This year, we mainly manage to go on day trips only as we're occupied with our garden. It's actually cool as we get to explore more of Switzerland and Germany. Reutlingen was on our list for some time already and I'm glad that we got to visit it yesterday.
It was too hot, and therefore we planned not to drive during lunch. As it happens we did and I was of course on the sunny side of the car enjoying my free sauna. The aircon helps only partly, so I'm happy that it took us only about 2 hours to get there. Well, this is the price I pay when I don't want to drive.
We started our tour in the garden of the local museum called Heimatsmuseum. Can you see that little door on the right side of the tree? Let's go there...
The garden was rather an open-air museum. We were surrounded with many historical buildings and a large green area with some benches and sunbeds. It was a place of peace and serenity, and it reminded me of atmosphere in a cloister.
The building of the museum was covered with ivy. It looks picturesque, but I guess those rooms are full of bugs which takes that charm away for me 🙂
I was surprised to see some people on the balcony of the building on the left. I thought it was part of the museum, but it seems to be residential. Either way, I would also eat each meal on such balcony in such garden...
There was a warning that these are museum artifacts and not a playground. Well, I guess that it's not easy to explain to kids not to enter it since it's outside.
These are original objects from the 19th century used to press fruit.
Let's start our tour of the city!
The old town consists basically of a few long streets with buildings that are a couple of hundred years old. There are two large churches, some very old buildings and many fountains with drinking water.
We were lucky to take our water bottles with us as the water from fountains is perfectly chilled, but not cold as glass of water with ice. That's too cold for me 🙂
One of the most interesting buildings was another building of the Heimatsmuseum which used to be a monastery in the past. This is one of the oldest secular buildings in the city. It's a patchwork construction with oldest parts dating back to the 13th century and the newest parts to the 16th century.
It has a beautiful courtyard which reminds me of buildings in Switzerland. Actually, I didn't know that the dialect spoken in this part of Germany sounds bit like Swiss German!
I think this was the main square as there were tons of restaurants and cafes with terraces full of people. We couldn't find a free table, so we continued to The Marienkirche.
The Marienkirche in the back was visible from afar, so I couldn't wait to get closer to it...
But first I had to take a photo of an eagle protecting the main square...
There were many shops and boutiques along the street leading us to the church. They were all closed as shops are closed in Germany on Sunday.
We're getting closer...
And here we are!
The church is around 700 years old! It's one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings that I have ever seen. There is so much detail on the façade that you can admire it for hours.
On top of the tower is a golden statue of an angel which was placed there even during the World War II.
I keep saying that I'm not good at bird photography (which is true), so I must admit that this little guy was very patient. Some of his friends flew away before I was able to take a photo...
From the church we continued to a small narrow street where we found The Guild fountain which consists of 12 guilds of the 16th century. The fountain was created in 1983 by Bonifatius Stirnberg and each figure is worked out to perfection. You can turn around all of them and see them from all angles - great attraction for kids!
Let's see some of them in detail...
After our tour we were thirsty and hungry, so we went for early dinner in a stylish garden restaurant. It was a lovely place with large trees providing us with much needed shade.
I ordered redcurrant cider not knowing that it was with 9.0% VOL alcohol which I realized only after I tried it. It was refreshing, but it made me a bit tipsy as it was too hot for alcohol.
I was feeling much better when I filled my belly with gyros and fries. It was a delicious comfort meal!
We stayed in the restaurant for a while and then we walked back to the car as it was getting late. The sun was setting down and I was on the sunny side of the car again. Lucky me!
We came home after 10 PM and went straight to bed as we were exhausted from the heat. We're ready for the week now!
See you next time!