Swissterical: The Great European Road Trip: Day 1

We're off to see...Germany (well, not all of it), Prague, Salzburg, and more Germany! Last year, we spent an Easter break in London. This year, we're staying on the Continent and heading East. The trip got off to a bit of a slow start, thanks to CW, who one minute into the trip, reflected on not having his heavy winter coat, said, "Wait, wait--we need to go back!" Oops. But five minutes later, he'd retrieved his coat, re-locked the house, and we were on our way. Again.

The church of St. George

The trip from Duillier to Dinkelsbuhl, Germany was supposed to take 5-1/2 hours. It was longer thanks to some construction and an accident that backed up traffic for miles (we'd never seen an accident where a whole wheel and axle had been ripped off the chassis and since there only seemed to be one car involved, we're still not sure what happened.) As we left, it was raining. About 40 minutes in, as we got higher, it changed to snow. This was actually nicer to drive through since none of it was laying on the road or ground. By the time we hit Germany, we actually saw the sun!

Dinkelsbuhl is a medieval city founded sometime around 1100 AD. It sits in Bavaria and is known for its wall and about 17 towers and gates that still exist. It's a charming little place and CW had been there back in 1985 on a summer trip with American Music Abroad.

One of the towers and gates

Most things were closed were for Good Friday, but we did get a chance to walk around. The people are very friendly. Our hotel is owned by a couple who have been here for 20 years. For him, it's a second career after being an engineer at an atomic power plant. He's also an artist and paints and draws the city in watercolors, oils, and pencil. Some very nice work.

Last night, SoulSwisster and CW partook of a ritual dating back to the Middle Ages. At 9:00 pm, the Night Watchman meets groups at the church in the center of town and takes them on a tour of the city to close everything down and secure the gates. Of course, today, he doesn't really close the gates, but he does walk to various historical hotels and pubs where he stops, sings a song, and then receives a drink. One can imagine that in olden times, by the time he'd reached his last stop, he might not even be able to remember whether or not he'd locked the last gate!

St. George's dates from 1469

Our Night Watchman

Our guide has been volunteering for 18 years as a watchman. He spoke mostly German with a spattering of English. CW's German was way too rusty to be of much use except for a word here or there. Fortunately, some of the other Germans spoke a little English and there was actually a French woman that SoulSwisster asked about a few things. We also met a couple from Chicago who are living in Munich. They were doing the Dinkelsbuhl tour and then going to another city where they have the same tradition, so were closing down two cities in one night. Our guide encouraged us all to sing along with him--we all got the last 2 words of the song and came in strong with "Gute Nacht!" Good night! And we all shard the drinks. Some places offered wine and some beer. The most interesting thing we learned is that there are no houses with 90 degree corners in the city. There's a tradition/superstition that if there's a 90 degree corner in a house, the devil can trap you there, but as long as it's off a bit, you can get away! Good to know!

All American Boy has enjoyed taking pictures, so we present some of those!

Happy Good Friday to all. Christ's death today, while a tragedy, leads to His resurrection on Sunday--the triumph of all history and our blessed hope! Who need off-angle corners when we have Him??