Our visit to Rottweil, land of towers and Rottweilers!

The mighty Thyssenkrupp Testturm, towering over Rottweil and its environs.

This morning, as we were enjoying breakfast, Bill asked me what I’d like to do today. I suggested a few things, then mentioned the Thyssenkrupp Testturm. Bill kind of got a look of dread on his face. He doesn’t really like heights and wasn’t sure the huge tower near Rottweil would be worth a visit. I told him it might make for a fun blog post, so he relented. He likes me to earn my keep, after all.

We could have discovered Rottweil last year, but didn’t. For Mother’s Day 2017, Bill and I visited the tiny town of Dietingen, where there is a rock museum called Welt der Kristalle. I remember really enjoying the museum and the lovely countryside that surrounded it. Off in the distance, I noticed a strange looking tower surrounded by scaffolding. I wondered what it was, but since rain was threatening, we didn’t venture closer. Instead, we went to the nearby village, ate Greek food, and went home. Because of the rain, we didn’t venture into nearby Rottweil, which is destined for a spot on my next top ten cute German towns list. We discovered today that Rottweil has a lot going for it, and it’s less than an hour’s drive from where we live in Unterjettingen.

We got in the car at about noon and headed south down A81, arriving at the tower at about 1:00pm. It’s a pleasant drive, with some pretty scenery and, as long as there are no staus, the time passes quickly. Before long, you’ll see the tower looming over the landscape, looking curiously like a giant cigarette, minus the smoke.

Although the Testturm offers an awesome deck for birdseye views, it does has a practical purpose. The tower is used to test elevators, some of which even travel horizontally. But with true German efficiency, the powers that be came up with the idea to also offer the observation deck for paying guests and conference rooms for businesses looking for an inspirational place to conduct business meetings.

Thyssenkrupp’s signage.

Some information about the tower. It’s in English and German.

Just one of the views from the tower. Keep reading for more.

Thyssenkrupp Testturm has intrigued me ever since I first noticed it being built on the horizon as we passed on the way to Switzerland. I didn’t research what it was until this past May, when Bill and I visited Annecy, France. On the way back from France, I pulled out my trusty iPhone, took a photo, and looked it up. I discovered that the tower, which was completed in 2017 and opened in October of last year, soars 807 feet (232 meters) over the landscape. It currently offers Germany’s highest observation deck. Yes, it’s higher than the Stuttgart TV tower and the Berlin TV tower. On a clear day, you can see for miles.

It turns out going to see the tower was a fine idea for today, despite the few clouds in the sky. We had a great visit, and I don’t think Bill is sorry we went. The huge tower is really an engineering marvel, and the town of Rottweil is absolutely adorable. What’s more, while the tower offers awesome panoramic views, it’s very safe. The deck is surrounded by a very tall glass wall, which kind of sucks if you want to take clear pictures, but does make one feel very secure.

For most of the year, the tower is open to visitors on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. During the month of August, it’s also open every other day of the week except for Mondays. Tickets for adults cost 9 euros each. Kids under age 5 get free entrance. Kids aged 6 to 16 pay five euros each. Family tickets are available and cost 26 euros. The family ticket covers two adults and a maximum of three children. Our visit to the Thyssenkrupp Testturm took less than an hour. There’s plenty of parking; Bill says it’s two euros for an hour. Tickets for the tower can be purchased online, or you can buy them at the box office.

Having now visited the top of the tower, I can vouch for the jawdropping views available from high in the sky. The ride in the super fast elevator takes about a minute. If you understand German, the operator will give you the specifics. The one who was running the elevator today spoke English, so he also filled us in on trivia about the elevator and the huge tower.

Here’s where you check your bulky stuff, if you didn’t leave it in the car. There’s a list of stuff you can’t bring to the deck. My guess it’s because bulky purses, musical instruments, dogs, and vuvuzelas (yes, they actually specify “no vuvuzelas”) take up precious space in the elevator. Self-brought food and beverages are also prohibited.

We happened to arrive at a good time. It wasn’t crowded at about 1:00pm, so we were able to just walk in, buy tickets, and go. Before you take the elevator up, be sure to use the restroom if you need to. There isn’t one at the observation deck.

Below are some photos I got from today’s visit.

The conference area, where you can watch an ad about the tower and the city of Rottweil. I must admit, it kind of made me decide to go there for lunch instead of eating at the snack bar by the tower. Rottweil is adorable!

This is what the deck looks like. There is no roof, so when the weather is bad, they close it.

Need to pee? Go before you ride up the shaft. The toilets are on the ground floor.

We got to the tower at just the right time. We did not have to wait in line, but when we left, a large group was in the queue.

Small snack bar in the parking lot. There’s also a tiny souvenir hut, where they have everything from sparkling wine to aprons featuring the tower.

My attempt to get the whole tower close up. It was pretty much impossible. It really is massive.

As you can see, there’s a glare on some of my pictures. Unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid that, as the whole area is glassed in. I did try hard not to catch my reflection in any of the shots. That would have spoiled everything!

After we finished at the tower, we headed into lovely, charming Rottweil, the very same town from where the famous dogs hail. There are tributes to the dogs scattered around the town, along with a couple more museums, some good shopping and an array of restaurants. Plan better than we did. We arrived at just about the time most of them closed for their pause and ended up having pizza at a cafe.

We also got snagged by a guy collecting donations for the World Wildlife Fund. Actually, the guy snagged Bill. I think I was giving off bitch vibes, because he dragged Bill away while I continued to take photos. Although I wouldn’t mind giving a cash donation to that cause, this was one of those deals where they want a monthly bankdraft. I wrote about my run in with another charity, Die Johanniter, last winter. Apparently, this is a common way to collect donations in Germany and it’s highly annoying. Fortunately, Bill was not hooked into a monthly contribution. I got more photos, which I’m sharing below.

As you come into lovely Rottweil. We managed to find free street parking (after 2:30pm on Saturdays).

These are all around the downtown.

Another Rottweiler!

These fountains were everywhere, too.

We walked down an alley looking for a restaurant. We were unlucky in our search, but I did get some beautiful shots of the valley and the tower in the distance.

There was a wedding going on today, so I didn’t hang around to take too many photos.

We had lunch at Onkel Rudi’s, which is a bar/cafe on the main drag. It had a nice outdoor area and was offering small pizzas and flammkuechen. It wasn’t much, but it did the trick of chasing away my resting bitch face.

Prost!

Bill had the Pizza Diablo, which came with salami, red peppers, and green peppers. I liked his better than mine…

Pizza Mozzarella… it’s cheese, sauce, and red peppers.

Service at Onkel Rudi’s was good and the price was right. Each pizza was 5,50 euros and our total bill was about 18 euros. They only had three types of pizza and one type of flammkuechen, but I liked that the pizzas really were single sized. And they were fine for lunch. Next time we visit Rottweil, we’ll get there earlier. There is more to see there, including several beautiful churches and another tower.

I would absolutely recommend Rottweil for a day trip. It’s probably about a 90 minute drive from Stuttgart, less if you’re further south, like we are. It’s basically a straight shot down A81 and really has a different feel than some of the other local towns. You could probably fill up most of the day here if you plan right. Visit the Welt der Kristalle in Dietingen, visit the Testturm, have lunch, hit a couple of the museums in the town– there’s a city museum and a toy and puppet museum that I noticed. By that point, you might be ready to brave the traffic back toward Stuttgart. I say give it a shot!

Schwarzwald

Baiersbronn… a sleepy town with many stars… (Michelin, that is)

Just like Hollywood? Not hardly… but there’s good eating in them there hills…

Although Bill and I usually enjoy taking day trips on Saturdays and Sundays, we decided not to go out yesterday because it looked like it was going to rain. Sure enough, it did rain… and then I got hooked on Call the Midwife on Netflix. I seem to be among the last of my friends to discover this wonderful British series set in the 1950s and based on memoirs by midwife Jennifer Worth. I started binge watching the show and, sure enough, wasted the day. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t too wasted, since Bill watched with me.

When it was time for dinner, Bill went to our local chicken man and picked up a couple of doner kebabs. I don’t like a lot of the yogurt sauce on my doners, so Bill asked for “klein Sauce”. The Turkish guy who runs the place knows Bill isn’t German and speaks English, but is good enough to do business in German with Bill. His buddy took it a step further and gave him the right word for “little sauce”. I’m sure we’ll never forget to say “weniger Sauce” from now on.

Today, we were determined to get out and see a place we haven’t yet been. We decided to visit Baiersbronn, mainly because I had heard it was a noted place for haute cuisine. Baiersbronn is just about 45 minutes from where we live in Unterjettingen. It’s kind of a sleepy little town very close to Freudenstadt that has a lot of hotels and makes a lot of its money from tourism. I was expecting it to be bigger than what I saw today, especially since I know there are eight Michelin stars in Baiersbronn. Two restaurants have three stars and one has two stars. Here’s a link to a 2013 New York Times article about Baiersbronn, posted when there were only seven stars there. If you like gourmet food, it’s definitely a town you need to know about.

Baiersbronn was formed in the 1960s and 70s when five municipalities were formed. It’s a well known spa town and there’s even a “natural pool” nearby, perfect for youngsters, called Naturbad Mitteltal. It was a little cold for swimming today, but this does look like it could be a hit with kids who like to swim. Bear in mind that if you’re not a member of the pool, the hours for you will be different than they are for card carrying members. Check out their Facebook for more information.

We did not dine in any Michelin starred restaurants today, but now that we know how close the town of Baiersbronn is to where we live, we will definitely make some plans to visit one or all of them soon. Instead, we drove through Freudenstadt (still going through major construction right now) and took a short stroll around the main drag before we finally stopped for lunch at Cafe am Eck (Corner Cafe), a cute little Konditorei heading into town. They serve a breakfast buffet on Sundays, but we arrived too late for it. However, they did serve a variety of snacks– Wurst salads, Flammkuechens, Toasts, and even Quiche Lorraine, which is what I had. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Quiche Lorraine in Germany, although we’re close enough to France in these parts to have it.

Here are some pictures from today’s jaunt.

I never get tired of the beautiful flower arrangements in the smallest German towns.

The Murg River passes through…

It reminded me a little of the little town where I went to college, Farmville, Virginia. The Appomattox River passes through Farmville, though, and I don’t remember pretty flower arrangements there.

A couple of cool old buildings.

An incentive to visit on a weekday or a Saturday. I spotted at least one gourmet shop and a beer shop. I also saw lots of construction hats like the one above.

There’s even a red telephone booth with an actual phone in it!

We probably missed the main part of the town today, although according to the New York Times piece I linked, Baiersbronn isn’t known for being especially beautiful compared to some other Black Forest towns. It seemed like we were in the wrong part of town for tourism… although we did hear lots of English spoken by Americans, including at Cafe am Eck, a cute little establishment with decor that reminded me a little of an old style Howard Johnson’s restaurant of my youth. You younger folks have probably never had the pleasure of dining in a HoJo’s, which were known for ice cream and family friendly dishes. Cafe am Eck is definitely not a full scale restaurant, although during the work week, they do have a lunch dish of the day. The waitresses all wear Dirndls and the one who took care of us was very nice, if not slightly scatterbrained.

Another construction hat, this time hanging from the grapevines over the terrace. I have to admit, the terrace was pretty much what attracted me.

This was an okay Quiche Lorraine, priced very economically at about 3 euros. However, I could tell it had been chilled and microwaved, since parts of it were hot and parts were ice cold. I didn’t care… it tasted good. Also, instead of bacon, I could see they used shredded wurst.

Bill had Black Forest ham toast. It was made with wheat bread, slices of ham, tomato slices, and cheese. The toast wasn’t very toasty, but the top part was good…

I have a feeling most people come to this cafe for dessert anyway. They have ice cream, candy, liqueurs, cakes, and pies. Bill had a really lovely slice of cheesecake that was smooth and creamy and a little sweeter than usual.

And I had my usual Schwarzwaldtorte (Black Forest Cake). It was very good, although I’ve had better. I liked that it wasn’t too sweet or heavy.

A shot of the exterior of Cafe am Eck.

We really should have toured around a bit more, but it looked like it was going to rain and I felt like going home and drinking wine. So that’s what I’m doing now… drinking wine, listening to a live recording of Carole King, and writing this blog post. However, we will make plans to try some of Baiersbronn’s highly esteemed restaurants. It’s also a town with some very nice looking hotels, making it a good option for a staycation. Right now, just like in Freudenstadt, there is a major road project going on. Maybe that’s what all the construction hats were about.

Below are a few more pretty photos from our drive home. We feel so fortunate to live in an area right next to the Black Forest. It’s really awesome to be able to escape there on the weekends and enjoy so much of what Baden-Württemberg has to offer.

Near where we parked. There was a nice looking Freibad there, too.

Lucky stop here, as the train was passing.

Lots of sunflowers… there are a few fields of them on the way to Baiersbronn.

Now that we know the way, we will have to go back to Baiersbronn and its environs. The area is very pretty and it’s so close to Freudenstadt, which is also a nice place to visit, although it’s nicer when the main drag isn’t torn up due to construction.

Edited to add: as of January 2020, one of Baiersbronn’s three Michelin starred restaurants has burned down… The Traube Tonbach went up in flames on Saturday, January 4th. There are plans to rebuild.

Baden-Württemberg, Schwarzwald, Sundays

Beautiful Burgbach Wasserfall, and lunch at the Klösterle Hof!

A few weeks ago, after Bill and I visited Glaswaldsee in Bad Rippoldsau, I read up on what else was in the area. I learned that the tiny spa town, also home to the wolf and bear park, is also where there are splendid waterfalls and hiking trails. In fact, Bad Rippoldsau is not only beautiful, but one could spend a whole weekend busy with things to do in nature. And if it’s too rainy, there are spas to visit in nearby Bad Peterstal-Griesbach and a glass blowing factory in nearby Wolfach. Once again, I am reminded of why I really like where we live, for Unterjettingen is just on the edge of the Black Forest, where there are plenty of cool things to do.

Today, while everybody else was watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle getting married, I had tentative plans to visit two waterfalls. We only made it to one, the Burgbach Wasserfall, which is very close to both Glaswaldsee and the wolf and bear park. After reading up on the official info, which is in the first link in this paragraph, I read a more personal account of visiting the waterfall. A very helpful guy who lives in The Netherlands wrote up his experience hiking around the falls.

Bill was a little worried there would be rain today, but we had perfect weather, at least while we were actually hiking. There is a large, free parking lot on the side of the road, where there is a map showing where the falls are. The waterfall can be accessed by two trails. One is .8km, but a bit steep. The longer one is about twice as long, but a bit more gradual. We took the short hike to the falls and the longer trail back. I think that’s the better way to do it, especially if you’re in crappy physical shape like I am. The .8km trail is a bit steeper, but it’s shorter. You still have to walk up hills on the longer trail. The hills aren’t as intense, but they take longer to climb. I do recommend taking the longer trail back, because it’s a very beautiful walk. In fact, we even saw a family with their young boy riding his bike and the mom pushing a stroller. That’s pretty hard core!

Below are some photos from today’s hike to the waterfall. Afterwards, we had a marvelous lunch, on which I will report after the photos!

The helpful map. There is also a picnic table near this map, though we also saw people eating lunch by the falls. Bear in mind that it’s a wild area, so there are no trash cans or other facilities at the falls. There are also no admissions fees!

The first glimpse of the creek…

We’re in the right place. We took the road in the photo. We could have also turned right onto another road which allows a longer hike to the falls. The longer way appears to be easier, but it’s kind of deceptive. The hills aren’t quite as steep, but they last longer.

The area is full of beautiful wildflowers. I don’t think I quite did them justice with my camera.

Helpful signs show you where to go.

Peaceful creek…

In the distance, I spotted what appeared to be a burg on the mountain. To get to the waterfall on the shortest route, you pass through a neighborhood. It appeared that they had a trout farm there, though I can’t swear to it.

I stopped on the trail to take a photo. There are some beautiful views.

Our first glimpse of the falls. There were a few other people there and some who had braved a walk up to the burg we spotted on the way into the woods.

Near the base of the falls.

I think it was worth the trip… the falls are very photogenic and not too hard to get to, even if you’re not in great shape.

After a quick pit stop, Bill and I headed back down the long way.

Der Burgbachfelsen…

Glad I had a zoom lens.

This is what the road looked like most of the way down. However, we made the mistake of going all the way back to the highway. I would not advise doing that, especially if you have children or are in any way mobility challenged. There isn’t much of a walkway by the road and it gets very busy with scary bikers and speeding cars. There is another, well-marked trail on the gravel road before you get to where the traffic is. That’s probably the one you’d want to take, rather than trying to walk by the highway. However, because we didn’t take that trail ourselves, I can’t swear to the accuracy of my advice.

Stop and enjoy the views!

That’s a wrap!

This was on the walk back, which was pretty scary due to no sidewalk or trail. However, I did get a few shots of the wildflowers.

The restaurant where we had lunch was at a hotel called the Klösterle Hof, which is the site of an old monastery. Bill and I had noticed it the first time we visited the area, but didn’t happen to be there at a time when it was open. Today, we had no problem getting a table, even though there was a wedding going on at the huge church next door. There are a couple of other restaurants near this hotel, but I had read about the hotel restaurant and noticed the stellar reviews. Having eaten there today, I can add my own stellar review. We really enjoyed our lunch, even though we got caught by a rainstorm.

We sat outside at first, along with a large group of bikers and another couple.

A very kind waitress, who appeared to be working alone, brought us wine and water. I loved the little wine barrel pitchers the wines came in. I had a riesling and Bill had a gray burgundy. Both were local and very good. The riesling tasted of limes, while the gray burgundy had a honey essence.

We ordered our food and waited a bit, but the sky began to darken right after the church bells stopped ringing for the wedding. Our waitress kindly opened a previously closed dining room for us, since all of the inside tables were taken.

It was very quaint and comfortable.

Bill ordered the fresh trout, which probably came from a very local source. It was grilled with lemon and served with a green salad and parsleyed potatoes.

I had Seeteufel medallions (a dense white fish– kind of like catfish without the dirt flavor) with white asparagus and Hollandaise sauce… as well as the aforementioned potatoes.

This sauce was the real deal. No blender cheats with this one!

And a nice table full of digestives, of which we did not partake. Our bill was about 62 euros and well worth the expense. I felt great after lunch– not too stuffed and like I’d eaten really high quality food.

While we were eating, a group of gentlemen from the wedding showed up. If I had to guess, I’d say they might have been part of a band. They came in, had a round of beer, and headed to the church. We saw them all waiting on the front stoop as we drove past on the way home.

The outside of the restaurant and hotel as it was pouring rain. There was no rain once we got over the mountain toward Freudenstadt. Had it not rained, we might have tried to visit the other waterfall I read about. As it is, we’ll save that one for another day. I would love to go back to the restaurant and try the Black Forest ham, which I noticed the lady sitting next to us having. It smelled wonderful.

A trippy photo I took as we drove through the misty mountains. I love visiting the Bad Rippoldsau area. It feels like a mini vacation.

Below are a few more photos of Burgbach Wasserfall I took with my digital camera. I’m really glad we visited. The falls are beautiful and, at least today, not nearly as crowded as some of the other waterfalls we’ve visited. I would highly recommend a trip there, especially if you’re looking for something different and cheap to do.