18 July

Left the Hotel Post as the Bells chimed. I love the bells. All the towns have churches or town halls with Bells that chime. I hear them all the time and it is wonderful, truly it is. So I am looking for the "Romantic Road". Should have been the Commerce Road because it was a promotional project. Not that it is bad, t is not it is good because I got to a town called Rothenburg. A walled town that leaves you shaking the head and saying WOW no wonder these people thought they had it good and wanted to protect it. The plan for expansion was where it went wrong. Then Dinkesbruhl. Now there is such a good story, Google it. It was great and I learned i from a bloke I accosted in the street. I do that a lot. Usually works pretty good ! It did this time and I would have stayed but common sense took over. Why sit on a grandstand in the sun watching a play about a Scandanavian (?) invasion called the 40 year war....and not understand a word of it ? The town was great. So I headed south, as you do (go west young man has lost favour !) and ended up at well yes Rain. It did and I stayed. Rain is one of those places like I stayed at in the mid west of the USA. I wondered how I ended up there staying in an odd place owned by a chiropractor (his premises were downstairs) and this place was the same. Arrived Saturday afternoon. Booked in. Walked out the town was closed. Got dinner I asked, NO. What is going on with these people walking out with large chillybins, I asked, takehome food I was told. All restaurants closed Saturday night ! And everything else it seemd apart from the Supermarket from which "dined". I can say to see a "hot rod" full of tattoos and rings and funny haircuts sitting in the main street eating ice creams in cones was good ! Little wonder these people grow big when ice creams are a national past time. So I stayed the nigh and listened to more bells than I have ever heard. I have to say the Sunday breakfast was good and half the town came to that as well. The likeness to back country USA was remarkable. Oh did I say not only the most convertibles, motorbikes, but tractors on the road and combine harvester, oh yes a lot of them. So I am having a great time in the grain belt of Germany and some of the oldest walled towns you are going to find. Pretty good roads too if one stays off the motorways.