Having enjoyed the castle and sites in Reichelsheim, Collin and I took out our handy map, courtesy of the tourism office, and picked out the next town to visit. We set our sites on Neckergemünd. A little less than an hour from us we got ready and hit the road.

Driving through Odenwald is spectacular. A beautiful area of Germany lined with trees, mountains, and lush green spaces.

Arriving in town we found a parking spot on the street. Then realizing we didn't really know where we were or where to go I walked into a small museum hoping to find someone that spoke English. I ran into a lovely woman who gave us directions to the tourism office. Always the best place to start.

We found the office and got another handy map.

We stopped for lunch at Cafe Montescudaio which looked, from the website, to be a great spot for a quick bite before exploring town. The place was warm, inviting, and smelled of fresh coffee and pastries. The lovely waitress brought us menus and I kindly asked if she spoke English. She said "very little." I ordered two waters and we started perusing the very German menu.

I saw the word for sandwich. Score! Collin and I both pointed out the sandwich that we wanted to the waitress, not knowing what we were ordering. But we figured it would be good no matter what.

Collin loves taking pictures but he doesn't particularly like staged pictures. The lighting was fantastic in the cafe so I asked him to take my picture which he kindly agreed to. He snapped a picture, looked to see how it turned out said, "something is wrong with your face." I made a part annoyed, part amused look and he snapped another.

He's right though. Candid is more fun.

Our sandwiches came which were delicious thanks to our great pointing-at-the-menu skills. We then bundled up and headed out to explore while I casually dug out two chocolates that I had brought for dessert. (Kinder chocolate is the best!)

Checking out our map we decided to walk to a nearby ruin that was once the town castle. Collin read the map and lead the way. I am directionally deficient. I get lost all the time.

We found the ruins in between two unsuspecting homes. How fascinating would it be to live next to an ancient castle ground? Quite.

Reichenstein Castle was built in the 12th century and was suddenly abandoned in the 15th century. Only some wall fragments can be seen today. It proved to be an interesting site to see.

He can always get a true smile out of me.

The compound was quite impressive even though they are deemed ruins. I have a love affair with moss and ivy and this place was covered in it. My dream.

Our true selves come out when you snap a few pictures. Always silly, all the time.

We loved walking through the ruin and hope other people take the time to visit even though the tourism pamphlet leaves little to be desired in its description.

Having had our fill of ancient ruins for the day we headed towards Villa Menzer.

The villa was built in 1892 and is an example of Neo-Renaissance architecture.

Yet again another, "take a picture of me on this bench," opportunity.

Pretty cute though.

The River Neckar runs along the banks of town and we made our way down to see the views.

The river paints a picturesque scene of the nearby town.

We sat on a bench and relaxed a bit as the river flowed below us. Neckergemünd is a fantastic town to visit on a day trip. It is very close to Heidelberg which is a must see in Germany, so we hear.

Heading back to the car I was stopped by an interesting sight. The Neckergemünd Bookshelf. Leave a book, take a book. Great concept for exchanging and sharing beloved books.