Hameln to Rinteln, Detmold, Bad Meinberg, Korbach
As our onward route took us close to Rinteln, we thought we would go in search of the BMH (British Military Hospital) in Rinteln, as Geoff's youngest daughter was born there. We found the place, but all trace of the hospital, which was housed in a pre-war German barracks, is gone, and some rather posh houses now occupy the site. An unusual occurence - we found a completely free aire, so made use of this to park while we visited the town, a few minutes walk away across the bridge over the Weser, past Woolworths, and into the main street. There was a special farmers' market, and the market place and surrounding streets were packed with stalls and visitors; rabbits for sale, highland cattle (not for sale), old tractors, brush makers, basket makers, honey sellers, and nature conservation groups all vying for attention. What a pretty place! With all the highly coloured half timbered houses shown off to their best in the autumn heatwave! Having wandered around for an enjoyable hour or two, we continued on to our next aire.
We found the place at Detmold, but the aire was no longer there - the space being occupied by diggers and roadwork paraphernalia. Quick change of plan; we found another aire close by at Bad Meinberg, and very glad we did, as this was a superb spot and only 5 Euros, behind the health club, and a swimming pool two minutes away. We were looking forward to a swim after a super- hot day, but unfortunately, it being Sunday, the pool had just closed as we arrived. However, we made use of the facilities first thing in the morning, a lovely, very warm, full-sized indoor pool, and another outside: we were the only mad ones using the outside pool! 90 minutes for 5 euros: very reasonable.
Next to the Externsteine, a few miles away; an amazing geological feature, thought to be 70 million years old, a group of sandstone towers arise from wooded hills in the Teutoburg forest. They are about 35 metres high, and you can climb to the top of two of them. A central feature is a religious carving depicting Crist's descent from the cross, dated around 1150, and interestingly showing the characters in Saxon dress. A very modest admission fee of 1.50 and a free leaflet to boot! Before climbing the rocks, we walked around the latke at the site, or as the Germans with their predeliction for compound nouns, might say: Steinfelsengebirgewasserrundfahrtsweg !
On to Korbach, arriving about 4pm, and it was still hot and sunny, so we dicided to walk into the town. The TIC was still open, so we managed to get a Stadtplan (walking map) of the old town. Although there is 20th Century architecture here, the old town centre seems to be complete. There are a few whole streets of half timbered houses unbroken by any modern eyesore. On our walk, we noticed a gate to the tower in the city wall was open, so thought we would have a look. Having climbed a 3 or 4 storey staircase, we found ourselves in the middle of a group of schoolchildren, some dressed in medieval costume, with their teacher, who was somewhat surprised to see us arrive. She said something, and we think she was trying to make us leave, but spoke too quickly for us. When it was time for the children to go down, she directed us down too, and she locked the gates behind her as she came down. However, not before we had seen a fine view from the top.