We were unable to find airbnb accomodation for our next stop in Germany at Gernsbach, near Baden Baden, so we organised to stay in an apartment for two nights. It was great to get some washing done and as the machine was the same kind as I used at Abel's, I knew how to use it.
Now that we are in Germany, I get to do the talking and purchases! As I guess most who've learned a language for a few years in high school find, it's easier to read than speak. However, I understand the gist of what shop assistants say to me and haven't managed to get totally confused yet!
In the afternoon we went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. A bit of a long drive, but worth it to see a medieval fortified town still in use today. It is almost like an island in the centre, with the new town built around the outside. All of the streets were cobblestone, in the nice fan pattern we've seen before in France. We spent some time wandering around before discovering the market square and some nice coffee and cake! We also bought some gifts that were irresistible!

Driving in Germany is, to say the least, interesting. If you are a petrol head (or remember the band Kraaftwerk) from the early 70s, you would know about autobahns. Moxt of what you might have heard is probable true. The drivers are very polite -they need to be at the speeds they are travelling. At one stage I was doing 150 kph in the slow lane and was being overtaken by a seemingly never ending procession of Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, VWs, Porsches and a wide range of other European marques. Most of them must have been doing at least 200 kph, as they simply disappeared into the distance. I thought the 1.6 litre turbo diesel did a good job at that speed, but I think I would have preferred the VW's handling.

To get to our next stop, we took the Schwarzwaldhochstraße (Black Forest High Road, or Alpine way) drive for 60km through some beautiful countryside. We stopped at Mummelsee ( Mummel Lake, high up in the mountains) to have a wander (along with at least several hundred others) before needing to head off again. Craig bought a black hat there that he intends to wear in cooler weather. We ended up needing to take the fastest route via autobahn to arrive at our next destination at about 5.30pm.

We stayed in Uhldingen at Hotel Storchen. After checking in, we went for a drive down to Lake Constance to look across to the mountains of Switzerland (and take a photo)! Our first German beer was consumed at a lakeside bar. Sehr gut! As we are unable to cook, we ate at an Italian restaurant on our first night. The food was very good.(We went back the next night too and that was great. The waitress remembered us and the drinks we'd had the night before, so checked we wanted them again. I couldn't quite finish my meal and she expressed disappointment, until I explained - in German - that the meal had met my cravings for pasta and vegetables! She laughed and said, "Okay!")

Today we took a trip across the lake to an island called Mainau Island (not quite an island as you can drive onto it from a bridge? on the other side). Lovely gardens with different beds to reflect different countries of Europe. Very colourful and very artistically organised.
The Butterfly House there was worth a visit and Craig managed to get some good photos of some butterflies. After wandering the gardens for a few hours, we went to have a look at the Fern House - not what we expected! It was set up for a dinner function and obviously was not the place to check out ferns!

I'm finding I remember lots of German that is useful! I sometimes use Google translate to make sure I'm correct or are interpreting correctly, but it has been a long time since I have thought simple sentences in German. A nice challenge for me!