0382 Zurich Switzerland to Nattheim Germany

0382 Zurich Switzerland to Nattheim Germany

15^th October 2015

Heading north in the rain.

We had a damp and dreary morning to leave Zurich – How lucky we were to have had a fine day to explore the city yesterday ! So we drove out of the city and headed north towards Germany in the rain – We were heading to Nattheim near Stuttgart where we had been invited to stay with Ingrid and Franz – A German couple we first met in Cusco in Peru, and then later down in Montevideo.  We then all travelled to Europe together on the ship to Europe, so I was looking forward to catching up with them and seeing what they were up to now !

The drive all day was pretty miserable and wet.  Fortunately there were not too many delays crossing into Germany at the border, although the border post was fully manned and they were looking at all vehicles, and pulling over some that looked suspicious, as well as almost every truck, of which there were a lot.  The refugee problem is becoming worse and worse everywhere, and borders are slowly reverting to being closed, or at least not fully open !

We stayed on the B roads to avoid tolls in Switzerland, but once we were in Germany where the autobahns are toll-free, we jumped on them and just headed to Stuttgart.  It was a long driving day and apart from stopping for lunch in a rest area, we hardly slowed down

all day.  We eventually arrived at Franz and Ingrid’s house before it got dark (I don’t like trying to find new places in the dark !), and had a pleasant afternoon catching up with them and swapping stories and finding out where all our other road buddies had got to. That evening we walked down to a great little restaurant in Nattheim where we enjoyed some great food and wine, sampled the local beer (made right across the road !), and some good friendship.  A great evening before we went back to the house and turned in for the night.

Next morning, Franz had already been down to the bakery and got some fresh bread and giant pretzels which, when combined with some local cheese and ham, and a good cup of coffee, made for a great breakfast. Eventually we got everything cleaned up, and we headed towards Heidenheim to explore the area with Franz and Ingrid.  First we went to one of the buildings Franz leases out to others, where he had his Unimog camper truck stored while he did some work on it.  He has a good collection of bikes (Honda Gold Wing and an old but immaculate Honda 350 / 4 amongst them) and as I used to have an Honda 500/4 in Dubai many years ago, I was especially interested to see the 350/4. Great bike !

From there we parked in Heidenheim and walked through town to the local Hellenstein Castle, which originated in the 12^th century but was rebuilt in the mid 16^th century after a major fire destroyed most of the original buildings. Despite being a local, Franz hadn’t been there before so it was a first for him too !  The museum was great, and had lots of sleighs and carts and toboggans which had some intriguing designs.  It would have been fun to be wealthy in those days…….

It started raining as we left the castle, so we went down into town for a coffee and some cake – Scrumptious !  Then we went home to Nattheim where Ingrid cooked us a great supper while the main topic of discussion was “The Next Trip” !!   Franz is still keen for me to go across to Mongolia with him, but I don’t think that is going to work.  So we settled on Morocco in February and then on through Italy to Turkey in April before it gets too hot and crowded.  Now that one might be doable !    Many other options were discussed before we turned in at the end of a great day. 

Pics here :-   https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0382ZurichToNattheim?authkey=Gv1sRgCPiutrH9m7f7zwE