Deutsches Abenteuer: Tübingen

I spent the better part of an afternoon in the university town of Tübingen, about an hour south of Stuttgart. It was fantastic! Definitely a place to revisit and spend a couple of days in.

When I arrived, it seemed as though the Bahnhof was miles from anywhere. The only hint on where to go was a sign that said "zur Stadtmitte". All I could see was parklands.

I crossed a bridge and found myself on an island. The main part of the Neckar was on the far side, with some very scenic views.

Ein Taubenhaus - a pigeon house, on the island

I went walking into the inner city. Lots of twisty, narrow, cobbled streets, lots of gorgeous houses, some with Fachwerk and others with distinctive shutters.

Love wisteria

Marktplatz

Look at that sky!

Das Rathaus is supposed to be lovely. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell

Aaah! German Konditoreien! (Cake shops)

Back to the Neckar river, as I'd booked a ride on a Stocherkahn. This turned out to be a very interesting experience. If everyone stays still, the boat is stable. As soon as someone sits up, the boat rocks alarmingly. I was asked to swap sides. As the only single person, the side on which I initially sat had more men on it, so I shifted to the other side so the boat would be better balanced.

One leans back on these (movable) slats

And he propels the boat with a very long pole

There is quite a decent current on the Neckar, and we made surprisingly good speed against the current. The bottom of the river sounded quite rocky and gave good purchase. Our pilot did a pretty good job of steering as well, trying to stay near the bank to avoid the strongest currents, then doing a 180 to go back the way we came.

Then downstream and under the bridge, another 180 and back to the dock.

Disembarking - carefully - two at a time

Back to wandering around the town. I'd noticed people up the top of the church tower, so that was naturally where I headed next.

Yep - that's where I'm aiming for!

Traditional stained glass windows

Some modern stained glass windows that were really attractive. The silver colour was great!

Some interesting recumbent effigies in the crypt

Then up the bell tower. Straight wooden steps, spiral wooden steps, straight metal steps, spiral metal steps - it was a really varied climb. 172 steps in all (yes, I counted).

The route led past the bell chamber

Not the Marktplatz, but a similar square

The Neckar on the left, the Schloss straight ahead

Went under that bridge!

And back down below

More wanderings through the streets, with many buildings taking my fancy.

Stadtmauern! Walls!

A little canal, so that people need bridges to get to their front doors

I then headed up to the Schloss, the castle. Like all European castles, it sits on a hight point. This one was free entry, and seemed to be a popular place to hang out.