18 Sep: Tübingen to Koblenz

Tübingen Farewell

After checking out of our Tübingen hotel, which was somewhat on the outskirts of town, we drove to the town center to find some breakfast and to take a look at Tübingen's Altstadt (old town). We had only seen it in the dark, arriving late to find some supper after a day on the road.

It's worth saying that driving anywhere near a town center is hugely stressful for both driver and navigator. The streets are narrow, often one-way or dead-end, and full of drivers who know where they are going; parking is very hard to find; street signs are scarce and hard to read; house numbers invisible. Twice we had Julie guide us to a restaurant, and twice she correctly directed us into some 9-foot-wide cobblestone alley with no parking or exit. "You hawve arRIVED at youah destiNATION," she says in her BBC accent, and shuts up, at least having the good grace not to add, "...and now whatEVAH will you do?"

So we didn't really see Tübingen's downtown so much as wander dazedly through it in the dark to find a couple of good meals. After each we picked the hotel from the list of previous destinations and gratefully let Julie guide us the 2 kilometers home.

This morning was brilliant and, being Saturday, we thought there'd be less trouble parking. We managed to find one of the parking garages and went to have a look, and indeed Tübingen was rather keen. Here's how it looked.

Bridge over the Neckar river, flower baskets.

Flower basket.

Backs of houses on the Neckar.

There's a very similar picture in the Wikipedia entry (but ours is better).

Saturday market setting up.

Flower vendor, pedestrian.

Market in front of the Rathaus.

Flower baskets, Rathaus.

There are several more scenes from Tübingen in the gallery.

On to Koblenz

Finally it was time to give Julie the address of the hotel in Koblenz and start driving. This was the longest run yet, and one of the longest we'll do, 320Km, almost all autobahn; about 4:30 driving time. On the way we drove over a dramatic bridge across the Rhine. There was no time or opportunity to get a good picture.

A huge blue wishbone with vivid orange cables.

Our hotel here fronts on the Rhine and barges like this pass every few minutes.

Tomorrow the Wine Road along the Mosel.