Where's Bertie? He's at a Stellplatz in the town of Mosbach (exact location: 49.36087, 9.14760).
Weather: Wall-to-wall sunshine and hot.
Whilst walking along the river yesterday afternoon we came upon an information sign that told us that we were just 500m away from the start of a heritage trail that visits the few visible remains of a Second World War aircraft engine factory, and its supporting infrastructure. The factory itself was situated within 56000 square metres of underground tunnels, which had been commandeered from an old gypsum mine.
With information provided in English, we thought it might be moderately interesting, and we seldom object to a walk through the woods, so this morning that's what we did.
It turned out that the only sign with any English on it was the one photographed above, advertising the route. Those situated on the route itself weren't even set out in a Google Translate-friendly way. We made do, and it was, as we'd hoped, moderately interesting.
Down there are the sites of the four concentration camps from which forced labour was taken to create the factory and then to run it. It started in early 1944 and ended with the war in 1945.
This tunnel was a very effective air conditioning system today. From a couple of hundred metres away we could feel the cold air eminating from it. The tunnels were very firmly closed off to prevent access.
There had been a bit of dithering before our walk as to whether Bertie should stay put on our riverside pitch today, or whether we should move a few km up the road to Mosbach. By the time we were back from our walk, we had decided to move - something we nearly regretted when we ran into yet another road closure blocking our way. Our perception is that the Germans don't often employ temporary traffic lights, but instead operate road closures. It feels like not a single journey goes by without us seeing at least one.
Even on arrival, I wasn't convinced we'd done the right thing in moving, as rather than being parked on a river bank, with nothing between us and the water, we were now in a compound of other vans, with wooded slopes around, but no particular view.
Then we walked into the old town, about 1km away through parkland, and soon decided that it was most definitely worth visiting.
It's another historic town full of half-timbered buildings
I'd already picked up a leaflet at the Stellplatz which set out a tour of the town, taking in the most historically interesting buildings and features (plus the old people's home, built in the 1980s, which was a bit of an odd inclusion in the tour, even if it did win a design award for how well it integrated old with new). We'd managed to find our way to Point Of Interest No 3, unable to understand any of the information about them, when I noticed that I was standing outside of the Tourist Information Office. They had a copy of the town tour leaflet in English, allowing us to get much more out of the rest of our visit.
This was described in the leaflet as the 'Kiwwel Poo Spring'. Initially I thought it a bad translation, but then I read on. In the 19th century, toilets in Mosbach consisted of cider and wine barrels set up in quiet locations, such as in the narrow gaps between houses. This was odd behaviour to the people from outside the town, thus Mosbach residents became known as 'Kiwwelschisser' (Bucket Pooers). Over time this morphed from an insult to an accepted name for a Mosbacher, so much so that this fountain has been built to commemorate it.
Back at the Stellplatz, the rapid progression of summer made itself known when the sun dipped behind the nearby hill at just gone 6pm. That was a welcome occurrence, with a drop in temperature soon following. It's 2030 as I type this and now quite a pleasant temperature to be sitting outside. Perhaps there's time for a bit of alfresco crochet before darkness falls?
Weather: Wall-to-wall sunshine and hot.
Whilst walking along the river yesterday afternoon we came upon an information sign that told us that we were just 500m away from the start of a heritage trail that visits the few visible remains of a Second World War aircraft engine factory, and its supporting infrastructure. The factory itself was situated within 56000 square metres of underground tunnels, which had been commandeered from an old gypsum mine.
With information provided in English, we thought it might be moderately interesting, and we seldom object to a walk through the woods, so this morning that's what we did.
It turned out that the only sign with any English on it was the one photographed above, advertising the route. Those situated on the route itself weren't even set out in a Google Translate-friendly way. We made do, and it was, as we'd hoped, moderately interesting.
Down there are the sites of the four concentration camps from which forced labour was taken to create the factory and then to run it. It started in early 1944 and ended with the war in 1945.
This tunnel was a very effective air conditioning system today. From a couple of hundred metres away we could feel the cold air eminating from it. The tunnels were very firmly closed off to prevent access.
There had been a bit of dithering before our walk as to whether Bertie should stay put on our riverside pitch today, or whether we should move a few km up the road to Mosbach. By the time we were back from our walk, we had decided to move - something we nearly regretted when we ran into yet another road closure blocking our way. Our perception is that the Germans don't often employ temporary traffic lights, but instead operate road closures. It feels like not a single journey goes by without us seeing at least one.
Even on arrival, I wasn't convinced we'd done the right thing in moving, as rather than being parked on a river bank, with nothing between us and the water, we were now in a compound of other vans, with wooded slopes around, but no particular view.
Then we walked into the old town, about 1km away through parkland, and soon decided that it was most definitely worth visiting.
It's another historic town full of half-timbered buildings
I'd already picked up a leaflet at the Stellplatz which set out a tour of the town, taking in the most historically interesting buildings and features (plus the old people's home, built in the 1980s, which was a bit of an odd inclusion in the tour, even if it did win a design award for how well it integrated old with new). We'd managed to find our way to Point Of Interest No 3, unable to understand any of the information about them, when I noticed that I was standing outside of the Tourist Information Office. They had a copy of the town tour leaflet in English, allowing us to get much more out of the rest of our visit.
This was described in the leaflet as the 'Kiwwel Poo Spring'. Initially I thought it a bad translation, but then I read on. In the 19th century, toilets in Mosbach consisted of cider and wine barrels set up in quiet locations, such as in the narrow gaps between houses. This was odd behaviour to the people from outside the town, thus Mosbach residents became known as 'Kiwwelschisser' (Bucket Pooers). Over time this morphed from an insult to an accepted name for a Mosbacher, so much so that this fountain has been built to commemorate it.
Back at the Stellplatz, the rapid progression of summer made itself known when the sun dipped behind the nearby hill at just gone 6pm. That was a welcome occurrence, with a drop in temperature soon following. It's 2030 as I type this and now quite a pleasant temperature to be sitting outside. Perhaps there's time for a bit of alfresco crochet before darkness falls?
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