Some friends invited us to stay with them for the Schützenfest ( www.biberacher-schuetzenfest.com , a 9 day event in late July) in Biberach an der Riss ( www.biberach-riss.de , an excellent small town) in Upper Swabia ( www.oberschwaben-tourismus.de ). So we set out mid-afternoon on Saturday from Stuttgart going over the smaller roads of the Swabian Alb ( www.schwaebischealb.de , my favorite area of Germany with its many castles and caves and excellent cliffside scenery) instead of the A-8 autobahn to Ulm because of the large traffic jams along it.
Taking the B-27 south to Reutlingen, I always marvel at how impressive Hohenneuffen Fortress (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de ) is, looming above the top of the Alb. Once past Reutlingen the ride became enjoyable with Lichtenstein Castle ( www.schloss-lichtenstein.de ) atop the cliffs above the valley. It was hard to distinguish where the cliffs left off and the castle began.
After the ascent of the face of the Alb, we continued on Hwy 312, not turning off for our favorite drive by Germany%26#39;s oldest state stables at Marbach ( www.gestuet-marbach.de ) and the idyllic Grosse Lauter River with one of Germany%26#39;s highest concentrations of castle ruins.
The large excellent monastery church at Zwiefalten loomed ahead, and then on to Riedlingen (a pleasant small town) and the Danube River. After crossing it we were in Upper Swabia (my second favorite area of Germany, home to Germany%26#39;s most beautiful Baroque churches and monasteries and the Baroque Road), and its holy mountain, the Bussen, is just off the route.
Since we were early in Biberach, we went first to fetch the crates of beer from my favorite German brewery, Bräuhaus Ummendorf (in www.braugasthoefe.com), unfortunately the time being wrong to eat at their excellent restaurant with Germany%26#39;s best Maultaschen. We couldn%26#39;t believe the cars flying the blue and yellow flag of Biberach with the beaver on it, just like World Cup time.
That eveing we attended the Dance of the Centuries on the marketplace in the center of town. The dancing began with traditional farmers%26#39; dances, progressed through the Renaissance, Baroque times, Bismarck times, and then more modern with the Charleston, boogie woogie, rock and roll, and break dancing. The early numbers were interesting for the costumes and the dance moves, but the modern dances more interesting because of the actual dancing talent. A wonderful show, followed by a visit to a restaurant. Surprisingly, some streets of town were jam-packed with people at 1AM, I never would have imagined seeing that in Biberach having spent at least a half year there in the last 8 years.
Awaking in our friends house the next morning, I looked out upon a hot air balloon and then noticed that the Swiss, German, and Austrian Alps on the horizon were clearly visible. For the parade we had reservations at a restaurant along the parade route, our table was right next to the street, so we had excellent unobstructed views of the parade in comfort. My wife who is originally a local commented that she wished it had been like that when she was a child instead of having to stand. Of course then, she used to participate in it also.
The parade was excellent with many costumed groups representing different facets of life there through the centuries, floats with things like weavers and brewers, and historical events. All floats were wagons pulled by horses, or in a few cases oxen. Our friends kept shouting at the parade participants, as they knew many, adding a personal touch. Just an excellent entertaining parade!
Then we went up on the hillside where the many rides, etc. were. The place almost wasn%26#39;t recognizable to me as I have only seen it empty or with a flea market. The %26quot;Swedes%26quot; from the Thirty Year War have their encampment there, and it illustrates life in those times. Unfortunately, I couldn%26#39;t find one of those car flags which I wanted, but of course my wife was happy because she didn%26#39;t want one! Our supposition is that the Biberach flag might represent the colors of Sweden because they spared the town during the war.
We returned by the same route, again being impressed by the monastery church in Zwiefalten. Since we were again running late, we didn%26#39;t have the time to make the slight detour past the Marbach stables, my favorite drive in Germany. After the usual nightmare of driving through Reutlingen where lanes disappear, and you have to constantly switch from the right to the left lane almost withour rhyme or reason or be forced to turn where you don%26#39;t want to, it was back on the B-27 to Stuttgart where the real nightmare began, an almost two hour traffic jam because they had blocked one lane of the freeway, and to top things off, there was no reason for doing it as they weren%26#39;t even doing any real construction.
What a relief getting into Stuttgart and descending the Weinsteige which still impresses me and I still enjoy. My Swabian wife has many found memories of visiting Stuttgart as a child and making the same descent to the valley floor. Then only the four crates of beer to manage!, but oh that beer was good after an hour in the freezer!!!!!
We%26#39;ll now be returning every year, since my wife enjoyed it so much. In the 7 years when we visited frequently, usually at least every two weeks, I could never get her to go!!!!
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Terrific report with nice links. My husband and I happened upon a Shuetzenfest in St. Goar one summer. It was fantastic and we had a great time watching the parade and enjoying the outdoor bier garten and grilled food. Such fun!
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