Schwabia

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April 2000

Lynn and I returned to Stuttgart together for a week's vacation that was part of a business trip for me. We spent one week visiting old friends and old sights, and then Lynn flew home and I spent another week working. 

We arrived in Germany on the 30th, and spent the afternoon settling into the hotel (the Romerhof in Vaihingen). That evening we visited with our former neighbors, Gerhard and Ursula, in Möhringen. It was an early night because we had been up most of the previous night flying.

On Sunday, we took a ride northwest of Stuttgart to Schwabisch Gmund, Feuchtwangen, Ellwangen, and Neeresheim. It was another bright sunny day, and we took a picnic lunch to enjoy along the way.

But first, we stopped in Degerloch at the International School to see the new building. Megan attended 5th-7th grades at the old facilities, and Audrey attended 3rd-6th there. They were planning the new facility as we were leaving, but its built now.

The Bruckners at their front step, with Lynn

The little kids' playground at the ISS

The Main Entrance of the ISS

One of the two wings of the ISS

Our first stop was in Schwabisch Gmund, a medium-sized town about 40 km northwest of Stuttgart, in the Schwabian Alps. We walked around the center of town for a bit, then headed out on the road again, through all the back roads, to Feuchtwangen.

Ursula in front of a restaurant in Schwabisch Gmund that has been a restaurant since the 1400s	The door pull on the old restaurant	The cathedral in Schwabisch Gmund	The latch/lock on the cathedral door
A neat fountain in a square in Schwabisch Gmund	Closeup of the fountain's top	More of the square in Schwabisch Gmund where the fountain was	The shady side of the cathedral

Feuchtwangen holds the Frankisch Museum, a museum of local culture and history. Lots of old traditional costumes and other stuff there.

The main Platz of Feuchtwangen, looking in one direction

The main Platz of Feuchtwangen, looking in the other direction

The Frankisch Museum in Feuchtwangen

From Feuchtwangen we went to Ellwangen and Neeresheim to visit some Klosters (monasteries) with some great churches.

The Ellwangen cathedral, on top of a hill that is a popular pilgrimage destination	The other half of the Ellwangen cathedral	The Black Eagle, a German restaurant and tavern, across the parking lot from the cathedral
Someone had made a Playboy Bunny in the field across from the cathedral	The inside of the Neeresheim church	The Neeresheim Church Organ
A panorama of the view from the Neeresheim monastery