[Apr. 2025] After enjoying a boat ride in Tübingen, Germany, it was time for lunch.
We hurried to a restaurant we’d planned to go, Gasthaus Baren.
The reason we were rushing was because the previous day in Esslingen, we almost ended up lunch-starved.
But there was no need for that.
On such a nice day, everyone seemed to want to eat outside, so there were free tables inside.
The restaurant was small and old, with a lot of charm.
The menu was handwritten in a notebook.
We ordered schnitzel and sausage, dishes we’d always wanted to try since we were in Germany, and achieved our goal.
That was what we thought, but what arrived was quite different from what we expected.
First of all, the schnitzel was actually a quite small piece of fried chicken.
The thing we ordered, thinking it was sausage, turned out to be potatoes.
To be precise, it was small pieces of potato mixed with egg and shredded chorizo-like sausage.
Well, it wasn’t bad either.
We had learned the previous day in Esslingen that the cuisine around here is Swabian, and it seems that, like Italy, food varies greatly from region to region in Germany.
Come to think of it, a long time ago when we visited Hölstein in western Germany, we had a rather surprising dishes.
For dessert, we decided to play it safe and shared an Apple Strudel between the two of us.
This was also a little different from what you get in Italy, softer and more mushy, and smothered in a generous cream sauce.
It was delicious.
With a half litre of house red and coffee, the bill came to €59.30.
On the way here, and throughout our walk around town, the old town was lined with typical German half-timbered houses, offering plenty of photo-worthy views.
Although similar to Esslingen the previous day, the old town was quite large, and the fine weather made the colourful streets shine brightly.
Like Esslingen, the Market Square here is also home to the Rathaus (town hall), a famous landmark.
Apparently, it was originally built in 1435 as a two-story building, but was gradually remodelled to become four stories tall, including a basement.
Before becoming a fully-fledged town hall, it was apparently used as a hospital, prison, and shop.
It’s still a proper town hall, so employees commute to work in such a charming building.
We headed for Hohentübingen Castle, known for its excellent views.
