So this past weekend a friend from work and I headed down to Scwaebish Hall.  It turns out it is one of the oldest cities in Germany, one of the few that did not get destroyed in the war.  I took a bunch of pictures as we had wonderfully beautiful weather here this past weekend.  So far it has been nothing but blue skies on the weekend, something I can live with.

One of the first places we stopped at was this church, which was right in the center of town.  It was enormous and really beautiful.  Below are a few pictures from inside.

This is inside the hall.  Although this picture does not do it justice, you can still tell this place is huge, and old.

This was the giant pipe organ inside the hall.  Just like everything in here, this was super old too.  We did not get to hear it play but just the size was very impressive.

Directly behind the altar was this giant sculpture/painting.  I thought it was impressive so I took a picture.

They had these little 'memoiars' everywhere around the place.  I couldn't tell you what it said but it still looked really cool.

One of the strange things in the church was this small glassed over portion.  In it were many bones from a local grave site.  There was a small saying that went with it, something along the lines of "there is no meaning to life without death" or something... I can't remember exactly what it said.

This was the pattern everywhere on the ceiling.  Although not the Sistine Chapel, it was still impressive the amount of detail that goes into every last corner of the place.

Right at the base of the church steps was an open market with tons of carts all selling different kinds of food.  It was really impressive to see.  This building is the 'town hall' of this village.  I thought it looked very cool.

This was a fountain right outside the church.  The artwork into the fountain was pretty cool.  And, as you can see, even pigeons get thirsty.

Again, anohter shot of the market place in the front with a very common old German architecture in the background.  The buildings were amazing and deserved to be photographed.

We walked around the city and found some really nice areas.  Some of the really beautiful areas were on a small island with a park and flower gardens.  From the park you could see some amazing buildings and some really beautiful scenery.

There was a river flowing around the southern part of the city where the old city and some newer parts were separated.  You couldn't beat a shot like this and the weather, so perfect.

They had some unbelievable flower gardens there.  I just had to snap a few pictures.  And even still, my pictures do not do what was there half the justice they deserve.  They were simply breath taking.

Christoff and I wondered off the main street here and there to see what we could find.  In my opinion you never know what you might get, and we found a very narrow and steep alley with lots of stairs.  There were quite a few of these sections connecting streets in the city.

As you can see, the streets were packed with people on the really nice day.  There also happened to be a kids market place happening.  It was interesting to say the least.

Just outside the main hustle and bustle was a less populated street with quite a few shops and other things on it.  I found these couple of statues to be very interesting artwork.  They were definitely different than something you would normally see in the States.

An interesting clock tower on the same street.  The sky here is beautiful blue with not a cloud in sight.  This was the weather we had all weekend.  It was perfect.

One of the other places we stopped was an old castle.  It began being built in 1078, almost a thousand years ago!  We walked around the whole place.  There happened to be a wedding just finishing up that day as well.  What a great place for a wedding!

Just a few pictures from the castle.  Hope you enjoy!

I swear this picture is not a frame nor was it edited in post.  There was a location with a small sign and attached to it was a metal square.  As you can see, this house lined up perfectly within the square, so naturally, I had to take a picture!

 One of the last places we stopped was another castle on top of a hill.. some of the views were amazing, especially on such a clear day.  The village was really cool and definitely a place I would stop at again.

This is Christophe.  Sitting in an old sleigh.  It was in a small museum.  We had to take pictures!

So today I went on a bike ride.  I swear, there are nothing but hills here!  All day i was either in first gear or on the breaks.  It was nutty.  I finally got to a place above a vineyard and could see my entire village.  I though it was a pretty cool view so I took a picture or two.  In the middle of the picture is the hotel I am staying at.  It is kind of hard to pick out as hotels here are not like typical hotels in the States.

Just a few pictures I took while I rested.  Too. Many. Hills.

One of my colleagues lent me a bike to ride while I am in Germany which was super cool of him.  Here is my beautiful purple stallion.  I think she will be getting some miles on her over the next few months.

And, that is it for now.  Next weekend will bring more great adventures with more pictures.  In the mean time, don't be bashful, leave a comment or two and let me know what you think!

Ciao!