A number of years ago on American Television was a game show for kids called, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. So often I feel like Fräulein Carmen, except my program should be, Where in Germany Is Marcus Hochstadt and his Trusty Staff. I won’t however, make you guess clues—or play a silly game—the answer is Murr in Baden-Württemberg, along a river of the same name & pretty close to the Neckar.
It’s not unchartered territory, thousands of people live here now; and all sorts of big names in history have lived here at one point or another—Neolithic guys, Bronze and Iron Age folks, and even the Romans. I can only think that they just love the Swabian-Franconian Forest; or the great soil that’s perfect for viticulture.
Speaking of wine, there’s a lot of going on here in Murr. Wine tastings and wineries, all perfect to pair up with some scrumptious Swabian fare. No need to worry about your waistline, eat up—then go jump into the Mineralfreibad (with wave pool), play some tennis, do the hiking trails, and end with a tootsie soak at the Kneipp facility.
Still, as wonderful as all this is—it was Murr’s Village Church of St. Peter (b. 14th/15th century) that totally stood out in my head. Its wide tower and off-white walls under a dark stormy sky, framed by bright white houses managed to make me even speechless.
I also found that Murr is the perfect location for exploring around the region. Make Murr your base as you go see neighboring Benningen’s Jupiter Column; the Schiller National Museum & German Literature Archives in Marbach; and medieval Kloster in Steinheim.
You should know by now that a place like this is going to have a castle. You’re not all that far from Burg Lichtenberg. Cool, time to raid (I mean, visit) a medieval castle. Who’s with me?
I guess if I’m going to plunder a castle, the new name of the game would be: Where in Germany is not Marcus Hochstadt… ;-)