Bad Urach & Esslingen, Germany

8 min readApr 25, 2019

I started the morning with a beautiful drive east from Mössingen to Schloss Lichtenstein. It felt like I had the road to myself, which is a rarity in Germany. I passed through rolling farmland full of green fields and tidy towns.

Schloss Lichtenstein clung impossibly close to the edge of a steep valley. I kept wondering how many people fell out of the windows over the centuries. The view was that mesmerizing (and precarious).

I’d read there are something like 20,000 castles throughout Germany. I think very few would rival Schloss Lichtenstein for dramatic setting.

I hit the road again and headed north toward the town of Bad Urach (not easy to pronounce in English). The word “bad” in German roughly means “spa”. This was a certified spa town.

While no one was around me on the road, I slowed and snapped this photo out the windshield. It gives you some idea of how pleasant the rural countryside is in this part of Baden-Württemberg.

Bad Urach was a surprise. I’d read several glowing reviews of the town but it far exceeded my expectations. The well-preserved medieval core was a fachwerk-lovers dream. There were half-timbered buildings in every direction.

I spent several hours in Bad Urach just wandering the winding streets. It should be higher up on tourism lists. I felt like I was the only non-German there. Bad Urach provided an authentic look at “regular” Germany.

Funny story: I received a personal tour of Bad Urach’s magnificent Church of Saint Amandus. The man in the photo below was carefully cleaning a carving on an exterior wall when I walked by. I watched him for a bit and then opened the massive church doors and went inside.

I was the only (living) soul in the church. I took my time admiring the stonework as I walked slowly past the alter. The woodwork on the choir stalls caught my attention and I leaned over a roped-off section to take a close-up of one of the carved faces. My sunglasses slid off my shirt before I could catch them and fell inside the stall. Of course they made an incredibly loud clatter as they came to rest on the wood floor.

I glanced around and still saw no one else in the church, so I pulled up the rope and quickly slipped under to retrieve my sunglasses. Just as I put the rope back, the man I’d seen outside bounded into the alter area. I think he’d heard my clatter. Trust me, it was VERY loud in this silent setting.

He eyed me a bit suspiciously but I quickly asked him a question about the carvings. His entire demeanor changed. He launched into an intense personal tour of the church, speaking fast German. He showed me details I would have otherwise missed. I left him with a handshake as he happily returned to his work outside.

Eventually I found an outdoor cafe and settled into a small corner table. I like to sit where I can see out into the Markplatz. It also gives me an opportunity to watch the Germans in a relaxed setting. No one is ever in a hurry during meals here. I took in the setting and enjoyed my fresh Wurstsalat for lunch.

My next stop was the town of Kirchheim unter Teck. It was much busier than Bad Urach, as market day had just concluded on the square. Workers were scurrying around, packing up their remaining produce and trays of flowers.

Someone had a huge 1950s-era Cadillac in the parking lot. I had no idea how they afforded gas here. Currently, it’s about $8.80 a gallon by my calculations.

I’ve noticed that I don’t see as many World War II memorials as I do for the first World War and the 1870s Franco-Prussian War which united Germany. I thought from a distance the memorial in Kirchheim was for WWII but on closer inspection, the inscriptions read 1914–1918.

Being so close, I couldn’t help but drive a bit further north to Esslingen. I interned with a company here after Auburn and it always feels like going home. It’s nice to know places don’t change much through the years.

Well, the toys do get better…

Esslingen would be one of the first places I’d recommend for people to visit in Germany. Although it’s close to Stuttgart, it wasn’t damaged during the war. I believe it was one of the largest towns not to be bombed. Thus, its historical Altstadt is intact and original. Vineyards cover the surrounding hills.

I wasn’t completely certain but I think this was the house where Aunt Patty and Uncle Roger stayed when they came to visit me in Esslingen. I do remember that we rolled out an onion festival for their arrival (ha).

I visited the lovely Frauenkirche and was happy to see the renovations that were underway during my last visit in 2015 had been completed. The scaffolding was gone.

Inside, the church still offered rolled-up posters for sale on the honor system. There was also an exhibit that provided details on the renovation and the celebration after it was completed in 2016.

Esslingen’s main commercial street near the Bahnhof actually had changed quite a bit. They had an indoor mall now with all the big German department stores and food shops.

I had no idea there were Zeppelin watches. I’ll have to research.

The climb up to the old castle walls was still as steep as ever. Once at the top and looking over town, everything seemed exactly as I remembered it.

A climb like that deserved a Weihenstephaner.

I greatly enjoyed my afternoon in Esslingen. I had an opportunity for a full-time job here after my internship was over and I sometimes wonder what it would have been like had I chosen to take it. Perhaps not much would be different at all.