European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Focus Germany Little Switzerland has a bit of every a european owl strikes a professional pose at the Feldenstein Castle in Neustadt Story and photos by Tony Nauroth Niernberg Bureau the brochures Call it bizarre and that is no Frankis Chc Schweiz could be Middle Earth in a Tolkien hobbits would feel right at Home among the gnarled Rock twisting Rivers and castles sculpted out of the porous Rock chimneys and Cliffs that curl inward d from top to the Franzische known to americans living in Germany As Little rests North of Nurnberg in the Triangle formed by the Frankfurt Munich and Nurnberg Berlin its a land of unending Surprise shoehorned into a 25by 30mile plateau of soft crisscrossed by valleys Cut by Swift streams teeming with its a land of mountains and name your its and is especially treasure Laden for the photographer and and the sunday drive the towns that seem to crawl up Steep or huddle in hidden Bear names ending in Hoehe or Fels Hill or most of the castles lie in or stand As timeworn jewels in Hilltop there fun to spot and scramble around but offer Little Are like the planets in our solar system there is a Promise of life somewhere out Feldenstein Castle has unexpected pay Marks about 80 cents at the Gate and step into a zoo built into the courtyards and Walls of the old you can scramble around the Walls and Dine in a the Castle is in Neuhaus Segnitz in the Southeast Corner of Little explore Maximilian Cave four Miles East of Greifenstein Castle in Heiligenstad houses a Fine collection of medieval it is also one of the Best kept castles of Little another Castle is Rottenstein perched on a pile of Rock boulders that shoots straight up from the the rooms Are preserved As a museum to 10thcentury life in the also in swim in the Felsen Pool scooped out of a Cliffside where divers leap into the Clear children will enjoy exploring devils the largest of the hundreds of caves peppered across Little Rottenstein lies at the Junction of three it is the heart of the by leaving North through you can Stop at the Bier und a Gasthaus and stuffed animal it fits into the surrounding setting but going West from youll find Tuch Ersfeld on route b470 the main route that splits the area North and the Franzische Schweiz which gives a Quick overview of the is housed in the Tuch Ersfeld driving South from youll find the most polished jewel where the pilgrims Basilica draws visitors to View the gothic shrine to Mary framed in its baroque across the Street from the Church is the Gasthoff try to make your Way into the Scheffel stube a Back room where the history of the von Scheffel family hangs on Wood birth signed photos and plaques share Wall space with regional Art and some Date to the Middle of the last while ask for the local specially this Caramel color Beer leaves a pleasant Hickory smoke flavor that lightly lingers for a few moments after it is brewed in Bamberg which anchors the northeastern Corner of Little other regional delights include for Ellen Trout and Brozeit a Light meal of cheeses and veggies that come in a variety of or perhaps youd prefer Franzische these Finger size sausages Are smothered in sauerkraut and make perfect companions to and for dessert Zwetch Eskuchen prune in Stop at the Pilger stube for a Glass of Streitberger its what All the pilgrims and there Are the churches and hilltops draw them from around the there Are Odd examples of paintings on the ceiling of the pilgrims Basilica in gos Weinstein illustrate Christian missionary scenes from around the for shows an american Indian in full feathered headdress being baptized by a franciscan the franciscan order maintains the Church and nearby pilgrims also gather each year on the first sunday in May to celebrate the walpurgis Chapel the tiny Chapel is the Only building on a plateau above the with its squared off looks like a Gigantic 1950s Flattop haircut trained with plenty of Butch stripes Magazine August