Mon 18/11/2019 – Thur 21/11/2019

Stay: AirBnB Hanhofen

Average Temp 4 – 8

Monday morning we had to deal with a flat tyre! An indicator had come on over the weekend but we hadn’t found any problem. Now we had found it… Rob tried to change it but the wheel wouldn’t come off so we rang the lease company for assistance which was included. A fellow arrived fairly efficiently but turns out it was more than the tyre, the rim was buckled!

The week before, when we left South Tyrol we had travelled some road that was storm damaged from all the recent rain and there were some big pot holes so we think that’s where the damage occurred.

So change of plan, we now have to get the whole wheel replaced. We decided to drive to Lindau as there is a dealer there and see if they can help.

On the way we spy this beautiful view of the Austrian Alps.

Up to 10 working days to order and get in a replacement wheel was the answer in Lindau so after some to-ing and fro-ing with Renault we decide to drive to a bigger centre to hopefully get it done quicker.

We decide on Mannheim which is on the way to Cologne, about half-way and as we had lost the morning there was only a few hours of daylight to drive in. I found accommodation on the way about 20minutes outside the city in Hanhoff and we arrived about 5pm. Along the way I took this pic of a German Autobahn and yes they drive very fast in the the far left lane!

Next morning we arrive at Renault early and they are very helpful but it takes some time as they basically have to reestablish the problem, talk to Renault, wait for them to come back etc but in the end the wheel is ordered and may be in by 2pm the next day, Wednesday. Not too bad!

We spend the next few hours doing a big walk, about 15 kilometres around Mannheim which was great fun!

Here’s what we found!

First up we head for the palace which is closed for renovations this year but still awesome from outside.

Then we cross the River Rhine and as we walk into Galleries a shopping centre looking for a warm drink we see a small Christmas market – our first one! They have a “Gluhwein” stand and of course we have to try one! Gluhwein is basically a sugar syrup with spice and OJ added and then reduced with red wine added to heat but not to a boil at the end (I made some later that week). The version we tried also had schnapps added so was very warming! Just the thing during a long cold walk.

As we walk we see many beautiful spaces in Mannheim. We cross the Rhine again and walk thru an industrial patch and come across this huge artwork, about 4 stories.

Later we pass through a green idyll in the heart of the city. Located around the water tower “Wasserturm” is one of the largest art nouveau complexes in Europe. Built to be one of the “most beautiful places in the world” it surprises you as it suddenly appears and yes it is very beautiful!

The Friedrichsplatz at the water tower “Wasserturm” would also be the perfect place to relax – if it wasn’t so cold out….

Statue of St Francis of Assisi by Martin Mayer

Tuesday we had a slow morning before going to the Technik Museum in Mannheim. The museum covers industrialisation in the Southern and Western regions of Germany. A great museum which would be even better if they included English in the information displays. Even so there where also lots of practical displays with English instructions so Rob and I had quite a bit of fun.

Finally got a call that they could fit our wheel the next day Thursday so we had to find a third night’s accommodation, this time we stayed in town close to the dealer.

Funny story about dinner. Rob and I had been eating in a lot so we thought we would try to find a typical German restaurant. Turns out there was a place around the corner from our stay – Gaststatte Odenwalder, reportedly the “best Schnitzel in town”.

So just before 7pm we head out – it’s freezing, the restaurant looks good, smells good and sounds busy, great! Great until we find they are packed, no tables.

No problem,we think we can wait a while so we go back to our place, wait another hour, really hungry now too, so once again we head to the restaurant… oh, no… still full.

The only other food nearby was Burger King…

That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Next day we get the new wheel fitted at 9am and we are off. Our next stop will be the Rhine region and then Cologne and the Christmas Markets.