Stuttgart & Hechingen

Since i was already at the airport, i thought of taking a quick look at the city. Asked Jane to take me to the centre, some parking closeby. And I emerged on the surface directly in the Schillerplatz, lively on a Sunday fresh fruit market.





The big church on the left turned out to be the cathedral





Wanted to get in, but it was opening only at 10, it was only half past 9, so i went on looking for the “centre”. Turned out i was right next to the big square with the 2 palaces, the new (big one in front) and old (just a part is seen, on the right).





Went inside the old one, has a cool court





Back to the main square





i played a bit with some aquatic photos





and turned back to Schillerplatz





from where i suddenly felt like cherries. Mmmm. There was a fountain close to the church, perfect for washing and enjoying the cherries





before moving on to the next objective of the day: Hechingen.

...

I had heard about Hechingen from Ms. S and Mr. N, our hosts in München, who described it as an insider tip - the most famous Hohenzollern castle is at Sigmaringen, but this one, at Hechingen, is a hidden gem.

And when I saw it from far away





it reminded me of a book with germanic fairytales from when i was a kid, where they were talking about a dark count of Zollern.
And indeed, i was to find out that this hill was called Zollern hill, and at its top





was the impressive Hohenzollern fortress, site of origin for the famous royal family of Hohenzollern.





Walked up on a steep path with a green sealing





to finally get to the fortress gate.





To get to the courtyard you had to pass through a spiraled way guarded by a tall wall





and then through a tunnel





where you could see stuff like this through the windows





and bang, the main courtyard





of course featuring a canon, skillfully operated by a brave warrior.





Did the fortress tour, guided, unfortunately no pictures. Pretty neat. One of the highlights was the family tree right at the beginning, featuring Carol I, Carol II, Ferdinand I and Michael I of Romania - the kings of Romania between 1881 and 1947 were from the Hohenzollern family.
After the tour, i checked out the dungeons (is this the word?), where you can see the rock which the foundation was built on, and some cool corridors.





Out in the sun again, i enjoyed a traditional german gourmet meal - sausage and french fries, and, after a last look at Svabia extending beautifully in front of our eyes,





I left.