Friday, 2 October
Nicole and Frank picked me up before nine and we headed to Kempten, a nearby town with a car free historical district. Kempten is the oldest written reference of any German city, 50-15 BC. Nicole attended college at Kempten University of Applied Sciences but busy as a job holding student had little time to explore the town. Frank was our major tour guide for coffee and lunch since he explores the town while his Toyota is being serviced nearby.
Our first stop was for cappuccinos for all. Friday is market day so stalls and town were filling up. Next stop was a bank ATM to withdraw Euros for the rest of my trip. This was my favorite ATM of all time. First it recognized my card and started in English. Better yet, It let me choose the denominations of my withdrawal. On my previous European withdrawals, there was no selection of denominations so you could either make one big withdrawal and end up with large bills which made many of shopkeepers unhappy or make multiple smaller withdrawals and pay a fee for each withdrawal. After a stop to enjoy a few pastries for breakfast at Landbäckerei Sinz, we walked through some gardens near the basilica. Nicole pointed out where her apartment was while attending school there.
We were in search of the Cambodunum Archaeological Park which was at the top of a hill. Cambodunum is the site of the Roman town dating to 0 BC. It is an active archaeological site. The old town was divided into a religious side and a civil side. The religious site had ruins of many small temples and a reconstruction of the large temple. The other side, had a large enclosed exhibit of the Roman bath ruins. The size of the park is impressive. There were school children visiting sections of the park.
Our goal on the way back was a food truck selling kässpatzen Spätzle noodles and cheese. The kässpatzen is sold out of a restored Citroën HY van (built in 1966/71/72) converted into a mobile kitchen. The van is in impeccable condition. After waiting in line, our order was quickly filled. The kässpatzen is an especially delicious German version of mac and cheese made with all local ingredients. I managed to finish a medium but a small would have been plenty, After the late lunch I figured I would have to have a light dinner. We finished our walk back to the car with another cappuccino.
On the way back to Frank and Nicole’s, there was a stop for groceries. Tomorrow is a holiday, German Reunification Day, and the stores will be closed as well as on Sunday. Nicole won our backgammon challenge but I blamed my loss on jet lag! I did get a few photos of Frank’s models before Nicole drove me back to the hotel.
I still was not hungry for dinner so I brought a container of yogurt back. Nicole and I made plans to meet here at nine tomorrow for brunch and then see what the rest of the day looks like. After I was dropped off I took a stroll over to the children’s heavy equipment playground for some photos since I did not get any yesterday, Before she left Nicole was sure to give me a one Euro coin in case I wanted to play on the machines.
After a phone call to Dolora, trying to stay awake for a while by reading the newspaper online. Going to sleep early will not help me adjust to the time difference,