Old Retired Guy Blog

July 2 - 4, 2010

Our hotel, the
Gästehaus Familie Gerlinger.

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Page 1 of 2)

Note: This is part 4 of the authorized edition of The Anderson's European Vacation.

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We left the Rhine River Valley today and headed farther south, farther east, and further back in time.  Once again we got side-tracked a bit by the supposedly marvelous German trains.  The first leg of the journey was on time, but as we waited for our connection there was an announcement about our train.  I could understand that it was not coming but I couldn't understand what we were supposed to do about it.  I asked someone about it but all she could suggest was that we go to the information desk.  The woman at that desk efficiently provided us with a new route.  Instead of our original 4-leg route that should have taken 4.5 hours, we now had to follow a 5-leg route that would take 5.5 hours.  Finally, at about 4 PM (or 16:00 as they would say in Germany), we arrived in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and made our way to the Gästehaus Familie Gerlinger. 

After unpacking, we headed out to wander the streets of town.  Rothenburg's narrow streets are narrower, its winding streets wind more, and its quaint buildings are quainter than in the previous places that we visited.  It's setting in the north of Bavaria is along a route that the tourist industry has dubbed the Romantic Road, not because you'll fall in love with someone there, but because it is old and rustic and out in the country.  It's supposedly the best preserved medieval town in Germany.  I was in Rothenburg in 1966, but the bus I was on arrived quite late and had to leave right after breakfast the next morning, so I didn't see very much.

In the evening we watched the 8 PM performance of the town clock where a mechanical scene portrays the mayor of Rothenburg drinking over three liters of wine without stopping to save the town from destruction in 1631.  The story sounds a bit far-fetched to me but maybe his wife believed it.  The performance was a bit underwhelming.  The still photos below are easily as exciting as the actual performance.

 
Left:  The mayor chugs down over three liters of wine.
Right:  The mayor has finished chugging down over three liters of wine.

We finished the evening with a dish of strudel and ice cream.  Great on another hot day.  Then we walked along part of the town wall.  A lot of medieval towns were surrounded by walls.  That was a large part of the defense budget in those days.  Most town walls are gone now and only the decorative gates remain.  Not in Rothenburg.  You can climb up on top of the wall and walk around the entire old town.  I imagine, however, that in the 12th century you would walk the wall carrying a sword in anticipation of smiting an enemy.  Now you either look back over the old houses in town or peek through the narrow cross-bow accessible windows to view the surrounding countryside or newer parts of town outside the wall.

     
Left:  The Western Gate to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Center:  A stairway leading to the top of the town wall.
Right:  Doors and passageways at the bottom of the wall.

'Rothenburg ob der Tauber'
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