Sunday morning, Bill went to the bakery to get us some breakfast. He had already gone to the store the night before to get snacks, wine, and orange juice, so his bakery stop was just for croissants and coffee. We could have had the breakfast at the hotel on Sunday, but we decided not to bother with it. Hotel breakfasts are often pretty overpriced, and we had already paid for the room.
While we were eating, I discovered that we happened to be in the area at a fortuitous time… if you like visiting caves, that is. On the first Sunday of the warm months, a local caving club opens the Olgahöhle. Since it was the first Sunday of October, they opened the cave to the public (it can also be booked by special request). We decided to head to Lichtenstein-Honau, the little village where the cave is located. We happened to catch the last tour date until spring.
I have already written about our visit to this very special cave, but in the interest of continuity, I will recap a bit with this post and add some more photos. There was a group of German teenagers at the cave, notable because it’s a primary cave made of tufa, a type of stone. Unlike most other caves, this particular cave isn’t formed from limestone. It’s also described as a “very young” cave, as it formed post Ice Age.
As caves go, this one was pretty easy to visit. There was just one flight of stairs to go up and down. The tour was done in German, but we managed to understand a little of what was said. Plus, the club had information in English for us, which was handy. A few of these photos are in the earlier post about this cave, but I figure I might as well share them again. Check out the cauliflower rock!
A few seconds of water dripping in the cave… Water is an artist in its own way.
While we were waiting for our turn to tour the cave, I looked up and noticed the dramatic sight of Lichtenstein Castle, which is a gorgeous Schloss on a mountain top. Bill and I tried to visit the castle after our visit to the cave, but there was no parking anywhere. It was okay, though, since we’d been there before and I already had many beautiful pictures of the grounds. I was glad to be able to take photos from another vantage point, down in a village overlooked by the castle.
It also turned out to be lucky that we missed the castle, because if we’d gone there, we would have missed watching sheep cross the road to another pasture, as well as meeting a couple from Augsburg. We ate lunch at Nebelhöhle Cave, which we chose not to tour, since we’ve been there before. Instead, we just hung out and people watched, enjoying the fantastic weather.
Please excuse Neil Diamond and my goofy comments and laughter…
I got some very pretty photos of the trees that were just about to turn into a spectacular color show… It was just a great day to be in that part of Germany!
When we got back to the hotel, we decided to change into cooler clothes. We were dressed for a chilly cave, which it actually wasn’t on October 1. Since it was Sunday and we’d had a rather active day, we decided to stay in and watch goofy German game shows while we ate pizza from the local joint. I suspect that some Germans have learned some English from watching South Park. This one show we watched involved the host holding up a fake piece of shit. One of the contestants called it a “hankey”, as in Mr. Hankey, the Christmas poo. But a “hankey” or a “hanky” is actually a handkerchief, not a piece of shit. On the other hand, maybe it was an actual Mr. Hankey doll. Who knows? If that’s the case, then the contestant wasn’t wrong to call it that.
Discussion of said poo…BreakfastGerman style Hawaiian pizza… not my favorite, but it got the job done.Bill found more Latvian Long Chips at the Kaufland. We discovered these in Latvia a few months ago. Yum!
Eh well… yet another one of the thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools…
Hello travel blog fans! Bill and I arrived in beautiful Tübingen yesterday. I wrote a little bit about yesterday’s adventures in my main blog. There isn’t much to the post, though, other than a photo that will get shared here when I write up the whole story of this trip. I wanted to write about today right now, so I don’t forget anything. We’ve had an extraordinary day, and I don’t want to forget any details, so I’m going to write a fairly detailed post today.
We were trying to figure out how we wanted to spend our Sunday, since we had no plans for today. We thought about going to the Mineraltherme, which is one of our favorite places around here. But Bill was kind of lukewarm on the idea. Then I remembered last week, I looked up caves near this area for my post about the Kubach Crystal Cave in Hessen. I recalled that there was one cave we hadn’t been to called the Olgahöhle. Even though last week’s excursion was physically challenging for me, I was easily convinced that this was a cave we should see.
The Olgahöhle is kind of a special cave, because it is the longest tufastein cave in Germany, and the first German show cave to get electric lighting. Prior to the Olga Cave’s receiving electric lighting, there was only one other cave in the entire world that had electric lighting, the Kraushöhle in Austria. This cave was named after Queen Olga von Württemberg, and was found by Johann Ziegler during quarrying of tufa in 1874. Ten years later, it was turned into a show cave, which it remains today, albeit with limited showings.
I’ve mentioned a lot that I have a special bond with Armenia. Well, in Armenia, many buildings are made of tufa, which is the very same type of stone that makes up the Olga Cave. Unlike many caves near it, the Olga Cave is not made of limestone. It’s also a primary cave, making it rare.
The Olga Cave is staffed by clubs, and it’s only possible to visit with a guide. Consequently, it has very limited opening hours. Usually, it can be visited on the first Sunday of every month from March until November, or by special appointment. It costs 3 euros per adult to visit, and group rates are available. Since today happens to be the first Sunday of the month, we decided we had to visit it. So we took off for Lichtenstein-Honau, which happens to be where the gorgeous Lichtenstein Castle is. We visited the castle in September 2016, but when we were at the cave today, I looked up and saw it from a new perspective. I wasn’t expecting that!
Schloss Lichtenstein from another perspective!
Our tour was with a large group of German teenagers. Compared to last week, it was a very easy cave to explore, with only one big flight of stairs. The tour was only about a half hour or so, and the guide didn’t know we were Americans until the very end. But it was okay, because the lady who sold Bill the tickets gave him a binder with information in English. I got a lot of photos!
After our tour, we headed up to the castle, thinking we could score some lunch there. We weren’t the only ones with that idea, though… and there was absolutely no parking to be found, whatsoever. So we decided to go to the nearby Nebelhöhle Cave… another place we’ve visited in the past. On our way there, we ran into a shepherd moving a huge flock of sheep and lambs across the road. I got a few photos and video clips, which I will share later, once I’ve had a chance to edit the video.
I got video, too. Will post it soon.
We managed to find a spot at the cave, then walked down to the outdoor restaurant, which seems to specialize in Maultaschen. I was going to have that today, but they gave Bill some with mushrooms and hunter (mushroom) sauce all over it! So I had tuna salad, and Bill ate the Maultaschen.
The place was quite crowded, which is natural, given how very beautiful the weather is today. Twice, we were joined by German couples. The first couple was obviously very curious about us, but didn’t seem to speak much English. Bill told them we were “on holiday”. But the second couple, who brought with them their adorable border collie, turned out to speak English very well… and we had a great visit with them! They were also from Wiesbaden, although they live in Augsburg now.
I ended up sharing the name of the blog with them, and they laughed. After I explained my history, they totally understood why I would call myself The Overeducated Housewife. I ended up writing the blog name on a dental floss sample package! Then they were surprised by the spelling of “traveling”. They didn’t realize we have different spellings from British English for certain words in the US.
We had such a beautiful day today… even though I decided I didn’t want to explore the other cave. It was just as much fun to sit and people watch, joke about tuna salad, and talk to the very friendly folks who live in Augsburg and visit Sonnenbuehl, which is where the husband works. His wife said that he works there and has a flat, so they came to enjoy the German Reunification Holiday weekend.
It’s days like today that really make me appreciate my good fortune all the more. It is a real treat to get to live in this country. And having a reason to come down here every six months makes me all the gladder that we kept our Stuttgart area dentist. It’s also a treat to be in this beautiful city again. We have really missed our old stomping grounds!
Below are a few photos from today. I will add more next week, when I write the series for this trip.
A couple of nights ago, I was sitting in my living room talking to Bill about how glad I am we made an effort to see more of Baden-Württemberg during our second Stuttgart stint. As our time in the Stuttgart area grows ever shorter, I thought I’d make a list of the places we managed to see this time that we didn’t know about the first time we lived here. These are places we’re really glad we visited and would recommend to newcomers. Maybe they won’t be “must see” places for everyone, but they made our time here better. As usual, this list isn’t ranked in any particular order.
We discovered the All Saints Waterfalls this past summer when I happened to read someone’s blog post about visiting there. These falls are in the Black Forest, about an hour from where I live and probably about 90 minutes from Stuttgart. I had never heard of them before 2018, but I’m so glad we visited. We spent several hours enjoying the beautiful scenery and getting lots of exercise! I liked them even more than the Triberg Falls, which everyone visits. If you have a free Saturday or Sunday and don’t mind a drive through the Black Forest, I’d highly recommend a trip to these falls. Admission is free!
9. Rottweil
Super cute town with several things to do!
I don’t know how we missed Rottweil when we lived here the first time, but I really wish we’d discovered it sooner than we did. This beautiful town not only has some gorgeous architecture, but it also has the distinction of being the place where Rottweiler dogs were first bred. The area is scenic and you can get a great view of it when you visit the Thyssenkrupp Testturm, an elevator testing facility that currently has the highest observation deck in Germany.
8. Blautopf
It’s true… I had never heard of this place when I lived here from 07-09.
Blautopf isn’t close to where I live. It’s kind of on the way to Ulm. However, though it only takes a few minutes to see this natural wonder, I think a trip to Blaubeuren to see this marvelous blue pond is well worth the effort. Blaubeuren has a few other activities available to make your trip worthwhile, as well as some good restaurants.
7. Tiefenhöhle
One thing you can do before or after a visit to Blautopf is visit Germany’s deepest show cave!
Although we visited Tiefenhöhle and Blautopf separately, I would recommend combining these two activities. Tiefenhöhle is Germany’s deepest show cave and visiting it will wear you out… but then, once you’ve journeyed deep beneath the Earth’s surface, you can come back to the surface and see where this cave system ends… at beautiful blue Blautopf!
6. Wildpark Pforzheim
I love to visit animals… and the Wildpark Pforzheim is probably my favorite of all of the animal activities in the Stuttgart area.
Stuttgart and its environs is richly blessed with a lot of places where one can indulge their inner animal lover. My favorite of all of the places I’ve visited animals is Wildpark Pforzheim. There’s no admission fee to visit it, although parking isn’t free. We spent several hours wandering around this park, feeding animals and watching them interact with each other.
5. Nebelhöhle
Nebelhöhle is my favorite local cave…
Last summer, Bill and I visited several local caves. My favorite one is Nebelhöhle, which is not only beautiful, but is much less taxing to visit than Tiefenhöhle is. You can combine a visit there with a visit to Lichtenstein Castle or nearby Bärenhöhle, which is a much smaller and more kid friendly cave.
4. Lichtenstein Castle
I don’t know how we missed this the first time we were here!
Although we did make it to Hohenzollern Castle the first time we lived near Stuttgart, we somehow missed out on Lichtenstein Castle. I’ve now seen a lot of German castles and I think so far, Lichtenstein might be my favorite of all of them… and yes, that includes Neuschwanstein!
3. Burgbach Wasserfall
The Burgbach Waterfall was yet another lucky find!
The same blogger who alerted me to the presence of the All Saints Waterfalls also clued me in on finding lovely Burgbach Waterfall. It costs nothing to visit this pretty waterfall in the Black Forest, which also happens to be conveniently located near the Bear and Wolf Alternative Park. It’s a great thing to do on a sunny spring or fall day!
2. Der Schönbuchturm
Herrenberg’s tower!
In June 2018, the city of Herrenburg got its very own tower, overlooking the lovely countryside. This tower costs nothing to visit and offers unobstructed views of the area. There is another tower much like this one in Stuttgart at the Killesberg Park.
1. Bad Wildbad
The “tree walk” is just one thing you can do when you visit Bad Wildbad.
A lot of newcomers to Stuttgart visit the spa town of Bad Wildbad to climb the famed “tree walk”, otherwise known as the Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald. But there’s more to this town than just cool “tree walks”. By the way, there are other tree walks in Germany and the Czech Republic. Bad Wildbad also has the distinction of being the first place Bill and I ever experienced a nude spa.
I’m really going to miss living near the Black Forest, but I’m excited about the prospect of getting to live in another part of Germany for awhile. I also plan to visit Stuttgart at least once next year, since we’re coming down to see Elton John in concert. I have no doubt that we could also end up moving back here someday. If we do, maybe we’ll live on the other side of Stuttgart for a change… or maybe not. We do like being near the Black Forest!
We visited Wiesbaden for the first time last weekend and I can now say for certain that this blog is not going to be neglected. Wiesbaden and Mainz are extremely beautiful cities and there’s still so much to see and do. But a piece of my heart will always stay here in Baden-Württemberg, where we’ve been so lucky to spend a total of six great years.
If you’re new here, I highly recommend getting out and seeing everything you can before you have to leave. Time in Germany tends to fly by and not everyone will get the opportunity to return. These last four years have really shown us what we missed when we were here the first time. I feel so lucky that we got to come back and see more of what this area has. And now, we have learned just how very much BW offers to its residents! I hope today’s post will inspire a few intrepid souls to get out and enjoy this beautiful part of Germany!
Yesterday, I wrote about the trip Bill and I took to the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle, the only vertical cave in Germany open to the public. We had a great time visiting Germany’s vertical cave, although I am definitely feeling the pain today.
I’ve always been one to enjoy themes, so today we decided to visit the town of Sonnenbühl, where one has easy access to two caves. There’s the family friendly Bärenhöhle and, just a few kilometers away, there’s the more challenging Nebelhöhle. Both of these caves happen to be with easy distance of the Schloss Lichtenstein, one of my favorite castles in Germany. We didn’t visit the castle today, since we went last September. If I had a family and we wanted a fun Sunday outing, I would definitely do the castle and the two caves on the same day. In fact, I think if I didn’t live in Germany and was looking for a fun place to spend a week, Sonnenbühl would be a good bet.
We set off for Bärenhöhle first– this cave is actually two caves in one. The first cave is called Karlshöhle and is named after Charles I of Wurtemberg. The second cave, which is attached to the first, is the Bärenhöhle and consists of the last 338 feet of the cave. The whole thing is about 888 feet long.
The GPS had the caves at about an hour and ten minutes from our home in Unterjettingen. The drive to Sonnenbühl is beautiful. It winds through charming villages through beautiful countryside. I would say it was a nicer journey than the trip to Laichingen, since we avoided having to drive through any big towns like Reutlingen. There’s free parking at Bärenhöhle, although if you get there late, you might end up with a walk. They had guys directing people into parking spots today.
One thing to know about Bärenhöhle is that it’s a very kid friendly place. I would say that if you have very young kids who have never seen a cave, this is a good one to start with. It’s 4,50 euros for adults to walk through the small system, and you can either go by yourself or take the guided tour. Since the tour was in German, we started off by ourselves. Then we ran into a tour in progress, which was slightly annoying. Oh well. Compared to yesterday’s high octane tour, the Bärenhöhle was a piece of cake. It took about twenty minutes to pass through it. If we’d wanted to, we could have followed up our visit with a trip to Traumland, a small amusement park that appeared to be mostly intended for little kids, although I did see a few rides suitable for adults.
The entrance. There are printed instructions/explanations in English if you want them.
The entrance of the cave.
The bear…
The entrance to Traumland, which you pass on your way back to the parking lot. There’s also a small playground for kids whose parents who don’t want to spring for the amusement park.
We decided to have lunch before heading to our next stop. There’s a snack bar and a self service restaurant at the Bärenhöhle/Traumland complex. The snack bar has things like ice cream, wurst, and such, while the restaurant has hearty Swabian fare. The complex also has an Easter egg museum, but we didn’t visit.
I had maultaschen with potato salad and fried onions. Bill had a linsen teller. The food was very good. They have other dishes like schnitzel and schweinebraten, as well as choices for kids. The prices are pretty reasonable. Bill paid about 26 euros for what’s in the photo.
The biergarten area of the restaurant.
The snack bar.
Nebelhöhle is only a few kilometers from Bärenhöhle and, if you really feel energetic, you can even walk to or from there. Lichtenstein Castle is also within walking distance. There’s plenty of free parking at Nebelhöhle and it’s close to the cave. Of the three caves I’ve visited so far, Nebelhöhle is definitely my favorite. For 4,50 euros for each adult, you get turned loose in an old cave that offers a lot more to see than Bärenhöhle and isn’t quite as physically demanding as the Tiefenhöhle. We probably spent a good forty minutes in there, enjoying the beauty of the cave system. There were a couple of times when we were even by ourselves and got a sense of how quiet the cave is when no one is in there.
Naturally, there’s a playground for the kids at Nebelhöhle
The entrance to Nebelhöhle
Bill commented that this was much like walking down to the U-Bahn… Needless to say, not stroller friendly!
Once we got to the bottom of the steps, we were free to tour the cave at our leisure. I commented to Bill that that would probably never happen in the risk averse United States. It’s not that accidents don’t happen in German caves, either. My German friend Susanne told me that last year, a woman fainted at the bottom of the Tiefenhöhle and was discovered by other visitors some time later. Rescuers had a hell of a time getting her out of the cave. She was later airlifted to a hospital in Ulm. The caves we visited today probably wouldn’t be nearly as difficult to be rescued from, but it would still be a challenge.
Here’s a video I made of a pool at the bottom of the cave.
We’re not exactly sure what this was… It kind of resembled a petrified tree trunk, but my guess is that it was once a column. Edited to add– my German friend says this column was cut in 1961 and placed in Stuttgart at the Schloss! I did read about that, but forgot… and there was no sign in the cave!
Bill commented about the moss. He wondered how it got there, since there was no sunlight. I mentioned the lighting in the caves and people using their cameras. The light causes photosynthesis, which is one reason why people aren’t supposed to use their flashes in caves.
I dragged my ass up the steps and left sweating and panting…
I was tempted to enjoy another beer by the playground, but we decided to head home. Actually, we stopped in Nagold first, where a fest was going on, but we were too tired to hang out there. So here I am… hoping tomorrow I won’t be too sore! Today wasn’t nearly as physically challenging as yesterday was, at least.
I want to reiterate that I would not recommend taking very young children to the Tiefenhöhle, which is the cave we visited yesterday. The climb is very challenging and potentially dangerous. I would reserve that cave for mature older kids– say at least age eight or older– who have a healthy respect for heights and not trying to go too fast. Also, I think the other two caves will be more interesting for kids. The lighting is colorful and there are many more formations to see.
For very young kids, I would definitely recommend the Bärenhöhle. It doesn’t take too long to get through it and it’s not particularly physically challenging, although there are a few steps to be climbed. Afterwards, you can enjoy Traumland.
The Nebelhöhle, my favorite of the three, is a good mix of challenge and ease. I saw fairly young kids in there who were doing fine. There are steps to climb, but they aren’t narrow or shallow and the passages are easy to negotiate. There’s also a lot to see. Of the three caves, we spent the most time in the Nebelhöhle and enjoyed it the most.
I would recommend all three of the caves for those who enjoy spelunking. Just be prepared to climb a lot of steps! Happy caving!
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