It was a relaxed start to the morning. Breakfast was provided as part of the hotel charge so it was cereal and fruit, meats, cheeses, bacon and eggs, pastries, and so on. Murray, Marilyn, Jos, John and Liz wandered into Freiburg city centre. Freiburg is a city dominated by the Cathedral which dates from the twelfth century, and many of the buildings have dates from the 1200's and 1300's on the walls. The city centre has little water channels running through it.
Being a Sunday the shops were closed- many things in Germany including some ATM machines do not work on Sundays. We had lunch at a cafe - pastries and coffee and gateaux. There was an orchestra playing at a beer hall that we found beside a canal. On the outskirts of the old city centre were two medieval tower gatehouses built between 1250 and 1270, with modern tram lines running through the towers. On the footpaths of the central town were some small brass plaques, about 75mm square - memorials to Jews who were deported to Auschwitz in 1940 who lived in the various houses the plaques were outside.
We visited the city Augustiner Museum. It contains exhibits from the Upper Rhine; sculptures from the Freiburg Cathedral, tapestries, paintings, gold work and wooden carvings from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Some of the gold work was from the eighth and tenth centuries. All the works were Catholic.
We wandered back the few kilometers to the hotel. The temperature had risen to the mid twenties and the sky was blue. First blue sky since Paris! Within an hour of being back in the hotel there was thunder and lightening. From our fifth floor it was quite spectacular to watch. There was torrential rain for about an hour before the sky cleared and the sun returned.
We dined at the hotel with 8 others from the tour. John had finely sliced salmon and salad. Liz had spaghetti bolognaise. The house German white wine left a lot to be desired - it was not as good as the €2.50 a bottle of French wine from the Aldi supermarket. We passed on desert as there will be a lovely breakfast again tomorrow.
Writing this at 9pm we are all packed for tomorrow's early start. The rain has stopped and the forecast is for warm weather for the next few days. Tomorrow's ride includes a steep 9km ride to the source of the Danube. From there it is all downhill for the next few weeks down the river.
Being a Sunday the shops were closed- many things in Germany including some ATM machines do not work on Sundays. We had lunch at a cafe - pastries and coffee and gateaux. There was an orchestra playing at a beer hall that we found beside a canal. On the outskirts of the old city centre were two medieval tower gatehouses built between 1250 and 1270, with modern tram lines running through the towers. On the footpaths of the central town were some small brass plaques, about 75mm square - memorials to Jews who were deported to Auschwitz in 1940 who lived in the various houses the plaques were outside.
We visited the city Augustiner Museum. It contains exhibits from the Upper Rhine; sculptures from the Freiburg Cathedral, tapestries, paintings, gold work and wooden carvings from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Some of the gold work was from the eighth and tenth centuries. All the works were Catholic.
We wandered back the few kilometers to the hotel. The temperature had risen to the mid twenties and the sky was blue. First blue sky since Paris! Within an hour of being back in the hotel there was thunder and lightening. From our fifth floor it was quite spectacular to watch. There was torrential rain for about an hour before the sky cleared and the sun returned.
We dined at the hotel with 8 others from the tour. John had finely sliced salmon and salad. Liz had spaghetti bolognaise. The house German white wine left a lot to be desired - it was not as good as the €2.50 a bottle of French wine from the Aldi supermarket. We passed on desert as there will be a lovely breakfast again tomorrow.
Writing this at 9pm we are all packed for tomorrow's early start. The rain has stopped and the forecast is for warm weather for the next few days. Tomorrow's ride includes a steep 9km ride to the source of the Danube. From there it is all downhill for the next few weeks down the river.
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