We left Neuky and said goodbye to our beautiful Austrian mountains to head into Germany.

We are staying in Tubingen (Tuby for short) about 30 kms south of Stuttgart. It is a University city and sits on the Neckar River.

Our first impressions were great as we really had no idea what to expect. It is described as “the quintesential picturesque German College town with cobblestoned streets , half timbered buildings and a castle on the hill”. It is a perfect description.

Our apartment has been great ,it is located in the quiet street in the old town only a minutes walk from the action.

The University dates back to 1477, one of the oldest in Germany and because of the younger population, there are bars around every corner. Our first night we decided to eat out and wandered down to the Bier Garten on the river. Our goulash and roast pork was yum and of course it was washed down with a good German beer or 2!

We have spent the last 3 days wandering the town with luckily an English map. The picturesque Market Square with its City Hall is spectacular built in 1435 and the gorgeous facade was updated in 1876. The Astronomical Clock dates back to 1511. It was only one beautiful building amongst many others in the main square.

Wandering along the Neckar river front was pleasant and walking under the Plane tress that were planted in 1828 meant it was a cool place to be as the temperature was in the low 30’s.

The foundation of the Holderlin Tower originates from the Medieval city walls and was home to a famous German poet. It’s the round yellow tower on the left!

Next stop was the Lower Castle Gate of the Hohentubingen Castle. It was built in 1608 and was rather impressive. The Castle is one of 7 fortresses built in the region in the mid 16th century.

We found an interesting plaque on the wall of the Castle. He was a man before his tme.

The Grain Market Building was built in the 1450’s and is now the Town Museum. We loved the half-timbered houses and marvelled at their construction.

The Dukes Barn was another favourite Building. Many of the oak beams are said to be dated back to 1475. It is thought to be one of the oldest buildings in Tuby.

The Collegium dates back to 1593 and was an academy that attracted protestant aristocracy from all over Europe. It is now a residence for Catholic students. Times change!

The Lumbar Market Square was a great spot for us to sit and “hydrate”. It was a popular spot with everyone sitting on the steps drinking or eating ice creams. Guess what we did?

We found a great place for coffee at the end of our street. The only issue was that you had to nominate “cows milk” otherwise you got “oat milk”. It is that sort of trendy place, but good coffee!

We discovered a great little morning market too just around the corner with fantastic fruit and veges, so much better than the supermarket. Greg had a great time buying all sorts of stuff for lunches and dinners!

We enjoyed a lovely dinner last night at a Gasthof at the end of our street. It had a tapas stly menu and it was delicious.

We have had a great time in Tuby, it is another photographer’s paradise with all the gorgeous buildings.

So tomorrow it is goodbye Germany and hello Switzerland for 3 nights. Then on Friday it is on the plane back home. We are not looking forward to the Melbourne weather, it has been low 30’s here and very pleasant.

So it’s time to pack.

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda