Stockerkahns and Bebenhousen

My second morning in Tübingen saw a mix of the Edinburgh gang meeting up with some locals for a breakfast cruise on a Stockerkahn (punt boat) on the River Neckar.  Despite all my fears, we did not capsize, and my sandal that tried to drown itself was rescued.  However, because the river was still so swollen and the current so fast, we did not get very far from the Stift (former Augustinian monastery, now a theological student residence) before we dropped anchor.  No photos of this adventure because I was afraid of dropping my camera into the river. 

That afternoon we were off to Bebenhausen. We met up with the rest of the Edinburgh gang to hike into the idyllic valley where the the town and the former Cistercian monastery can be found.  Highlights were the horses on the way there and the novelty masonry pretzel we found in the monastery!  It is not every day that you find a pretzel commemorated in stone, but Bretzels were invented in Swabia, so they are pretty chuffed with themselves.  :) So much fun and so exhausting!

This is a Stockerkahn.  It is about 3 times as long as an Oxford punt boat and the pole is around 18 feet long.

The Edinburgh gang before heading off.

Horses!  I am such a city girl that any signs of country living thrill me.

The descent to Bebenhausen begins.

Our destination.

Walking through the valley to the monastery, we came across some very pretty gardens.

Upon arrival at the monastery, we discovered yet another covered stairway.

Who goes in this high-up door?

In the gardens of the Cistercian monastery.  It was roasting outside but freezing inside the stone rooms!

There were a lot of really beautiful ceilings.  Some of them restorations of Medieval ones, some of them Victorian.

Matthew in the gardens.

Matthew chilling with the monks.

And for la pièce de résistance - a masonry bretzel!

View from the monastery.

More sleepy-looking roofs.