3 April 2015 - Good Friday or Karfreitag as it is known in Germany

Yeah! Spring sunshine and still crisp air.  Cold enough for coats and scarves but delightful in the sun shine! We had chosen the day well for exploring.  Our main motivation for going to Ravensburg, which is incidentally home of all those lovely jigsaws and puzzles, was that it was a big enough town/city to have a computer shop to buy a printer.  Karl had "googled" National Public Holidays in Germany and thought that, unlike Australia, Good Friday was a normal trading day.  In UK, when I was working there, Good Friday was a normal working day, so we were hopeful.

Changing trains at Friedrichshafen

The little two carriage train from Bermatingen runs every hour and we were in plenty of time to buy our tickets from the machine which is a very cumbersome way to purchase tickets and not at all indicative of German efficiency!  We alighted at Ravensburg and it was looking pretty quiet....all the shops were closed for Good Friday! So, no printer today but a beautiful day for exploring rather than being inside! However, most important of all, the bakeries were open so as we had planned to buy lunch, we were relieved.

Fountain in Marienplatz, Ravensburg

Beautiful 15th Century building with frescoes

Rathaus

Ravensburg was just coming to life as we walked to the old part of town and the bells were tolling madly.  The gentle sunshine was so welcome!  Ravensburg was not damaged at all in WW2 so medieval buildings are still standing and it is so pretty.

Cafe chairs with blankets!

Marienplatz is the hub of the town and the bakeries and cafes were setting up for the day.  I love the way they all supply blankets and knee rugs for those who chose to sit outside!  

Love the random play equipment in the streets!

Court of justice!

We followed the bells to the big Evangelical Church there, established first in 1400's by the Carmelites and then in 1600's as an Evangelical Church.  We could here a choir singing beautifully and peeked in.  The church service was in full swing and the kids were reluctant to go in, so we didn't. Karl and I would have liked to!

Tall tower built into town wall!

Love the way buildings are incorporated in the old walls

Same house, different angle

Ravensburg

 Following a rough path through the little cobbled streets, we saw a hill, and had to climb it. At the top was the Youth Hostel with fabulous views, at the site of the old Veitsburg (castle) named after St Veit (Vitus). Vitus is considered the patron saint of actors, dancers and epileptics. Further, he is said to protect against lightning strikes, animal attacks and oversleeping!  Again, the bells tolled and the kids reminded us (again) that we hadn't had morning tea!

Weingarten Abbey in background

Kids frolicking down the hill

 The path down was lovely.  It is always fun to explore the alternative paths!  We came out near another two of the town's towers, the Mehlsack (1429) and the Obertor (1432).  There are over 10 towers of the medieval fortification and we tried to spot them all!

Annika!

Me and  Ravensburg as we walked down the St Vitus hill

Easy for gutter cleaning and wood storage.

 The old town walls are still standing in places and buildings over the centuries have been incorporated into them.  We saw some great examples.  The other thing we noticed and loved were various, well done attic extensions adding space and style to the old buildings.

Another fantastic Medieval tower.

This was the oldest looking tower we saw.

The Quiet Cat tower!

 We found a playground with plenty of sun and decided that this was the right place for morning tea!  Tim, Annika and I walked back to the bakery for some goodies (and this time also a coffee for Karl and me - Good Friday celebration).

More beautiful buildings

And another...

Annika and Luke doing as the sign says!

There is also a big Catholic church, St Jodok's, in Ravensburg. After the Reformation in the 1500's, it was agreed, in this region, to split all areas of government between the Protestants and the Catholics, hence the two big churches so close together.  And we heard the bells toll again! Lovely!

St Jodok's Church

Stunning stain glass windows in pristine condition despite the age of the church.

Looking to the front of the church - apt on Good Friday

Another lovely ancient tower incorporated into the buildings around.!

Note fake blackbirds to scare pigeons!

More pretty frescoes.

The Evangelical Church - also built into surrounding buildings

Narrow alleys

Pretty all the way!

Friedrichshafen here we come!

As the day was young(ish) and we had seen what we wanted to in Ravensburg, we decided to go back to Friedrichshafen on the train, as our ticket permitted us to do this.  What a jewel lay before us, the sparkling Bodensee (Lake Constance).  When we had travelled over from Switzerland this time last week, it was greyish and we couldn't appreciate its beauty.  Today, it shone!

Bodensee and alps!

On the rocky shores of the Bodensee.

 We took our "uber lunch" snack to the lakeside and the kids joined others in throwing rocks in the water!  The esplanade was alive with folk enjoying their Good Friday and the lovely weather.  Cafes and waiters were dotted along the lakeside.  I tried to surreptitiously take a photo of a waited in lederhosen (and white runners!) but couldn't!

Annika looking for rocks to skim across the lake.

Tim and Luke throwing stones.

Kaiser Wilhelm i) von Preusen looking impressive.

Majestic swan

Trufula trees? again?

From the tower on the lake

There were so many eating delicious looking icecreams which cost a huge amount.  The kids looked longingly and we kept saying they were too expensive and THEN away from the main drag Annika spotted waffle cones with one scoop for 1 Euro! They convinced us it was a bargain...and chose their treats!

Ice creams for 1 Euro!

 The walk back to the Stadtsbahnhof was pleasant although the cool of the afternoon was now setting in.  We literally jumped on the Markdorf train (they only go once an hour) and hoped it would stop at Bermatingen even though it wasn't listed....and it did!

Karlstrasse!

A short walk through our very quiet village and we were back home inside our historic house.  An excellent day was had by all!