Sunday, 18 June. Offenburg

 32 degrees today and my weather app shows a heat warning has been issued for tomorrow. I know it’s cold and miserable at home but I really am over the heat here. It has been hot since I arrived in Toronto.

My mission today was to visit the museum in the Ritterhaus (knight’s house) and a very good museum it was. Managed to follow the reception lady’s instructions to go up the stairs and put my bag in a locker, using a little metal token instead of a coin to lock it. That was an achievement in itself.

The museum had a lot of local history going back a long way - as far as a mammoth tooth they had on display. There were some little animations you could watch if you pressed a button. They were designed for children but were perfect for me. 

I now know that Saint Ursula, the town’s patron saint, saved the town from the forces of Duke Bernhard of Weimar by appearing on the town’s wall. The attackers took fright and skedaddled.

If I understood it correctly the Offen in Offenburg relates to the open doors on the castle in its coat of arms.  A welcoming sort of place.

Offenburg is also known for being the first place in Germany to demand democracy - basic and human rights, freedom of the press and a progressive income tax structure. There is a museum around the corner that is dedicated to this.

There was a lot about the war but I mostly couldn’t understand it. I did look at some files with first hand accounts but again it was too difficult. As I’ve seen from plaques around the town the Jewish population did not fare well.

The museum was extremely well set up for children with lots of hands on activities like reconstructing broken pottery. The lady on reception said that more than half of their visitors were school students.

Next stop was a couple of blocks away so I said hello to the statue of Saint Ursula, which is set very high above the square, as I went by. I wanted to see the Vinzentius Garden, a Baroque garden bordered by the town wall. Looking out from there you can see the modern part of the town. Apart from having a cool, shady bench to sit on it was a disappointment. The garden is sadly neglected and in desperate need of some TLC. A bit of mowing, trimming and weeding would make a huge difference.

Went home for a break before my afternoon visit to the Eis cafe and a strawberry banana split. Did Wordle and only got it on the last chance. Phew!