A few days ago, Lori and I visited the small village of Bebenhausen (population 347) located in the middle of the Schönbuch forest--no more than 15 minutes from our house. It was founded in 1183 and served as the home for William II of Württemberg, who died in 1927.
Lori and I couldn't believe people actually live there. It's essentially
a large residential garden-paradise surrounded by beautiful, tall,
mature trees (Schönbuch forest). The prominent feature of the village
is the former Bebenhausen Abbey, a Cistercian monastery built the same
year the village was founded. It appears to be a museum now (we didn't
pay to go in).
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| View of the village, with the Bebenhausen Abbey and Castle rising above the trees |
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| Inside a courtyard of the castle/abbey |
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| An apple tree and castle tower |
As we walked around the village we were dumbfounded by the beautiful quaintness of the mini-gardens, stone streets, and the calm, quiet atmosphere.
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| Perfectly manicured yards surrounded by pastoral fields and forest |
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| They're growing GRAPES on their house...amazing! |
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| An Eden within an Eden |
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| That archway is almost certainly older than the United States |
We took a path away from the village and crossed into a "wildlife zone" whereby they have fenced significant acreage within the forest to serve as a protected area for animals. Here's the gate:
Finally, we decided to drive to one of the lakes within the Schönbuch. After passing through another beautiful town, we parked and walked on a makeshift path along the Neckar River until we got to the lake. People were out fishing and swimming--it was a perfect weather.
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| Gizmo leads the way on the path to the lake |
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| The Neckar River. Do you see the two swans? |
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| An old man, wearing nice clothes, fishing in an alcove that we stumbled upon. |
While walking back through the tree lined path along the lake, we had a very strong reminder that we indeed are not in the USA. The path was very narrow and somewhat muddy, thus if someone on a bike came, you had to step aside to let them pass. Well, a bicyclist was approaching so I told Lori "head's up," and I'm sorry I did, because the guy was completely nude. The smiling, naked man said, "Danke!" as he rode by Lori, Gizmo and I; our jaws dropped. We got a good laugh out of that... But we also learned to never borrow a German's bicycle.
