Monday, 19 June. Offenburg

There was a little rain during the night and the forecast said there could be more so I bought an umbrella on the way to the bus stop. Jenny Mc will be interested that I bought it in H&M. However the sun came out and shone all day. At least I’m now prepared because it’s way too hot to be bothered with my raincoat.

I caught a bus to Gengenbach, a neighbouring town about 20 minutes and 2 or 3 villages away. The bus was good because I could see much more than I would from a train. There were lots of orchards and I think I saw apples, nectarines and cherries as well as corn and wheat fields.

Gengenbach was very touristy but interesting, with its towers which were entrances through the town walls. As I was sitting looking at a map some school students (about grade 5 or 6) asked me if I knew where the information office was. They were doing a search for various buildings around the town. I knew the answer as I had just been there to get my map and it was right behind me.

Their nice young teacher said they were visiting from Offenburg.

There were a number of planter boxes around the town and each one had a different display of plants. They were really lovely and well cared for. Offenburg also has attractive planter boxes dotted about.

After a bit of wandering I decided to have some lunch. Most of the cafes were crowded but right at the town wall was a cafe with red umbrellas (see photo) that was not so busy. They had flammkuchen on the menu and as I didn’t know what it was I decided to try it. It’s very thin bread with crème fraiche, cheese and bacon, baked so it’s crisp. There are other toppings too. A little like a pizza but much lighter.

There was a pedestrian passage through the wall and the cafe kitchen was in there. There was also an ancient bread oven in the wall which must have been shared by the townsfolk at one time.

Back to the bus stop and Offenburg. Caught the after school crowd but a couple of nice young boys offered me a seat. At one of the village stops I had a great view of a castle on a hill, which I had seen in the distance that morning.

After a bit of an afternoon snooze I returned to Eis cafe for my usual Eis, latte and sudoku. Had a simpler, though still wicked, ice cream today.