It's 8 AM and I'm in the town center of Biberach searching for my favorite sandwich. I've been to another metzgerei (butcher shop) nearby and had no luck so now I'm trying this one.
I walk inside and check out the hot food--there's chicken legs and several variations of ham but, not the item I'm hoping to find. As I turn to exit a woman comes out from the back carrying a tray. Whoa, there it is! See that piece of meat to the right of the chicken legs? That my friends is a pork roast German-style. The top is crispy and crunchy (it's fat). The white you see in the middle is fat and the meat is juicy and tender. The woman cuts a big slice of the pork, puts it on a sandwich roll and adds some mustard. I've been going crazy for these pork sandwiches for years. The price is right too--usually around $3.50. Absolutely delicious!
The correct name of Biberach (population 32,000) is Biberach an der Riss. Riss is the name of the river running through town and eventually flowing into the Danube. This is the main square with the tower of St. Martin's church in the background.
Nice fountain though it's being repaired.
This lookout tower in Biberach dates back hundreds of years.
Wanted to get the orange colored building into the shot in Biberach's town square
In German the word "bad" means bath. In Germany there're 350 designated spa towns. But, to have the "Bad" before the name of your town requires being government approved as the town has to have a therapeutic bath house. I've written about this before. Until the 1990's when laws were changed, the government would pay half the cost of staying at a spa. This was a gold mine for spa towns.
So, those are three spa towns listed on the signs. I'm making a detour to Bad Schussenried as the writing in brown means there's something historic. I've nixed heading to the Unesco world heritage site on the top sign. Why? It's a prehistoric pile of dwellings built on stilts. I'm a big fan of any medieval but, prehistoric or Roman times doesn't interest me.
To the left in the photo you can see the entrance to Schussenried Abbey
Schussenried Abbey dates back to the 12th century. It's a very large complex. That building on the right is the chapel. The highlight of the abbey is the Baroque library on the second floor of this building. Just my luck it's closed today.
Somebody is good with a chainsaw as these two woodcarving figures guard the entrance to the main building.
This is inside Schussenried Abbey's chapel.
I've written about this numerous times. In Germany and Austria these cigarette vending machines are everywhere--and frequently on residential street corners. What's to stop kids from plopping in coins and grabbing a pack? No wonder those countries have high rates of smokers.
Cycling through rural farmland I spot the very large complex of buildings up on a hill in a village. This is Reute Monastery that dates back to the 14th century. Behind these structures are about half-dozen apartment buildings from the 1950's to 1980's. I talk to a woman and find the whole compound is owned by the Roman Catholic church and it's where nuns are sent when they retire. Major renovations are taking place. Monasteries seem to be everywhere in this region.
