Pottenstein: Teufelshöhle

Hey everyone! Sorry I've neglected my blog for the past three weeks. I don't really have a great excuse except that I was in a funk and didn't have much motivation. But I'm back with a new post about our day trip exploring Tuefelshöhle, also known as The Devil's Cave.

Back in October, Nick and I decided to go back to Pottenstein with some of his friends to explore the Devil's Cave since we weren't able to see it last time we visited. Before we went to the Devil's Cave, we stopped at a restaurant in Pottenstein called Gasthof Schüttersmühle, better known as Steak on a Stone. The restaurant is pretty popular with the soldiers in our area because of their famous meal that features a sampler of diverse meats including ostrich, bison, kangaroo and alligator that you cook on a hot stone. They also have other "normal" meat options as well. Nick had been talking about how he was dying to eat at the restaurant so we decided to get lunch there. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food so I played it safe and ordered salmon but Nick ordered the sampler featuring the variety of meats. The kangaroo and bison were his favorites! 

After lunch, we headed to the cave and arrived just in time for the next tour to begin. Score! The Devil's Cave is a cave that features an array of limestone formations and is believed to be over 300,000 years old! Isn't that just crazy to even imagine? Inside the cave you can listen to a voice recording in German and English that explains the history of the cave and the details of the areas you walk through. One of the amazing things we saw inside the cave was a skeleton of a bear. I'm not sure how old the skeleton is but I'm sure it's quite old since everything else in the cave is ancient. The cave was extremely dark and we were allowed to take photos, but unfortunately flash wasn't allowed. Photos were taken with my iPhone so I apologize for the grainy quality.

I found our visit to Teufelshöhle to be interesting and exciting. I had never visited a cave before and to see such fascinating limestone formations and learn about the history of the cave was very intriguing to me. If you have a hard time walking long distances or are claustrophobic then you might not enjoy this cave but if you aren't, I would definitely check it out if you ever visit Bavaria!

A Short Trip to Pottenstein

Four day weekends are coveted and cherished among American service members living in Germany. It's the perfect opportunity to escape for a few days, whether it be near or far. Our plan for Labor Day weekend was to go visit Neuschwanstein Castle here in Germany in the Bavarian Alps. Nick and I were so excited to see such an amazing and historic castle. Unfortunately, Nick got some gnarly road rash on his right leg while playing kickball on Thursday. It's so bad that it's very painful for him to walk, let alone walk up stairs. I'd show you a picture but it's real nasty looking so I'll spare you the squeamish reactions. Anyway, after Nick's injury occurred, Neuschwanstein was pretty much out of the question. That castle has a massive amount of stairs and poor Nick would be in so much agony if we went. I'm not going to lie, I was bummed. But I know it's something Nick couldn't control so I sort of just shrugged it off.

Since we still wanted to explore but didn't want to go very far because of Nick's bum leg, we decided to drive 35 minutes to a nearby town called Pottenstein. I had seen pictures of Pottenstein through some of the Facebook groups online and it looked really neat. There are large stone mountain sides that surround the little town below, with random buildings hovering above. There are lots of trails nearby, caves and even a castle. Again, because of Nicks leg we couldn't do much of the trails, caves or castle. But we found a fun attraction in town called the Sommerrodelbahn, which literally translates to "Summer toboggan run".

It's sort of like a bobsled with levers on the side that you ride down the mountain. Even though Nick was in pain, he was a trooper and went on the ride with me. Let me tell you, it was pretty darn fast. Nick was laughing the whole time because he was having so much fun and also because I was screaming "slow down!" half of the ride. Nevertheless, it was a fun and thrilling experience. They also have a toboggan that rides on rails so we will need to check that one out next time we go. We really want to explore the caves and castle in town but we will have to wait till Nick's leg is healed. Even though Pottenstein is a small town, it is unique and has a lot to offer those who are seeking a low-key day trip.