Today, there was no afternoon class, so everyone from the Sprachkurs went to get lunch at the student cafeteria in the Altstadt, and then we all went our seperate ways, everyone having something else they needed to be doing. I had to go to a hotel to make reservations for when my parents come in December, and after confirming with my broken german that the reservations were indeed what we wanted, I proceeded to head to the castle–since it is only 50 meters from the hotel anyways.

When there the last time, I had seen several walking paths and parts of the castle that I couldn’t figure out how to get to, and I now wanted to find those and get a better view. I headed into the castle, and quickly found several parts that are not immediately obvious, but are extremely beautiful.

There are many small courtyards and gardens on the backside of the castle. I didn’t get many pictures of them as everything was so spectacular that I couldn’t capture what I wanted to on my little point and shoot camera that I had with me, but I plan to return soon with my good camera and attempt to show them. However, imagine this: courtyards, with grass in the middle, medieval stone castle walls covered in ivy rising all around you, and battlements with excellent views to the city and countryside below. And I only saw a couple other people there–guess where I’m going to be doing my reading and studying from now on? To those from Chapel Hill, I think it beats the Undergrad library.

After finding everything that is open to the public, I walked down one of the many paths jutting into the woods along one side of the castle. There was a paved walking trail, and several unpaved trails following along the castle walls. I explored both of these, and was rewarded with excellent views of both the castle and the surrounding town.

Suffice it to say, it was a good day, and I will be returning to the Schloss Hohentübingen many a time.

This weekend, several of us from the Sprachkurs are planning to go to Stuttgart for a wine fest. Baden Württemburg, the state that Tübingen is in, is a very large wine producing region (think Riesling), and the harvest is starting to come in, so many of the local producers are showing off this year’s vintage in Stuttgart. Should be a great time.