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… ;-)
