8/12 – Now, here’s something you don’t see every day!  Our trek this morning took us through a wood carver’s yard, displaying a variety of his/her wares.

A life size nativity and crèche 

It’s still chilly today, and the skies are cloudy, but no rain is expected.  A good day for a hike!  

We walked through open fields and farms until we reached the town of Nordrach. 

Then, it was up and over the mountain!

As we descended toward Gengenbach, we saw signs for another Jakobskappele.

We walked through a grape orchard…

…and found it at the top of a hill, overlooking the town.

This chapel was open, bright and simple inside.

The windows each depicted a verse from the Beatitudes.

Gengenbach is a bustling town, with lots of people out to enjoy the sunshine and food.

Our Hotel Blume is across the River Kinzig, and we crossed the bridge several times as evening fell.

Clouds reflected in the river – a lovely sight.

We found that all the stores and most of the cafes close promptly at 6pm, which we thought unusual for a tourist town.  The streets are very quiet in the evening.  We ate at our hotel – schnitzel and egg noodles, covered in brown gravy.  We watched as the folks at the next table dug into huge rectangular things that looked like pizza without tomato sauce.  These are flammkuchen, evidently the speciality here.  The waitress noticed us looking, and brought us each a piece to try – thin cooked dough, spread with a soft white cheese, onions and pork sausage.  Tasty!