Leaving Camping Jungfrau we drove some five hours through Luzern and Basel which is on the French, Swiss and German borders and both enjoyed changes to the countryside, road rules and speed limits before reaching Schiltach in Germany.
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| Absolutely define |
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| Beautiful rivers |
We stayed at Campingplatz Schiltach - which was terrific. The owners went out of their way to make us feel welcome and we had a little spot on the river where mother duck and her seven little ducklings regularily made a visit. Helena helped the owners of the business in translating a German to English campsite brochure after being greeted with one which was called 'Rules' when we first arrived. As she explained to their English speaking son, it is a little off putting for a new visitor to be greeting in a somewhat harsh way!! They were very accomodating and in return showed Helena the powerhouse of their catering and camping related food business. Very impressive indeed.
Apparently Shiltach is recognised as a climatic health resort and lies 300 to 842m above sea level. It has a population of about 4100, is incredibly clean, has a bustling local industry centre, crafts, tannery and is well loved by the many tourists who visit - nice to visit and nice to see.
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| Village square |
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| Very cute and reminded us of our little nephew Felix |
We loved Schiltach and it was a bank holiday on our first day there which made the little town a little quieter than normal - but good opportunity for Helena to suss out the lie of the land with planned purchases the following day.
There are four Museums to visit in Schiltach - The Hansgrohe Museum for Water and Design was absolutely amazing and we spent over two hours wondering around listening to the English translation of what was on offer. The tour explained the origin of the family and value for water and we saw examples of bathroom design covering 700 years of Central European bathing culture and use from the 1900's. Thinking of our friends, Mark and Judith, we collected some impressive literature but unfortunately lost the bag. What a shame that was because the Hansgrohe Museum is fantastic and is a place where you plunge headfirst into a world of water, learning and wellness. Another one of the Smiths hotspots.
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| It was a stunning display |
The next day in this area we visited the Schuttesagemuseum which gives an impressive display of woodworking and timber rafting and the Annex gives insights on wood production from local forestry. The round tour explains the structure and fauna of the local forsts and the top floor of the museum houes a vivid display of tannery and the tanning process. All very interesting and we learnt a lot.
It must've been a day for the Tractor - and we were delighted to see a wide range of tractors being driven through the town and later seeing the same tractors lined up outside our 'retail therapy' shop where we both, at long last, purchased our leather jackets. Grant selected a really nice black one and Helena scored a red jacket. Beautifully made in Italy and with the tell tale smell of leather. Well done to both.
Another Museum worth visiting is the Museum AM Markt - which is eleven exhibition rooms which portray the town's historic events. We were able to access he English Translation and both enjoyed reading and hearing about the legends and anexdotes during the town's history. We were surprised at how good it was and really enjoyed it.
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| These German cakes were the absolute best .... |
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| We know, because we did a taste test ...... |
Later that afternoon, Helena went to local post office and spent some time putting together another box for good friend, Luiza in Adelaide, a box for Sydney and some post cards. A nice way to finish the day a little lighter.
As we left, the three girls from the Campingplatz Schiltach kitchen waved us off - it was somewhat touching and definitely a place we will return too.
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