Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Today we moved on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and I’ll say this right up front … put this place on your list of places to visit. If the likes of Venice is special to you, then add Rothenburg. Yes it’s busy, but so is Venice! This place is brilliant (even on a gloomy day). Medieval history at its best.
But back to the start of today. Waking up it was grey and raining lightly. After breakfast we settled up with Basil and went for a short walk. Here’s a couple of pics.  First… the local train rolls through. Umm… city council… please get those weeds sprayed and removed!

Kath spotted this van and thought the asparagus was something else.

The junction of the Tauber and Main rivers at Wertheim Am Main.
Crossing the bridge back into town.

It’s market day. Germans love their bread. Plenty to pick from here.

It’ll be mostly brief commentary today. We’ve just done the hilarious night watchman tour and then went to Hell and back (the restaurant that is).  Entertainment plus. Pics on that tomorrow. Ok.. moving on to cover the rest of today. More building art (part of a mural).

Building art. What’s up with the skinny dog?

For all the smokers (are there any left in NZ?). Street vending machine prices to make you weep.

So it’s back to the car and on the road. We avoid the A3 because the delays surely remain (even though it’s now Saturday). Instead we instruct Herman to head across country to destination Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The GPS is set, but wait. We’re heading into what appears to be Hicksville. Through some steep and tiny Wertheim streets and out into a field! Here it is.

Eventually we connect to a sort of main road and continue. Plenty of poppies along the roadside.

Kath is on passenger photo duty. A road sign. We know of Wurzburg but that’s not where we’re going. As for everything else. Ummm pass. Keep going Herman!

Now you know you’re out in the wops.

A random town photo. They all kinda look like this.

No payments modernisation here.

Soon Rothenburg ob der Tauber comes into view. Well done Herman.

We parked up at our hotel which is nicely situated just outside the old town walls. After checking in and gaining some good advice from the hotel owner we headed off to explore. In the car park we have a Fiat enthusiast’s pride and joy. Check it out!

Trivia: Rothenburg ob der Tauber (meaning “Red fortress above the Tauber”) is pronounced: as follows: Roll the first R. ‘Rort-in-borg-obb-duh-tower-buh’). It is a medieval town situated on the 180km long Romantic Road (Romantischestrasse). The Romantic Road road meanders through hamlets, medieval walled villages, and 2,000-year-old towns established by the Romans. We’ll visit two of them on this trip.
Rothenburg was hailed as “the most German of German towns”.   It had a special significance for Hitler and the Nazi ideologists.  It was the epitome of the German ‘Home Town’ for them, representing all that was quintessentially German. In March 1945 German soldiers were stationed in Rothenburg to defend it. However, bombs were dropped on Rothenburg destroying about 300 houses, some public buildings, watchtowers, and part of the wall. This was too much for the local military commander who ignored the order of Adolf Hitler for all towns to fight to the end. He gave up the town, thereby saving it from total destruction by the allied artillery. After the war, the residents of the city repaired the damage.
Let’s climb this tower. Rodertor (1280) is the only tower from which we can climb to the top and grab a few photos. Up we go.

Kath on the covered wall. The city wall that surrounds the town is 3.5kms long. We’ll walk it tomorrow.

Views from Rodertor.

Our hotel (upper right).

How did they get permission to plant wind turbines here?

Back down. Muzza on the wall. Yes the jacket is on. It is not a tropical summer day. It’s about 13C, but ok for wandering around. Here we get the same ol’ story from the locals. The weather has been brilliant and the farmers have been crying out for a break. They got one, and we didn’t.

Ok… street names and tower name come later. I’ll need to hit the sack. Here’s a few shots around town.


Hey Stephan. If I’m following the street sign logic, does this sign mean the beyond this point we’re leaving the mother & child zone? 🙂

Street art.

Marilyn! A bear blowing bubbles from a second floor window. Smart bear.

Building art.

More bears Marilyn. A shop full of them!! And two were out front.

The Master Builder’s House is on Schiemedgasse close to the Market square. Back in the day builders were a well respected labour group and they lived in ‘flash’ houses. This one is from 1596, and not much was spared in the ornate decor of the outside.

Some Master Builder’s House artwork.



People are gathered in Marktplatz on the hour. Why? The City Councillors’ Tavern is one of the most famous buildings in Rothenburg. Be here on the hour, any hour between 11am and 3pm, and also between 8pm and 10pm to see the show of the legendary “Master Draught”. The legend goes back to the year 1631, during the 30 Years War, when Catholic troops attacked and occupied Protestant Rothenburg. The Catholic general, Tilly, threatened to plunder and destroy the city, but then changed his mind and decided to spare the town from destruction, if a Councillor could manage to empty an enormous tankard containing 3 1/4 litres of wine in one draught. The former mayor, Nusch, accomplished this task and by doing so saved his city. Here is the mayor raising his glass a few times!

The Rathaus (town hall dates from 1250-1440).

Rathaus art.

And more.

Marktplatz.

Fountain art. Marktplatz.

Around town.


Kathe Wohlfahrt’s massively expensive Christmas shop.

See what I mean.


We keep walking.


Another bear shop for Marilyn (with free dog thrown in). You’d love it here!

Restaurant art.

Outside the walls. And a church was built here because??

To the Höll. This is the oldest building in Rothenburg, with the rear part of the building dating back to around 900 and the front to 1520. It’s now a medieval tavern / restaurant with a saying “To hell – a warm welcome awaits you.” The “holl” was once the name of the street it’s located in, a dark and gloomy street in Rothenburg situated between two walls. This is where we dined and drank tonight after the night watchman tour.

Random street shots.


We called in to this bakery for afternoon coffee.

The postcard picture of Rothenburg. The sky looks threatening but we only got a few spots before the sun eventually broke through.

Closer.

Shopping.

Back up the same street.

OMG check this out. Didn’t see many but they were around. Selfie sticks look oh so bad.

Street art.

Beautiful.

Building art.

You can be driven around in any number of vehicles.

Window display.

Heading back to the unit to freshen up and slop some wine.

Best house in town, tucked away beside the wall.

The stretch between Rodertor and Roedentor Gate (1615).

The hotel looms.

View from our conservatory.

We’d been to the supermarket earlier in the day. The pepper coated cheese was brilliant!

All slopped down with the expensive bottle of red. Very drinkable and ridiculously priced.

Beers for JB (incl prices). There’s even one named after Paula!

Ok.. that’s it for now.  At this point we made our way back into town for the night watchman’s tour and a trip to Hell.  More on that later. Guten nacht!