It’s no secret that Nagold is probably my favorite of all the cute towns in the Stuttgart area.  There are a lot of reasons why I love it.  For one thing, it’s super close to where I live.  For another, there are many awesome restaurants.  It’s a very pretty little town with a river, a great Badepark, and lots of shopping.  There’s even a nice hike to some well preserved ruins that give you a great view of the whole area, right on the edge of the Black Forest.

It’s not lost on me that when Bill and I move in the next couple of months, I’m going to really miss Nagold.  It’s an awesome town.  If we ever have the good fortune to move back to this area, I will be looking for another house near Nagold.  I love that town!

Today was a great day to be in Nagold, since there were three events going on.  There was a grill off, involving several eateries vying for the best barbecue, a Street Food Fiesta, and the pool complex was allowing dogs to swim on the last day of the season.  Bill and I visited all three events.  Below are some photos from the day, with some light commentary.  To my knowledge, these are annual events.  I know they do the dog swim every year at the end of the pool season.

This was a good bet today!

Not too busy yet!

This man is serious about his meat!

Setting up for judging.

 

After a quick weizen, we went into an awesome warehouse turned after work bar.  It’s called Teufelwerk and they host dancing, after work parties, movie nights, and concerts.  I had seen it before, but today was the first time we ever ventured inside.  Let me just say, I’m a little sad we have to leave now…

The inside of Teufelwerk.  We went in for a cupcake and potty break…

They have a little outdoor area overlooking the river, complete with repurposed toilets.

You could sit here and watch the world go by…

Or watch whatever is on the stage.

Or have beer and cupcakes.

They were getting close to starting the judging for the grill off…

The scene was set for good beef… so we decided to watch some dogs swimming.

 

Nagold has a really nice pool complex.  Today is the last day of the summer season, so people were allowed to bring their dogs for a swim.  We didn’t bring Zane and Arran because neither of them particularly enjoy swimming.  But we did pay a euro each to go in and watch the dogs who did attend.

This dog didn’t want to get in the water, but did want that ball.  S/he was trying to get the ball to float closer… and getting checked out by another pooch.

Plenty of dogs were having a blast!  It was a great place for action shots!

I was kind of tempted to jump in myself!

We passed by the grill off on our way to the Street Food Fiesta, which, to be honest, was kind of disappointing.  We should have just stayed at the grill off and eaten beef.

This was kind of a small affair.  The music was pretty horrible, too.

Bill had a “pulled beef” burger from this stand…

I was a little tempted by these fried dough treats, but then I realized they were a recipe for heartburn.

As I was sitting here eating meat on a stick, some really awful racist music came on.  They were playing dance and rap music and they played one song that was full of really filthy racist language.  I usually have a pretty high tolerance for that stuff, but my ears were burning.  

So I ate this and drank a beer.  Then we got the hell out of there.  I had to cleanse my brain by listening to Ronnie Milsap.

Still, they had some interesting food selections. I’ve seen better street food fiestas, though. Maybe we’ll have better luck at the next one in Tübingen in a couple of weeks.

 

My favorite part of the day was the dog swim.  I wish I had brought my dogs and my bathing suit.  Maybe they wouldn’t have gotten in the water, but I would have.  It was a great day for it.  And it was fun watching all the dogs playing.  If we were going to be here longer, I think we’d definitely check out Teufelwerk, although maybe we’re too old for it.

I’m sure Nagold isn’t the only town basking in the last days of summer.  If you’re new to the area, I encourage you to seek out events in your town.  There’s always something going on in Germany.  Dive in and enjoy the culture!  Create some memories!  As for me, I’m making a few more before we move to a new German town and make new memories on the Rhein.