The Cutest Town in Germany

My plan for Sunday was to drive from Heidelberg to somewhere near the French border, perhaps Offenburg. It took perhaps a couple of hours, including a long stop for milchkaffee, to reach my intended destination. On a whim, I exited in a town called Gengenbach, after seeing a sign advertising the historic old city. I found myself in a small town with the main part of the old city blocked off for pedestrian traffic only. I parked the car in a nearby carpark, free because it was Sunday, and walked a few blocks into the town and was surprised to discover I was in, arguably, the cutest little town I have ever seen.

The large Rathaus (city hall) faced a large triagular "square" at the convergence of 3 major roads, each lined with little restaurants, sidewalk cafe's, and shops. I saw about 8 decorative fountains as I walked through the town. Window boxes and planters burst with a profusion of blossoms in every color of the rainbow and a small stream ran in shallow gutters through the middle of town. I had to watch my step in case I got a wet foot! One fun thing was that local businesses had sponsored the decoration of a large fiberglass cow, much like something that was done in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin once, and these colorful bovines were displayed artfully around town sometimes in the most unexpected of spots. My favorite was named Princess and she was painted gold with white swirls of paint, long eyelashes, earrings, a crown, and sparkly rhinestones artfully placed all over her. She was beautiful! Every girl needs a little sparkle in her life and Princess had more than most.

I found a hotel, the Sonne (sun), which had a large, modern, nicely decorated room available for 38 euro per night, 1 euro less than I paid for "the closet" the two previous nights. There was even a tiny garden planted right outside my window, also bordered by the stairwell and hallway.

Upon receiving a promise my room would be ready in 30 minutes, I wandered to a small Italian cafe' for one of the few meals I have eaten out in Germany. I chose a small table for two on the patio and ordered an entree of pasta with mushrooms, ham, tomato sauce, and cream. Yummy! The larger tables next to me were placed under an arbor dripping with green grape clusters. It's a good thing I didn't have a dining companion, as they would have had to sit under a hanging planter whose fuschia pink flowers hung so low as to be resting on the head of the person sitting across from me. Lunch was leisurely, followed by a trip to the bakery for some sweets for dinner, as I did not plan to dine out again that day. I followed narrow medieval streets taking pictures and enjoying the atmosphere, then wrapped up in my poofy feather comforter and took a luxurious nap. What a wonderful way to spend my last day in Germany!