In order to accomplish one of my 2013 Goals, we needed to visit Rothenbug ob der Tauber. Somewhere on a long drive to Prague, I realized that I have actually visited almost all of Rick Steves' Best of Europe recommended locations. Lisa gave me the book as I left for our European Adventure and we used it on several occasions.
Rothenburg is a beautifully preserved medieval town in Bavaria. When we were planning this diversion, Jeff kept saying how it sounded like Frankenmuth, Michigan which was in fact settled by Germans from the Franconian region of Bavaria (aka Rothenburg). So, I suppose he knew what he was talking about? Further along the way, he told me that he had also visited an authentic medieval town like this somewhere in Germany. Turns out, when we got to Rothenburg, Jeff realized that this was his second visit. This is like visiting the Neuschwanstein castle without realizing it inspired Cinderella's castle, or watching Austin Powers multiple times without getting the James Bond reference :)
We arrived on Easter Weekend and it was definitely the shoulder season in Germany. Since the tourists had yet to arrive, we found plenty of open restaurants and streets for sightseeing. The days were still cold and grey, but the town had decorated with hand painted hollowed eggs.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber means Red Fortress over the Tauber River. The medieval city walls were built to surround a castle high on a plateau over the river below. The walls are topped with red tiled roofs matching most of the buildings in the town. You can hike around the town via the wall and get some great views.
There were several gates still standing as well and we really enjoyed the scenery, apparently unchanged for thousands of years. Our guest house had also been around for many years and due to the family holiday, we were able to get the room with these four front facing windows. We enjoyed the modern bar in the basement and a young bartender who gave us all of her 'mistakes'.
We found some great treats in town but our favorite was the Italian gelato. We met up with a family that runs a wonderful gelateria in Rothenburg during the tourist season (they had just opened up for Easter) and then goes home to ski all winter in the Dolomites. Very nice life! Well, you can certainly see the resemblance to Brugges in this picture as opposed to the other very German looking buildings. We were glad to have visited Rothenburg, but as Jeff might say, once you've seen Frankenmuth, you've seen it all.
We arrived on Easter Weekend and it was definitely the shoulder season in Germany. Since the tourists had yet to arrive, we found plenty of open restaurants and streets for sightseeing. The days were still cold and grey, but the town had decorated with hand painted hollowed eggs.
There were several gates still standing as well and we really enjoyed the scenery, apparently unchanged for thousands of years. Our guest house had also been around for many years and due to the family holiday, we were able to get the room with these four front facing windows. We enjoyed the modern bar in the basement and a young bartender who gave us all of her 'mistakes'.
We found some great treats in town but our favorite was the Italian gelato. We met up with a family that runs a wonderful gelateria in Rothenburg during the tourist season (they had just opened up for Easter) and then goes home to ski all winter in the Dolomites. Very nice life! Well, you can certainly see the resemblance to Brugges in this picture as opposed to the other very German looking buildings. We were glad to have visited Rothenburg, but as Jeff might say, once you've seen Frankenmuth, you've seen it all.
