Canoeing Down The Danube River

The Danube or die Donau, is a river that starts from The Black Forest and ends in the Black Sea near Ukraine. It flows outside our hotel in Beuron in south Germany and we could hear it from our room. 

We woke up to this sunny morning and there were two fisherman in the river. As you can see the water is shallow as there hadn't been much rain. We were going canoeing that day and it was lucky it wasn't called off because of low water levels.

Us in our canoe. It was a fun ride especially in the fast parts where the river narrows. I loved being surrounded by tall, almost overhanging tress. I was breathing in the wilderness and serenity. 

The part where we had to get out and carry the canoe past a weir. It was pretty, yet disastrous if we missed the sign to hop out!

After four hours of paddling, we reached our destination. We went in for a quick dip and I mean super quick because the water was freezing. Plus the current was strong and we might get carried off down the river.

I took a picture of a nearby wheat field. Our German friends didn't seem to be interested but I'm a long time city slicker. This is where the flour comes from!

Afterwards we visited Sigmaringen. There's a beautiful castle and typical of most towns in the area, the Danube runs along side it. 

Weekend In Konstanz and Tubingen

We visited friends in Tubingen, a university town in south Germany. From Stuttgart airport we drove to Konstanz, almost a 2 hours away and situated at the Swiss border. 

Grant and I welcomed the sight of the countryside and the fact that we were out of London. I could felt myself "decompressing". This part of Germany is peaceful as there were farms everywhere. It was also quaint how many apple trees were growing in the area. 

When we arrived in this city, known for it's university, lake and proximity to Switzerland. In fact the latter helped save Konstanz in WW2 because the Allies couldn't distinguish it from Swiss territory at night. Therefore it was not bombed and has a well preserved old town. 

We had to hunt for parking because on weekends Konstanz is busy with Swiss shopping cheaply  over the border. A tip is to avoid coming on Saturday mornings if you're driving.

We walked up the cathedral, Konstanzer Münster for a 360 degree view of the city. 

The beautiful, albeit busy lake of Konstanz. 

Rain was coming which was bad news for our friends camping that night. It was fine for Grant and me because we had a hotel booked nearby. There was hesitation to stick to the plan (rather than stay the night in Konstanz) but we're glad we did because the rain held up and Grant and I got to stay in a hotel nestled in a forest. This is the Danube River which flows outside our balcony.

This is stock photo of Hotel-Gasthof Neumühle. The staff wore traditional German clothes. Isn't the location stunning? Our room was huge. It was so comforting after a long day on the road, we didn't want to leave.

We spent Monday exploring Tubingen. It's a lush green town with the Neckar river running through it. This was taken at the castle, Schloss Hohentubingen. 

Memorable foods on our trip. Rumpsteak with dreamy garlic butter, pan fried fish and Flammkuchen. Also the refreshing Apflelschorle-cold apple juice mixed with fizzy water. On a hot day, this local drink hits the spot!