Calw - Schwarzwald

Our outing for the day was Calw, a short 10 or so minutes drive from Bad Liebenzell.

When we got there I thought we would be able to park easily on the streets somewhere. Everywhere in the 'main bit' was paid parking and also very pedestrianised so I was not sure if I was supposed to be driving in some areas or not. To avoid incident we went to a multi-story car park instead - which seems so odd as it is in the 'old town' with all those olde worlde buildings.

Out of the car park the weather was a bit rainy and glum. There weren't many people about, just what looked like locals going about their day and a few out of towners like ourselves.

Calw itself is a small town, like Bad Liebenzell, but has focused itself a little bit more towards being a tourist town. This is mainly the designation of a pedestrian only area (where cars still were driving by anyway?) and the concentration of shops in a single pedestrian orientate zone, which is just a single street.

With constant light showers of rain we cowered under our umbrella and walked through the town. It was a shame that the weather had put such a glum vibe over the otherwise interesting and pretty town.

After we walked through the main part we didn't want to just breeze through and leave so went to get something to eat and some coffee. The town butcher also has a cafe type offering so we got a schnitzel in a bun, fleisch kase in a bun and two coffees (7 euros) and sat ourselves outside under an awning. As the dog was with us we couldn't stay inside, but under the awning we were dry. Of course, as soon as we got our snacks, the rain stopped and a bit of sun poked through the clouds...typical.

All snacked up and towned out we collected the car and went back to Bad Liebenzell. Many places in Germany are called 'Bad' something, this means they are spa towns - places where people go to relax, usually in thermal springs. Our town, Bad Liebenzell has a thermal spring (or at least a spa/sauna/relaxation centre thing) and this is called 'Parceleus Therme'. We drove there to see where it was and earmarked it for a possible visit later. Not much to see from the outside, just a building, so once we knew where it was there was no need to hang around.

Instead we picked up some groceries, filled up the car with 'Super' (which - yes father in law, is cheaper than in Holland!) and then headed off to the Bad Lienebzell landmark castle Burg Liebenzell. I can't say its the nicest looking castle nor most impressive thing I've ever seen but that's the one we got so that's what we went to see. To me it looks like a big stone 'up yours'.

The castle is up on a hill and this is also a junction point for walking and cycling trails which criss cross the Black Forest. We had a short walk up one of them and spotted trails going every which way.

Later on in the evening after a rest stop back at our hideously decorated apartment we went for a short walk around our local streets. It certainly is quite interesting to see what you notice when on foot compared to driving - the small shops and restaurants. There's even a lake just behind our apartment building, with a view to the Burg, that is almost completely hidden from view when you are driving. 

Nice.