Tuesday, May 26th- A rest day in Edelsfeld

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 A REST DAY IN EDELSFELD

Discomfort in my legs resulted in a restless night for me. It was obvious that I had done too much walking for having walked over seven hours in the heat. I'd decided the night before that I wouldn't be able to go for another day of touring until I had rested and recovered, so this was a day in for me. I'd checked at the train station the day before for train connections to other cities and scrapped the plan to go to Rothenberg because of needing to make two train connections. Wurzburg and Regensburg were still on my list, but I was really starting to think going again to Nuremberg first to visit the museums I'd missed the first time.

I woke when Harry did and read until after eight when I dressed and went down to breakfast. Then I went back up to the room and worked on my geocaching information until my restless night caught up with me and I lay back down to a two hour nap-that was heaven, being able to just lie down and sleep when I felt like it! I was up again when Harry showed up with lunch. I'd saved some food from breakfast, since the dining room was closed for lunch and dinner on Tuesdays. He brought a 12 inch Subway sandwich with chips and a drink and gave me half the sandwich and a handful of chips. This time he had them put ranch dressing instead of oil on my half. I was able to save my brochen roll, cold cuts and cheese for a picnic the next day.

After lunch I finished working with the geocache information, then decided to try to venture out for a walk. Harry had brought some fresh hydrocortisone cream, so I put that on and headed out. I wanted to see the nearby graveyard and go to the konditeri for some pastries.

I reached the cemetary by going down the road behind the gasthaus and down a block, where it was on the corner of the next street. I turned left and walked up and into a gate into the grounds. The graveyard was fascinating. There was a small chapel and rows of plots, perfectly kept. The little square family plots were beautifully memorialized with marble headstones and marble enclosures that were filled with potting soil and beautiful plantings and other features. There were also wooden crosses with wooden enclosures which were also beautifully decorated and perfectly kept. There were several things I wondered about. First, the graves were sometimes individual, but more often family plots. They were either single or double width, but didn't seem as long as they should be. I checked the backs of some of the family ones, and they had up to eight names on them. I wondered how they fit everyone in? Did they put them in vertically? Surely not.

Also, some enclosures had little metal boxes on them that contained small brushes like bottle brushes and a couple of inches of water. What was that for? Later I asked Trudi about it and she explained the little boxes were for Catholic graves and had holy water in them that visitors could shake out to the points of the cross over the grave. She said the Catholic graves were more likely to have candles as well. About the size and the number of buriels per plot, she explained that they don't embalm and bury in plain wooden boxes, so that when another burial is needed, the previous has deteriorated and they just bury on top of it. When I described our practices of not only embalming, but sealed vaults and sealed metal caskets, she was visible repelled by that idea. When she asked, "Why would they want to do that?" I could see from her view how almost morbid it is for us to try to preserve the body that way, and how unnatural it is. She said that when they did a burial the enclosures and plantings were removed and the site dug up, and that it was full length even though the enclosure was not. After the burial they would replace everything and plant again. I really appreciated getting those questions answered.

I noticed also how handy and nice everything was for tending to the gravesites,with multiple watering cans hung on racks and spigots for filling them and so on. A group of women came in as I was leaving and they really looked intently at me as I went out, which made me feel a little like I was trespassing.

I went around behind the cemetary then, along the wall that bordered it and down one of the roads out of town. I passed a large home that had a shop and an annex that seemed to have hardware, gardening and electronics for sale. There was a lovely stone arched highway overpass that I walked under as I headed out of town. I passed an auto repair and signs indicating the exit from town and the next towns down the roads from the intersection, as well as the sportplatz. I wanted to walk a 6 km walking loop through the next town. I had found a depiction of the walking route and another longer one on signs across from the graveyard. Six KM is well within my fitness level, but I wasn't up to so much this day, and wasn't sure of finding the route without a map with me. The road straight ahead led right into a little woods, and had a sign for the sportplatz, so I thought I would see if that was close enough for me to manage to walk to ok.

I enjoyed walking in the woods and seeing it close up. The trees were of various ages, but mostly pretty young. There was a pile of brush on the edge like I had seen so often from the highway, from clearing, and a stack of wood on the inside edge near the sportplatz. That gave me a chance to take pictures of those common features I saw so often there. The woods were lovely, but not teeming with small animals as much as I would see or hear in a walk in the woods at home. There was less foliage and underbrush for things to hide and live in. I could hear birds singing, though and that added a pleasantness to the experience.

When I got to the soccer venue, I found it to be top notch, especially for such a small community. There were several big fields and a club house, with men working at one corner on some kind of project. I felt like going on and seeing how far I could get, but was aware I was still not in good shape and needed to be careful I didn't get too far away and overdo, making it harder to get out and tour the next day.

I headed back to town the way I came, passed the back of the gasthaus and headed back up the street I went on Sunday when I found the little ancient church a Kilometer from town. This time I took a lot more pictures and investigated the school grounds, noticing with particular interest the grounds of the kindergarten, which was in a cozy little building separate from the rest of the school. It had a little garden and a wonderful playground. The school had lots of solar panels on the roof.

I went to the konditeri and cafe and bought half a dozen pastries and walked back to the gasthaus. Hans, the owner, who doesn't speak any english, commented enthusiastically when he saw me bringing in the pastries. "Ja, zer gut!" I responded. I couldn't resist trying at least a little of each of the three kinds when I got into the room again. There was a flat round kind of slivered almonds in a crisp caramel flavored candy matrix dipped half in dark chocolate, filo dough triangles with raspberry filling, drizzled with icing, and wreath shaped circles with a shortbread cookie base topped with a round dark chocolate shell filled with dense chocolate truffle filling and drizzled with light chocolate. Those last were the best, but insanely rich. I had one later from somewhere else that didn't come near the flavor and texture of these.

Our neighbors on either side had checked out. The maids had cleaned for hours and hours. In the sitting area they left the books that were left behind in the rooms. I scored a cheap German/English dictionary that I used all the time after that, but left an expensive guide to Berlin for someone else that might be going there.

Our plans for the evening were to go to a nearby town to 'Zur Post', a restaurant recommended by a couple of ex-pats Harry ran into at the Italian place. When Harry got in, we headed out and found it, but it was also closed for the Tuesday one day a week closure. We headed into Vilseck instead and ate at a nice Greek restaurant Harry had been to before. Once again, I'd been in country for days, but still had only had one traditional German dinner. It was fun seeing the greek menu in German and English, with napkins that had greek words translated into german. I had grilled chicken, pita, greek salad, lovely deep fried potato slices and a yogurt dill and garlic sauce with cucumbers called ziziki. Harry had steak. I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere and watching the American and German diners. We had Italian ice cream next door afterwards. I had one scoop each hazelnut and chocolate in a sugar cone. It was the most smooth, fine textured ice cream I've ever eaten.

My legs were feeling more rested and recovered by bedtime, though the redeness was not much better, it wasn't itching or burning so badly. I was anxious not to lose another day of touring, so I decided to go back to Nuremberg the next day and catch the museums I missed and take the right geocaching pages and see if I could fill the gaps on those hunts. It was supposed to be cooler, and I planned to take it a lot easier on the walking and rest as needed better.

Next Post: Day two in Nuremberg

First day in Nuremberg

Monday, May 24th 2009 My first day in Nurenberg
Monday morning we got up early, got ready for the day and had early breakfast in the breakfast room, then we were off to Vilseck. At the train station, Harry helped me get a ticket from the ticket vending machine. The station is closed that early, but he had checked the day before to see how to get a ticket. The machine had options for different languages, so we didn't even have to try to translate German to know what to do. I was a little nervous about getting on the wrong train, especially when one pulled up close to the time posted for my train, with people getting on. So I turned to someone and asked, "Nurenberg?" She said 'Nein' and something else that was telling me that it would be coming soon. Soon the train was there and we were speeding through beautiful green countryside past little red-roofed towns on the hour drive to Nurenberg.

When the train arrived I spent a little while getting oriented, checking a posted schedule for trains to the other towns I wanted to day-trip to, making sure I knew how to get back to my track (Turn right at the Burger King!) and checking in at the information booth for paper train schedules to where I wanted to go. I tried to find the Bahnhof geocache without success, then used my tour guide map to find a way to Old Town. I missed the easy tunnel way because it was also a subway terminal, but found a way in by walking along the old medevial wall until I came to a bridge across the moat. That let me take some fun pictures. The moat is really a grassy park that surrounds the old town. It wouldn't have had water in it, it was just intended to slow down invading soldiers.

Once inside, I spent the day wandering all over taking pictures and looking for geocaches and geocaching waypoints (virtual caches). I had a whole stack of geocaches and waypoints, but accidentally brought my Munich info pages instead, so I was going by the coordinates in my GPSr only. I finally found one on a bridge under a lamp post, along with a geo coin just placed the day before. Woo Hoo! I found that the museums were all closed because it was Monday, which was disappointing. In Europe museums are usually closed either on Monday or Tuesday. The same is true for most traditional restaurants, including the one where we were staying.

Everywhere I looked I saw great old buildings, fountains, sculptures, fun bridges crossing the river that bisects the old town, and churches. There were areas that were pedestrian only shopping streets with more modern stores, Starbucks, McDonalds, and so on. Definition of pedestrian only is: Watch out for trucks and cars zipping around everywhere with no lanes, signals, crosswalks or signs to direct or restrain them! Especially in the early morning the shopping area is busy with delivery vans, cars belonging to those with business there that allows them into the area. They drive anywhere they can fit, and zip around and over the open squares with no regard for any convention or pedestrians who might be there. I was always on the look and listen for approaching vehicles.

Pretty soon the temperature started to climb. The days had been pretty warm, and this one was a peak of the heat wave. It got up to 30 degrees centigrade, which is the same as aabout 87 degrees farenheit. I planned to be in the Haupt Market (Main Market) at noon to record the old mechanical clock there. By then I was ready to sit in the shade for awhile and rest. I'd been walking for hours by then and was tired and hot. I found a good vantage point and was able to get a video of the clock, then went into a nearby market and got some citrus sodas and a marzipan bar to go with my brochen, meat and cheese and apple brought along from the Gasthaus to picnic with. I sat on my bench and had a shady lunch while I watched the crowds an the stalls in this famous square. It was like a farmer's market, with produce, crafts, and famous Nurenberg Lebkuchen cookies (a kind of thick, chewy gingerbread cookie) This is where the world famous Christmas market sets up, and contains famous churches and a fantastic ancient fountain called 'The Beautiful Fountain" for good reason.

After my picnic lunch and rest, I headed out again, though my energy was starting to flag a little in the heat. I walked uphill to the end of town at the base of castle hill. I'd been there several times by this time and had a good idea how to get up the hill to the castle, which the tour book indicated would be open for tours even on Monday. It was a hot, hot hike in the sun up the side of the hill to the base of the castle. I took it slow. Once there, and after a little rest to catch my breath, I found the ticket office and was told there were no tours in English and that it would be best to join a tour that was ending at the deep well part of the tour. That ticked included the museum and a climb up the tall castle tower. I agreed to that and waited in the shade of a tree, seated on a stone wall near the deep well entrance. When the tour showed up, I joined them, showing my ticket, and followed them into a small room in a short tower that was dominated by a large well, whose depth was lost in darkness. An iron grate protected the top, and had a metal dish with burning candles suspended over the center. The tour guide spoke English and did a sketchy translation for me of the essentials of what he said. I was impressed with the time it took for water poured in the top to reach the bottom, and when the candles were lowered down enough to light up the water below, I was really amazed at how deep it was.

I walked through the museum rooms, virtually by myself, to see armor, swords and other weapons. It was hot in the tower that housed the museum, but the views over the city were great. When I was done, I found a free WC, which was an improvement over what I'd found up to that point. The train station had a nice one, but it cost, as did the one in the Haupt Market where an enterprising man offered to make change for tourists using the turnstiles. I'd used one in the medevial wall near the walk up to the castle that was free, but really awful. I was learning not to pass up a free WC by this time.

Looking at the height of the tower, and assesing the fatigue in my legs, I elected to pass up the climb for the higher view, and contented myself with pictures taken from the lower walls of the castle itself. The tour guide had spent some time with me after the tour, answering my questions and describing a better way to walk down to the city level again. I folllowed his directions and made my way around the castle wall to the garden on the far side (the outside) of the castle. At that time of day it was all in shade, and consisted of view-rich parapets, overlooking the moat-gardens below, and narrow gardens of trees, flowers, and grass with stone benches, walls and walkways studded with old stone sculptured figures from the castle. Each part was a little lower than the one before, and there was a place to go into the wall overlooking the old town street below, much like the walls at Rothenburg. I finally exited through a tower at the bottom street level and was back in a part of the city I was familiar with.

As I headed to another area of the old town to see the marriage carousel fountain, I could feel myself fading. My legs were hurting, and I was dismayed to see some red, itchy blotches appearing on the inside of my lower legs. It was getting harder to enjoy the sights as I became more uncomfortable and tired. I moved more slowly as I went now, but soldiered on to see as much as I could, since I wasn't sure I would ever be back there again in my life. After the marriage fountain, which was over the top of any I saw on the trip, I moved slowly towards the exit to go back to the trains station. I'd decided to quit an hour before I had to and sit the last hour at the train, partly to make sure I didn't miss it, and partly because I was physically done in and I knew it. The blotches were spreading and deepening in color as I walked. They seemed to be triggered by the heat and all the walking.

I'd finished my water and my two citrus drinks, and I was parched by now. I found the tunnel to the bahnhof that I missed in the morning, and discovered it was full of shops, including a fresh juice bar. I studied the menu and worked out how to order a carrot orange drink in German. 'Eine gross fit mix, bitte?" I asked. That worked fine until she asked if I wanted 'oil' Then I had to revert to English to be sure what she was asking, and no, I didn't want any olive oil in it...When I walked away with my fresh drink, we were both pleased at our bilingual communication skills. The drink was just what I needed to restore my energy and hydration.

I sat at my track after buying a ticket from a machine (an old hand at it by now!) and my legs were hurting so badly I was very uncomfortable. The muscles ached, my feet were swollen, and the rash had spread into large areas that were swollen and dark red, like lobster shell color. I tried to keep them propped up, and got aquainted with a young soldier who seemed familiar with the trains back. He actually wasn't, and I almost missed the train from following his advice. But some other Americans found out it was our train, and I just made it on with a few minutes to spare, and was able to get a seat, which not everyone was able to do.

Harry was there waiting at the station, and we got some dinner on post, Philly steak sandwiches, and then went to the on post lake to see if we could hear the cuckoo bird. He was far away, and barely audible, and the lake was choked with algae and plants, and smelled like outhouse, not the idyllic scene I'd visualized when Harry first described hearing the cuckoo call while he sat by a lake.

By the time we got back 'home', all I could think of was getting into that big bathtub and soaking my aching legs and sticky, overheated skin. It felt lovely, and it was great to have the cooling air coming in through the balcony doors and lie back on our comfy bed and drift off early to sleep, in spite of the Americans in the courtyard still noisily celebrating with their Memorial day cookout.

Sunday, May 24th, Rest Day in Edelsfeld

After coming in at 2 am, there was no waking up at four for me on this morning. Poor Harry had to get up early and go to work around seven. I went back to sleep, but got up in time to go down and have a lovely breakfast. After showering and getting dressed for the day, I went out to walk around town some more. An Australian biker at breakfast the day before had mentioned there were some walking routes that started across the street at the church. The bells had rung earlier to announce the start of church services, now while I walked around it looking for the start of the walking route I could hear the congregation singing a hymn. It was a familiar tune from our hymnbook, but of course the words in German.

I found two big local maps at the edge of the parking lot that illustrated walking routes through the surrounding countryside. As I was trying to decypher them, the bells started ringing again and people started coming out of the church. I wanted to get the bells recorded, so I turned my camera to video and discreetly turned it in the direction of the church to capture the crowd coming out for a visual to go along with the sound. When it was done I went on with my walk, going in the other direction from where I went the day before. I decided not to try the walks on the maps. I wasn't sure I would find markers along the way and thought I might get lost.

I went up past the catholic church and turned right, taking pictures and looking at the houses. Within a few blocks I saw a path heading out into the country through the fields towards a woods. I decided to head that way, and pretty soon I saw a little tiny white church at the edge of the woods. Harry had told me there was a small, really old church nearby, and I was so excited to have found it on my own. I meandered down the little dirt road, taking pictures and enjoying the bright yellow of the rapeseed field dotted along the edge with bright red poppies. The sun shone warm, and it was so quiet that all I could hear was the deep thrumming of the thousands of bees busy all over the rapeseed blossoms.

The little church was a 12th century Romanesque style called Simultaneous Church St. Joseph. It had the old style leaded bottle bottom style windows from back in that time period. There was a May Day sculpture in front of it, I'm not sure why. I wasn't able to get in, but I enjoyed walking all around it. Eventually I headed down the road that went behind the church. It ran down a hill through a little woods. Through the trees I could see the buildings of a tiny little community. At this point I was 1 kilometer from Edelsfeld. The road intersected a road that connected back to Edelsfeld on the other side of town. It was a nice walk, but a little warm on the last leg. The day was heating up. Soon after I got back the bells rang for noon. Right after that Harry came in with a sandwich from the Subway on the base where he was working. He shared half with me, so I didn't end up eating the brochen and yogurt I saved from breakfast.

AFter he left I went for a swim in the pool and a soak in the hot tub. I had it all to myself, which was nice. The pool had a spot on one wall that shot a jet of water, chest high, with two handles on either side to hold yourself in the jet. It had a lovely massaging effect. At one point Trudi came in, looked at me and said , "Oh, It's you!" Apparently she'd seen me on the security camera and didn't recognize me. Eventually I went in and showered in the dressing room, where they had one of those big overhead showers...I don't remember what they are called. There wasn't any shower curtain or shower door, so the water went out all over the floor,which I felt bad about. There was no drain, and I knew someone was going to have to clean it up.

I went upstairs refreshed and washed out some laundry in the bathroom double sink and put them in the hot sun on the balcony to dry. I recorded some of the happenings from the day before in my trip journal and took a lovely two hour nap, then finished writing in the journal. Meanwhile, there were families enjoying lunch in the patio out back. One large group included two people who were celebrating 25 years since their first communion. They settled in around one pm and didn't break it up until midnight. Now I coudl see why they don't bring the check. Europeans are masters at staying and enjoying themselves when they go out to eat.

At some point in the afternoon I started hearing shouting and singing. It got closer and closer, and I looked out the balcony to see a wagonload of young men rolling down the road with a crowd of people following behind. I grabbed teh camera, but only got a shot of the crowd as they passed the back gate to the patio. I slipped into sandals and hurried down to the street to get some more pictures and a little video as they approached the end of the street and headed out onto the highway. Since Iwas in my pjs, (black t shirt and black pj knee length pants, I thought I'd better not follow any farther.

I went back in to my nap, and a couple of hours later, while I was journal writing, I heard the sound again. I hurried back down and got some more little video clips, just a bit because the memory stick was almost full. It was the local soccer team, who had won the championship. A white banner above the wagon announced their win, and they were singing and shouting and drinking from steins and bottles. I had fun seeing a bit of the local culture.

When Harry came in from work we went down to the Gasthaus restaurant and I had my first real German dinner since arriving. It was wonderful. I had weinerschnitzel, all crispy and tender, with herbed new red potatoes and a serving of spargle, the local white asparagus with hollandaise sauce. I had a spatze to drink, my favorite.

It was a lovely, lovely day, and I was in love with Edelsfeld.