This little blip on a map is worth a visit if you are nearby.
Although Pottenstein isn't large or even well known, it is certainly an underrated town in Bavaria!
We went to Pottenstein on a whim, and met a few of my husband's work buddies (and their families) there. The only thing on our agenda for the day was the Devil's Cave, otherwise known as Teufelshöhle, in German.
We arrived a bit ealier than everyone else, and wandered around the area. There's a lovely walking trail that leads to a lake down the road, and the cave itself hosts a neato terrace cafe that's embedded into the rock of the hill (or small mountain?).
Once everyone arrived, we bought our cave tickets (€12 for our family of six) and headed inside!
The cave is temperature cool inside, but on a 90 degree day, it was a nice escape from the heat.
*For those who live in my area and plan to visit: If it helps any, my children ditched their sweaters in the car, and they survived the cave's temperature without any complaining. I wore a cardigan and felt comfortable.
The tour guide spoke English, but his tour was given in German. When he was done talking in each part of the cave that we stopped, an English voice would come on a PA sort of system and explain details of where we were. Unfortunately, you don't have much time to stop and listen. By English sentence two on the intercom, the tour guide is shuffling everyone to the next stage of the tour.
The cave is much bigger than the tour leads on, and I can imagine getting lost if there weren't any guides, roped barriers or signage. I have visited two different tours at the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, USA, and I have to say, this one actually gave us more to look at in terms of stalagmites and cave wonders.
After finishing our cave tour, I knew where I wanted to go: Sommerrodelbahnen. That literally translates to 'Summer Toboggan Run. And it's exactly as it sounds!
If you follow the path past the cave, you're rewarded with a beautiful blue lake. Seriously, the color of it is unreal. The lake has canoes and paddle boats available for rent, and also a lakeside cafe. If you continue past the parking lot, you cannot miss the Sommerrodelbahnen. The uphill track is visible from the main road.
Once you get up, you're on your own. Pushing the handles forward moves the toboggan faster. Pulling back brakes it. I flew down that dang mountain until I came up behind a slow old man who was cruising at the speed of a drunk snail. There is no way around a slow rider, so I purposely stopped (no one behind me) and waited until the man was out of sight so that I could go fast on the remainder of my run. My plan worked!
At the end of our three-four-ish minute ride, we bought some slushies for the kiddies for €1 each, and took a break in the hot sun before walking back.
It was a nice little get-a-way day from post, and we definitely plan to go back and rent a canoe soon!
Although Pottenstein isn't large or even well known, it is certainly an underrated town in Bavaria!
We went to Pottenstein on a whim, and met a few of my husband's work buddies (and their families) there. The only thing on our agenda for the day was the Devil's Cave, otherwise known as Teufelshöhle, in German.
We arrived a bit ealier than everyone else, and wandered around the area. There's a lovely walking trail that leads to a lake down the road, and the cave itself hosts a neato terrace cafe that's embedded into the rock of the hill (or small mountain?).
Once everyone arrived, we bought our cave tickets (€12 for our family of six) and headed inside!
The cave is temperature cool inside, but on a 90 degree day, it was a nice escape from the heat.
*For those who live in my area and plan to visit: If it helps any, my children ditched their sweaters in the car, and they survived the cave's temperature without any complaining. I wore a cardigan and felt comfortable.
The tour guide spoke English, but his tour was given in German. When he was done talking in each part of the cave that we stopped, an English voice would come on a PA sort of system and explain details of where we were. Unfortunately, you don't have much time to stop and listen. By English sentence two on the intercom, the tour guide is shuffling everyone to the next stage of the tour.
The cave is much bigger than the tour leads on, and I can imagine getting lost if there weren't any guides, roped barriers or signage. I have visited two different tours at the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, USA, and I have to say, this one actually gave us more to look at in terms of stalagmites and cave wonders.
After finishing our cave tour, I knew where I wanted to go: Sommerrodelbahnen. That literally translates to 'Summer Toboggan Run. And it's exactly as it sounds!
If you follow the path past the cave, you're rewarded with a beautiful blue lake. Seriously, the color of it is unreal. The lake has canoes and paddle boats available for rent, and also a lakeside cafe. If you continue past the parking lot, you cannot miss the Sommerrodelbahnen. The uphill track is visible from the main road.
My husband is a sour puss and didn't want to go, but the kids and I sure did. I cannot remember the individual prices but I paid €13 total for each of us to ride once. We got in line, which moves really fast, and grabbed a toboggan.
The toboggans are on tracks during the beginning for the initial ascent up the hill. My dumb ass sat there pushing forward on the handle controls thinking I was helping my toboggan move faster uphill. NOPE. I looked around and realized everyone else was just chillin in their toboggans. The lift does all of the uphill work for you!Once you get up, you're on your own. Pushing the handles forward moves the toboggan faster. Pulling back brakes it. I flew down that dang mountain until I came up behind a slow old man who was cruising at the speed of a drunk snail. There is no way around a slow rider, so I purposely stopped (no one behind me) and waited until the man was out of sight so that I could go fast on the remainder of my run. My plan worked!
At the end of our three-four-ish minute ride, we bought some slushies for the kiddies for €1 each, and took a break in the hot sun before walking back.
It was a nice little get-a-way day from post, and we definitely plan to go back and rent a canoe soon!
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