Sunday 18th October – Weissenburg, Germany

Our first port of call today was the Roman baths. One of three known Roman baths in Weissenburg, this one is very large and served the nearby fort. It was enlarged over the years and must have been a very important social meeting place for the troops as well as being a place for washing and exercise.
We walked for five minutes to the site of the fort. The layout of known buildings was marked in stone on the ground and there was an impressive reconstruction of one of the gates to the fort. Unfortunately, after they had built the gate in the late 1990s, they discovered that the gatehouse would have had another storey and the walls would have been higher – most annoying having made all that effort.
We walked on into the old town and admired the beautiful buildings. There are many pretty towns and villages in Bavaria but we were both particularly taken by the architecture and preservation of Weissenburg.
Photos: The caldarium (hot room) of the fort baths; The reconstructed gate of the fort; Many of the towers on the town walls (built around 1376) were converted into houses and are still occupied – here are two sections, one of which still has the walkway; A hotel & restaurant in the old town; The market square and old town hall; Two breweries, the second one of which had a plaque saying that the family run brewery is one of only(!) two breweries left in the town; A rather elaborate cat flap, presumably, for an old, arthritic (or pampered?) cat.

Saturday 17th October – Weissenburg, Germany

One of our two LPG tanks ran out this morning, so I switched to the second tank and checked for fuel stations in the area that sold LPG. There was one within a two minute drive on our route out of Weissenburg. I had the correct adaptor and all went well until I removed the pump nozzle when the adaptor came off as well and I couldn’t remove it. Fortunately, the cashier spoke excellent English and immediately knew what the problem was. He came out with a pipe wrench and very quickly removed the adaptor. I thanked him greatly and he told me that he was flying to Scotland for a holiday in two weeks’ time.
It was misty again this morning but not as thick as yesterday. We continued our drive up the Altmuhl Valley and this was the prettiest section so far. The valley closed in a little, with steeper sides and cliffs appeared on both sides. We passed a rock formation known as the 12 Apostles, which was not as spectacular as the title suggested.
We arrived at the Weissenburg stellplatz and found a pitch close to the electric supply where we could pay for metered electricity. The stellplatz was free and we were very happy to pay for the convenience of electricity.
It started raining when we arrived at the stellplatz but, by the time that we had eaten lunch, the rain had stopped. We walked into the town past the Mediaeval town walls to the Roman Museum and purchased combined tickets for €10 each that also allowed us to visit the town museum and the Roman baths.
The Roman Museum was well laid out and there were lots of exhibits aimed at children, including models and costumes to try on. The museum concentrated on local sites and finds together with the Limes and there was a lot of information, unfortunately only in German.
We had time to visit the town museum but the history was difficult to follow, especially in German.
Photos: The mist yesterday meant that we couldn’t get a clear view of Willibaldsburg Castle but Jane managed to take this one as we were driving out today; The Mediaeval town wall of Weissenburg; There were lots of drawers in the Roman Museum where you could inspect replica artefacts or even try them on – these are Roman sandals; Wooden Roman votive offerings of legs, arms and chests dedicated to a Spring deity, asking for healing or thanking for recovery – found at Dambach Fort near Nuremberg; A model of the Roman fort at Weissenburg.

Friday 16th October – Eichstatt, Germany

There were drips landing on the van roof during the night, sounding like very disorganised rain. I correctly guessed that it must be mist depositing water on the leaves of the trees above the van. It was very misty and the hills were lost in it.
We walked into the city and visited the Altmuhl Valley Nature Park Visitors Centre, which was housed in the former Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur church. An interesting building and some interesting exhibits.
We moved on to the cathedral, which was not spectacular but had some interesting alters and monuments.
Next we walked up to the Willibaldsburg Castle that sits above the city. The castle is in private hands but it houses two public museums. The Historic Museum was interesting but the information boards were only in German. The Jura Museum was very impressive and there was English text as well as German. The museum is dedicated to fossils and the exhibits are the finest that I have ever seen. The conditions in the area meant that the dead fish and animals lay undisturbed on the ocean floor and were then covered in a very fine silt. This has meant that the fossils retain very fine detail. The museum has been excavating a quarry near Ettling since 2007. Expert excavators may find ten small fish fossils in a day but, occasionally, larger specimens are found. They are then carefully cleaned under a microscope and preserved – a 40 cm specimen will take an average of 100 hours! A very large tropical fish tank with living coral demonstrated the kind of conditions that were present when the fossils were laid down. This museum is well worth a visit.
Photos: The dome ceiling of the Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur; Incredible carving on the famous Pappenheimer Altar (c. 1490) in the cathedral; Approaching Willibaldsburg Castle; The small fish fossils found in abundance; A cobbled-toothed reef fish; The tropical fish tank; Plants and insect fossils are also found – this is a spider and there was also a grasshopper even though there was no grass at the time that it lived!