch. Incidentally, the route is so attractive and dangerous for motorcyclists that it's closed to motorcyclists on weekends. I'm amazed at how Daniel navigates this winding route without any problems. At the "Schauinsland" valley station, we leave the mountain road, because this is where we should be going via Horben and Au to Staufen. A few meters above the railway, we turn right about 5 meters and find ourselves in front of a roadblock. The road to Horben is closed due to construction work. Now we have no choice but to go via Freiburg. So we bite the bullet and set off. I hope our navigation system will guide us outside the city. At first, we're in good spirits, but suddenly, almost unprepared, we find ourselves in the city center, right in front of the cathedral. Daniel follows the navigation system, but he's already in a driving ban zone. I just want to get on the highway and get out of this mess. Although the highway sign points to Colmar, we drive in that direction. Fortunately, our navigation system finds the route to Staufen again. It leads us out of the city, and soon we see the sign for "Staufen." Via Au, we now see the closed road up to Horben from below. We drive leisurely towards Münstertal. We joke that maybe, who knows, the road to Staufen is also closed. No sooner said than the turnoff to Staufen is blocked by a detour sign. Once again, construction work blocks our direct route to our destination. We think Germany invests heavily in road construction. Well, this detour only costs us a few kilometers, and we finally reach our destination just before 4:00 p.m., two hours later than originally planned, and probably with a few more kilometers on the clock than originally expected.