wordsmithlind

“This is the first most beautiful spot in Schwäbisch Hall where all American and Japanese tourists say, ‘Isn’t this romantic,’” my improvised guide said to me as we looked along the Kocher River from a covered bridge; the river formed by the foundations of the centuries old houses and buildings.  “You must take a picture.”  Obligingly, I did; he did not lie.  It was romantic; we don’t have anything similar to this in the US.  This would continue for the rest of the afternoon, “This is the second most beautiful spot…this is the third most beautiful spot…this is the forth…fifth…” Later I realized that these were not the spots that all American and Japanese tourists say are the most beautiful, but the spots he found to be the most beautiful as one of the spots was a view from the stairs of the Kunsthalle Würth, an impressive modern art museum in this medieval town of only 36,000.  (The current Alfred Hrdlicka exhibition is well worth the admission cost of € 0 as it consumed many hours of our time.)  As we crossed the river back into the town center, my guide once again said, “This is the sixth most beautiful spot in all of Schwäbisch Hall where all American and Japanese tourists say, ‘isn’t this romantic.’  It is like a mirror.”     

We continued walking through the thin cobblestone, carless roads at a leisurely pace now that the rain had ceased.  This town is a prime example of why most of Europe will be fine during the impending oil crisis while most of the US, suburbia in particular, will deteriorate—it is focused around a tight center, it lacks sprawl, and public transport is easily accessible.  The clip clops that once echoed off the buildings may someday seamlessly return replacing the roar of the internal combustion and no one would notice the difference.

We walked past the pizzerias, cafes, and occasional kebab shop and stopped in front of the steps of the 15^th century St. Michael’s Church where a local theater group practiced an upcoming performance.  Ironically enough the play was about 1950s Americana, the era that began it all—the sprawl, mass consumerism, big-box department stores, cookie cutter houses, car culture, poor urban planning—every that Schwäbisch Hall is not.   

photo by wordsmithlind

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