The Romantic Road to Rothenburh ob der Tauber, Germany -July 14, 2011

Today we get a rental car and the plan is to drive "the Romantic Road" to the famous medieval walled town of Rothenburg ob Tauber (aka Rothenburg, although there are several so you need the ob der Tauber for gps etc). The Romantic Road is so-named because it is supposed to be a cute, small and winding road through old villages with castles etc. Well, you can't program Romantic Road on the gps, it isn't marked on a map and the Internet maps of it are too general and don't have route numbers. So, not be foiled, I just plug in different cities/towns I know are on the route and we just hopscotch along. We stop in the small town of Dinkelsbuhl for lunch.


It too is an old medieval walled town, but smaller and allegedly less touristy than Rothenburg. We have lunch in a typical hotel/restaurant, made with timber and plaster and walls decorated -inside and out-with painted pictures.


Pancake Noodle soup for lunch with the ever-wonderful and present German bread and butter.


The town Cathedral...









This par of Germany is famous for Schneeballs (literally snowballs).



We try some, but they look better than they taste...they are like strips of pie dough squished together in a ball with some frosting.

We get to Rothenburg around 4:30, a good time because the big tour buses have left.


It is a world- famous walled-town that has essentially been preserved untouched since the 1600s.
It was was sacked during the 30 Yars War and the town afterwards was literally too poor to modernize and rebuild. It was discovered by artists, writers and early tourists in the late 1800s. The town then worked to preserve its history and it his been a attraction that allows tourists to step back in time ever since. This is part of the wall where the city soldiers could pour hot oil and tar on threatening invaders...


We take a tour with the famous "Night Watchman" - there were 6 of them patrolling the town every evening until around 1920.


Afterwards, we explore along the city walls.





We sleep in a hotel within the walled town and the clock tower rings the hours (luckily, not too loudly) until we have to get up again and be on our way.


-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Bavaria to Fraconia, Germany