Ansbach, Bavaria

For my first experience of driving on the autobahn, I drove north then east to visit Lena in Ansbach. About four hours of the drive were in Germany on the Autobahn which was an interesting experience in itself, though as it was raining and a lot of the A5 between Basel and Karlsruhe was under construction (not to mention I was driving a Fiat station-wagon...), I didn't get to speed all that much... :-)

Lena gave me an great tour of the Ansbach area (Thank you Lena!) starting with showing me a castle at Colmberg that is on the "Castle Road" and then showing me Rothenburg which is on the "Romantic Road". Rothenburg was clearly a tourist destination with lots of Japanese and Americans (as well as a Canadian...), but it is easy to understand why. With beautiful colourful picture perfect buildings and cobblestone streets, all of the buildings with red tile roofs, an a town wall surrounding it all, it is very nice. We then proceeded to a small local brewery for a supper where I got to taste some good local beer and dishes.

The next morning, she showed me around the old town of Ansbach which is also picture perfect, but not being on the "Romantic Road", does not attract as many foreign tourists.

View from Colmberg Castle, which is on the highest hill in the area:

Various view of Rothenburg:

Photos of Ansbach:

On my way back to Aubonne, I stopped off in Freiburg im Breisgau, which I'd wanted to visit for several years. It has an impressive medieval cathedral and a nice old town:

And lastly, to my surprise, a gargoyle next to the cathedral that seems to be doing yoga (notice the foot behind the head...):

I had a great time in Germany and it reawakens my urge to move there for a while some day...