Day 6 - Dollnstein to Eichstätt

Peterstor at Dollnstein

Across the juniper heath

Our walk took us past some great rock formations and just above the small village of Obereichstätt before we made a steep climb to a long seat with great views across the valley. We passed a shepherd who was moving along a flock of sheep and a few goats.  I walked along alone for a time and at one stage came under the very serious, watchful gaze of a billy goat.  He was giving me a look to make it very clear "you're not shagging any of my women mate!"  So I walked on.

Rock formations above Ober-Eichstätt

At the top of the plateau we saw a sign to Museum Berger which was situated in yet another stone factory at Blumenberg.  This turned out to be a quite a highlight.  There we saw a great private collection of fossils found within the jurassic limestone mined from the quarries.  This is the real Jurassic Park - a fascinating once maritime world now 500m above seal level. There were complete fossils of fish, stingrays, shrimps, crabs and ammonites.  A little further on you could visit a quarry and be provided with glasses and tools and search for fossils of your own.

Marktpatz, Eichstätt

Residenzplätz, Eichstätt

Left Dollnstein via the historic "Peterstor" town gate and walked through a forest path and across a juniper heath with great views of the valley below.  More wild raspberries to sample along the way and we also tried the juniper berries from one of the many wild juniper bushes on the heath. 

Not surprising to see quality stone in the cemetery at Dollnstein

View from the juniper heath

A reward for a steep climb

Beautifully preserved in hte limestone

But we kept going and soon we were in sight of Eichstätt, a small city overlooked by the large Willibald castle.  We walked close to 270 degrees around the city perimeter before descending into the town to find our accommodation.

Eichstätt is quite a grand baroque city - clearly a place that has enjoyed substantial wealth during its history: great facades and large squares.  But its origins date back to Roman times and then the establishment of Christianity in the region in the 8th century. It has always been predominantly catholic and today is home to Germany's only Catholic University.

The city was destroyed during the Thirty Years War and its baroque appearance is a result of the subsequent rebuilding in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Unlike its larger neighbours (Munich, Nürnberg and Ingolstadt) it was never industrialised and fortunately escaped the worst ravages of the wars in the 20th century

We sampled the locally brewed Hofmühl beer at Cafe Cortina, just across the square from Hotel Adler followed by a pizza and salad at Tartufo, an Italian restaurant within the hotel.   

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