Day 30: Travel Day!

Today was Friday, our big travel day. Today we were to leave Schwäbisch Hall for Bad Rodach in northern Bavaria. It was a ridiculously busy day. First we had to clean up our apartment and finish our final packing. Then, we needed to go to the train station to figure out our travel plans. We have a train pass so we can get on any train, pretty much, but we need to know which trains allow bikes. And online we can either reserve seats (don't have to pay for ticket) to go with our pass OR make bike reservations but not in combination. It all made so sense so we decided to take a taxi to the train station when it first opens and ask the person working there. 

So, we called a taxi. We always worry that we aren't communicating well on the phone but the taxi came and the driver was very nice and helpful, except for the numerous times he answered his phone or looked at an incoming text message while driving. Most of y'all know that sort of thing makes us twitch...

So, first we went to the train station. It's only a few kilometers away but it's up a very long long long long hill and biking there will take too long (much less doing it with backpacks which is impossible for Amelia).

Frau Kurz was very helpful and we were encouraged when the combination of rail pass (German rail pass sold only to Americans and a few other foreigners outside of Europe before the trip begins) and bike reservations stumped her temporarily. However, she worked it out for us. 

She couldn't quite explain how the bike thing worked and how we'd find the right train car that takes bikes, but she sold us the reservation and then suggested we ask a train conductor or perhaps another person with a bike waiting for the same train. The bike cars are usually on the ends, but it's not always too clear where they are and whether they actually have any room available. More about that later.

So, then we had the taxi driver take us back to the apartment. We loaded our bikes into the back of his car (We have no picture but it was rather bizarre because they were just laid on top of each other and sticking out the back of his sort of hatch-back-ish but not really car) and got all our luggage and left our apartment for the last time. Then we drove to the Goethe Institute to return our keys and get our deposit back (50 euros each key!). 

Next, we had him drive us to the book store, Osiander (since 1596), where we expected two books we ordered the previous day to be waiting on us at 9am when the store opens. We were a few minutes early, so we walked to the edge of the river and made one last touristy photo of the west bank of the Kocher from Neue Straße bridge.

We picked up our books, bade a fond farewell to the lady on the second floor of the bookstore who was so helpful to us and then taxied to the train station again. No doubt the taxi driver was happy to have such an unusually large fare but we were just pleased as punch we'd managed ALL THE THINGS and still made it to the train station with loads of time to spare (train leaves at 9:59am). 

At the train station (almost all train stations) we have to lift and carry our bikes (while wearing our heavy backpacks) down and up stairs to get the right train platform. In this train station at least, there are some ramps which were handy going up the stairs (not so much going down, probably because Amelia is just not coordinated).  However, this train station has no toilets. Nope. None.

So we had 45 minutes or so to hang our on the train platform looking back at the train station. This train station is in Hessental (which is part of Schwaebisch Hall but is the main train station for SHA area - SHA has another train station which we never saw which only has a few trains a day and they mostly go to this station it seems). This is the area that the Germans used during WW2 to test the new jet fighter planes and they had a work camp here as well. Later, the US Army had Dolan Barracks near by, and much of the airstrip and some museums are still there, we are told. Not far from the train station is a memorial to those who were interned here as prisoner workers.

So, here's Andy waiting on the train. That's Amelia's backpack on the ground and both of our bikes to his right (your left). We were excited to see two other people with bikes, but they were waiting for a later train.

Fortunately, it wasn't too hard to get the bikes on the train. We found the first car with a bike symbol on it and other than the fact that the doorway is narrower than the handlebars (!), which takes some wrangling, it wasn't too hard getting them on the train (plus the fact that we are wearing heavily loaded backpacks makes the getting in and out complicated). This train had a whole big section for bikes and it was empty! We strapped the bikes in (there are straps on the wall for that) and sat in the next section over which was regular seating. Behind the bikes are fold down seats so that people can fill this area if necessary.

This train took us to Nürnberg (Nuremberg). 

Nürnberg is a much bigger city with a huge central train station. Here we had to go, in a matter of minutes, from track 18 to track 4. This means hauling all the stuff down a flight of stairs, down a hall, and then up another flight of stairs. Then, trying to figure out where the bike cars will stop when the train arrives (which it only does a minute or two in advance). It was mass chaos. Thus, we have no photos from this part of the day (partly due to no time but also due to saving phone battery in case we need it to navigate later... which we did). 

So a train came in and a million people got off and another million people tried to get on simultaneously. We tried to follow other people with bikes but it was chaos. We ended up on the train with our bikes but in a spot in which bikes were forbidden (on a car that allowed bikes but at the other end). This was a much bigger train and packed with people. It had ramps up and down so some seats were much higher than others and there were big comfortable seats. So there we were with no where to put our bikes or ourselves. But we sure were not getting off the train.  

Amelia dropped all her things and left her bike with Andy and moved through the crowed (including climbing over a huge suitcase stuck in the aisle) to the other end, where two men were trying to figure out what to do with their bikes. There was a tiny area there for bikes, but it was very very tiny. So, in broken German and sign language Amelia talked with one man and he said to bring the bikes, so we did. Yes, we hauled those bikes (one at the time) through a train car full of people with a very narrow aisle blocked by suitcases. Yes, we did. That had to be good for burning extra calories, right?  The nice man stacked all the bikes side by side and strapped them in together. We were so glad. We then hiked to the next car to find empty seats. 

Later the nice man came and asked us where we were getting off the train. It happened to be one stop after his destination so Andy went and helped untangle the bikes and re-strap ours in after the two men pulled theirs out just before their stop.  It was all a bit of a zoo but otherwise we spent more than an hour quietly riding on the train in the air-conditioned modern car with mostly silent passengers. Quiet is so nice.

When the nice man with the bike left (at Lichenfels?) a zillion people got on the train and most of them piled into our car. It was a big party of some sort, all traveling together. Dozens of people, popping champagne or champagne-like bottles and pouring drinks all around in little cups. We have no idea what it was about but they were all happy and laughing.

We took very few photos, of course, but here's one out the window of a distant castle. This train was pretty fast, although it did stop pretty frequently. It's probably one of the big regional trains of Bavaria, we think.

Getting the bikes off at Coburg was horrible. All the people coming on the train (hundreds) just pushed on and we had to yell (nicely and in German) to make our way off the train. Our train was a few minutes late (we were already past the time for our next train to leave) and we moved as fast as we could down the stairs, down the hall a bit and then up the stairs to the next platform. 

The train was waiting. It was a very little train, only two cars. It was mostly full of school children, perhaps middle school aged, most listening to iPhones or iPods.  The first car had no room for bikes so we tried the second car. (note, these cars did not connect in the usual way, to get from one to the other you had to get off the train). The small place for the bikes had been commandeered by a bunch of  young boys, who were sitting on the fold down seats and blocking the bike place. Despite other, more comfortable seats being available 10 feet away... these boys blocked the one spot for bikes, and the spot beyond. 

So, we just stopped in the doorway with our bikes (sort of between sections, not exactly between cars) and stood for the short train trip (25 minutes with several stops). We were blocking both doors but we had no choice.

When we arrived at Bad Rodach (which is the end of the train line in a rural area) everyone piled off. This station appears to only have the one track so at least we didn't have to negotiate stairs. But, there we were, at the Bad Rodach station, starving, and having no idea where the hotel is. The one restaurant appeared to be closed (it was almost 2pm and almost all restaurants close at 2pm) and no taxis could be seen.

So, we fired up the iPhone and the international data roaming and found the hotel on google maps and set the phone to give directions. We knew it wasn't far (Bad Rodach is very small) and we started walking with the googlemaps voice yelling at us when to turn. It was funny because the voice thought we were biking and would say TURN NOW when we were still 90 meters from the next road. We, of course, were walking and pushing the bikes because Amelia cannot possibly bike while wearing a very heavy backpack. We are rethinking the backpack thing and perhaps will use panniers (bags that attach to the bike) if there's a next time...

It was HOT. It was the first really warm day in two weeks. At least it was sunny and nice. There was also a nice breeze. So we walked. 

We passed this...thing? Which is not attached to a building and noticed it has a big heron nest on top.

Here's a zoom view. We could see three herons!  We have seen more herons in Germany in strange places or doing strange things than we ever imagined possible.

We made it to the hotel (up hill, probably a mile, with several turns using roads and bike/walk paths), and eventually checked in (the hotel appears to have only one person working the front desk, and everything else, in the afternoon, but she is very nice and helpful). Our room is small but very nice and we have a two person sized shower with which we are thrilled after living four weeks in an apartment (and a weekend in Heidelberg) with showers that barely hold one person.  LUXURY!

There's no a/c here but the hotel manager brought us a small fan and that's enough to be comfortable (we might reach the nineties F this week, though...). We have a lovely balcony looking up the hill at fields and forests. It's very peaceful!

The hotel sits atop a small hill and has a commanding view from the front of the town and surrounding area. It was a gorgeous day, as you can see.  Down the sidewalk beyond Andrew, perhaps 75 meters are the thermal baths (hot springs) with many pools. We will check those out tomorrow.

Because it was mid afternoon, we couldn't get a hot meal at the restaurant (although they would probably have made us sandwiches or bread). So, we biked back to the town and found an ice cream cafe (Germans love ice cream and it's every where) and had two cold cokes and some ice cream.

The cold cokes were heavenly. Note the name of the place across the street. The last name means Bridegroom.

Since early morning, we'd only had one bottle of mineral water to share and it was the carbonated kind which we do not prefer.  Amelia had some leftover oatmeal cookies in her pocket and Andy had some leftover marshmallows. So, that was all we had until 4pm when we had the heavenly Cokes and ice cream.

Then we walked and biked a very little around the center of the town. It's quite small (6,000 people).  Here is the city hall.

We walked toward the tourist information center (we found it on the map and then kept moving until we found it in person). It had an interesting square in front of it with a fountain topped by a female archer (here's the rear view!).  We'd seen several small fountains in the last couple of blocks but this was was very big and nice. The fountains here are totally different from the fountains in Schwäbisch Hall in style.

Here's the front view and the small castle that is the tourist information office (and several other things) is inside. 

So, we went in just to see what we could find out. We acquired maps and bike route maps and other information and we looked at bike jerseys and running shirts (all the sizes are smallish so only Andy bought one).  Andy then asked the information lady (Frau Schiller?) if she knew how he could find info about his grandfather who emigrated from this town to the USA in 1920. She make a phone call or two and found someone who is related to someone (now dead) who knew his grandfather! HA! How fun is that?  She will try to find out more information and we'll visit her again next week. We'll also visit the city hall archive.

We were also advised previously to visit the church to see if it has records. So we went looking for the church. It was nearby because we could see the tower sticking up, but we had some trouble getting to it as the streets are a maze and have lots of dead ends. We did find it, however, but it doesn't seem to have any visiting hours. 

We walked around it and then found the city walls and a couple of small towers and a walking path and an exercise park. From the park we can get a view of the whole church. It's not particularly large but it is interesting and the stained glass windows look like they'll be spectacular from the inside.

The city wall is interesting and well preserved right there along with some towers. A nice walking path goes by below.

Inside the church yard, the walls surround the altar end of the church, but it's hard to get a photo in tight quarters. This is a panoramic photo. The path (below) and park are on the other side of the walls. Those are our bikes!

Unfortunately, we might never see the inside of the church because this Sunday's worship is scheduled to take place elsewhere (Lempertshausen? Perhaps another village?).

We passed the side of the city hall on the way back and saw the city hall glockenspiel which is played twice daily.

We biked back to the hotel and sat down to a leisurely supper. The lady working in the evening (different from the afternoon lady) offered us ice and we took it (or rather Amelia did...) and it was very nice to cool off with.

As usual we split a big bottle of still water (mineral water without gas in it).  Andy ordered the Züricher Burger.

and Amelia had the inevitable (pork) Schnitzel.  The potatoes here are different from in Schwäbisch Hall but these were even yummier.

Andy had a desert that included three kinds of ice cream and several sorts of fruit.

We went back to the room and relaxed on the balcony, happy to have no homework to do, and no noisy garage door to hear scratch and squeak up and down all night, and no people talking loud in the street below our window. Here we only have lots of birds singing. It's very peaceful. It's a spa hotel. That's what they do.