Laura Beth in Germany

I met Amy randomly on the S-Bahn one Saturday after work. Since then we've been hanging out and exploring the region together. Last Monday we walked from her home in Kleiningersheim (she lives and works in a castle, by the way) to Besigheim through the forest, and yesterday I took her on tour of the Bottwar Valley, with its "broom pubs" and fortresses. (Photo credits go to her for this post.) We started our afternoon in Backnang, which isn't the Bottwar valley, but isn't too far away. It's a small town with a lot of shopping and a gorgeous "old city" on a hill above the river. We strolled the cobblestone streets in our summer dresses until we found a good cafe along the river where we ordered "Eiskaffees." Sounds liked an "iced coffee," right? Wrong! It's like a root beer float with caramel ice cream and coffee instead of root beer, tons of whipped cream and a wafer waffle on top. Wonderful! We sat in the sun and chatted