Hohentübingen Castle & Tübingen

Castle two of our tour took us to Tübingen, a university town. Being a Sunday afternoon most the shops were closed and very few people were out- my kind favorite way to see a town! The day we visited it looked like the town has been sprayed down with fire hoses then flash frozen. Any idea how much fun that was to "walk" around in? Actually, it was a blast but with every unstable step the thought I promised Lori I'd be safe and not injure myself crossed my mind. On a few more dramatic slides I'm positive MAJ 545 was reminded of the promise I made to my marathon training partner. Of course my threats weren't taken too seriously as I was laughing while sliding to a stop and grasping for anything to prevent falling.
My tour guide led me around the quiet town, using the shoe-less guy on a bicycle statue as his reference point pointing out the cathedral and some strange architecture as we made our way up to the castle. The castle is now used by the university but still looks very much like a castle with it's two moats- one with a chair even in the corner of one. The view of the sleepy town below with snow on the roofs, and icicles hanging from eaves made a beautiful scene.

After finding a safe route to descend the hill (the same way we headed up) we visited the main town square where I snapped a few pictures while glühwein was secured to warm us up. It was this point that the next destination was revealed to be visiting the grumpy men. Um. Okay. Why not? And since this part of the town was clearly one of his favorites,  I'm going to let MAJ545 tell you all about it, it's just easier that way:

During Katie's visit to Germany and the day we visited Tübingen, I wanted to introduce Katie to my friends Fred and Stanley in a hidden sqare off the historic town center. Fred, you see, is a contankerous grumpy old fellow who bullies and takes out his frustrations on Stanley. Stanley is affiable goofy little fellow who takes Fred's abuse because he believes that Fred is a good individual who just needs a friend to vent on, which he takes and discards with a grain of salt.

On the particular day I introduced them to to Katie, we first visited the glühwein stand for a cup of hot wine (wine is always preferred when meeting up with these two), Fred was complaining about the cold, the abuse he receives from the local children (who hit him with paint balls) and why his wife lives on the tier below them. It was quite a heated conversation when we arrived, there was some hinting that Stanley had been visiting Fred's wife while Fred wasn't around, and after introductions Fred asked Katie for her point of view on the matter. Katie, ever the diplomat, asked not to get too involved, but after a few minutes tucked in with Fred and tried to block his insults to her knee's namesake. It took a few rounds and both of us getting involved but we were able to settle the matter and on a different note agreed to hunt down the birds that had left their marks on their bodies. After much searching, high and low, we were able to find their tracks but not able to locate their hiding areas. As we departed their square, we said our goodbyes and promised to visit again soon, but had to leave as there was much more to discover in Tübingen.

See? Much easier that way. After meeting those two, stopping in another church (with stained glass windows!), and walking through the snow covered park, we deemed it time to get back into the warm car and go find food. So guess what? That's what we did. Go figure that even in the dead of winter, in Germany a cold beer still tastes delightful with a plate packed with pork and potato dishes. Best thing to do after filling up on all that hearty food? Oh you know, nap away while snow falls from the sky :)