The weather here in Jettingen is finally fine.  This morning, I decided I wanted to visit the Naturpark Schönbuch with Bill and the dogs.  I noticed the park last month, as we were on our way to Waldenbuch for dinner.  The drive to the park from our house is really pretty and I was hoping to get some good photos.  We set out at about 10:00am and enjoyed a lovely walk through a different forest than the one right behind our house.  Thankfully, I remembered to apply sunscreen and insect repellant.  Bill didn’t and I have a feeling he got some sun today.

I always get a little nervous when I take walks in the forests around here.  Although the paths are well marked and I have an excellent sense of direction, I’m always afraid I might get lost.  But there were a lot of folks enjoying the park today with their dogs, on their bikes, or jogging.  I suppose if we’d really gotten hopelessly lost, we could have just asked someone.

We check out the huge map.  When we lived here last time, we lived close to the southern end of this park, but we never visited.  I’m glad this time, we’re making a point of getting out and seeing local sights.  Parking at the nature park is free and plentiful.  

The first of many street signs.  This was near the cemetery, where many people were paying their respects to the dead.  We didn’t visit the graveyard because dogs aren’t allowed.

Teepees in the woods?  Who knows?

Fenced in deer.

They were not bothered by us at all.

The boys were mostly oblivious at first.

As we walked further down the road, I could tell Zane was getting thirsty.  A stream ran to our right and he kept acting like he wanted to go to it.  There was no handy spot for him to reach it, though…

And then we happened upon this…  It’s probably not for drinking, but Zane was able to enjoy a few sips.

Around this point, I was getting nervous.  I just let my instincts do the navigating…

We walked up a long hill that about kicked my ass…

Passed what looked like a lumber yard… and I started to hear cars in the distance.

I was very relieved to see this.  This is the sign for the parking lot where our car was.  Right across the street is a gasthaus.  It wasn’t quite ready for business when we finished our walk at about 11:00am.

We went a short way down another trail heading toward Herrenberg.  I wanted to try to get a photo of the view overlooking the valley.

This was about the best I could do…  I bet it would be a lot better in the winter, though the colors aren’t as pretty then.

After our walk, we took the dogs home.  I changed shirts and shoes and we went to Nagold for lunch.  It was packed there today because there was a garden festival going on.  We finally found parking over near the pool area.

I can’t resist water fowl…

There were lots of people in Nagold… including a fire eater.

And if you wanted to, you could have escargot for lunch.  It actually smelled really good, but snails are not my thing.

A pretty shot of the church in Nagold.  Love this town.  It’s super cute and very close to where we live.

 

I was starting to get discouraged as we searched for a place to eat lunch.  Nagold was brimming with crowds.  But then we spotted an empty table at the Alte Post.  We sat down and enjoyed a much deserved beer.

This was so refreshing after our long walk…

Alte Post has an asparagus menu right now, but I decided to have salmon with mashed potatoes, chives, and beurre blanc sauce.  This was absolutely delicious and easy to finish!

Bill went vegetarian and had herbed noodles with a salad and a little sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

The salad was loaded with peppers.

 

We could have spent all afternoon in Nagold, but we needed to get to the Real to exchange a rack of beer and pick up some water and wine.  Also, we have dinner reservations for tonight.

Besides, Nagold was packed…

More water fowl…

I had to take a picture of some tulips growing in our garden.  One of them is half red and half yellow. I hadn’t noticed until Bill pointed it out.

 

I’m so happy the weather has finally warmed up and the sun is shining.  I am definitely ready to put the top down on my Mini and hang out at some biergartens.  We’ve decided that this year, maybe we’ll even see if we can bring our dogs with us.  After an hour of walking, they may be tired enough not to raise hell.  We will have to go back to Naturpark Schönbuch sometime soon.  There are miles of trails to be explored there.

I will have a new restaurant review up today or tomorrow.  Tonight, we venture to Holzgerlingen for the first time.