Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Wurzburg

 

The Plönlein in Rothenburg

Rothenburg ob der Tauber 

Rothenburg deserves its own post and it nearly gets one. I first visited when my kids were still kids along with my mother and her husband Don. We enjoyed this town so much I was excited to share it with Dermot but also a bit fearful it wouldn’t live up to my memory. Not to worry, Rothenburg still delivers as the king of medieval German cuteness. If you have any interest in coming to this area, do yourself a favor and download Rick Steve’s free Audio Europe app and download the Rothenburg Town Walk and listen to it either before or while you look at our pictures. 

Click here for photos, (i) for information

We arrived at Campingplatz Tauber-Idyll which is small but tidy and, unbeknownst to us before arrival, is set in the tiny town of Detwang which is one of the oldest villages in Franconia - dated 968. Google maps estimated it was only a 16 minute bike ride to Rothenburg so we broke out the bikes and headed in. The first part of the ride along the river is nice but then we were at the bottom of a hill. Pushing our bikes up the 100 meter height elevation to get into town was no picnic. Once in, we locked up our bikes and went to the recommended Hotel-Gasthof Goldener Greifen restaurant for a nice dinner in their biergarten. 

We roamed a bit while waiting for the Night Watchman’s Tour to begin. I still remember parts of the tour and even the face of our guide and was excited to see the same man all these years later. He led a group of over 50 people through the town and managed to describe the miserable conditions and superstitions prevalent in the medieval ages; the catastrophe of the town being ransacked in the Thirty Years war; the bubonic plaque and 250 years of extensive poverty with equal parts humanity and humor. I took pictures of him and sent them to Julianna who asked if I paid him in salt - a reference to the tour she experienced 20 some odd years ago! A very proud mom moment for me. 

Our bike ride back down to camp in the dark was harrowing because, though I had remembered to bring extra batteries for our bike lights, I had forgotten they recharge via usb so only Dermot’s light worked. I also had plenty of time to ponder the fact that I had no idea what shape our bike brake pads were in after multiple years subjected to neglect and wide ranging temperatures. 

Walking the walls - fun and gorgeous!

The next two days we spent in typical tourist fashion - following the guided walk, admiring the medieval architecture, shopping, strolling through the walled town, and visiting the Rothenburg Museum. We were very lucky that there were relatively few tourists especially on Monday when we nearly had the place to ourselves as we walked along the top of the walls and enjoyed a bird’s eye view into residents’ back gardens in town as well as the countryside and orchards outside the walls. 

 . . . and Würzburg

We only had one day in Wüzburg and we avoided going into town until the worst of the heat had passed so we didn’t really do it justice. We took RS’s guided walk  to the bridge but didn’t enter the Residenz (it was near closing time). The standout to me was the memorial adjacent to the City Hall (Rathaus). “Gedenkraum 16 März 1945” commemorates the Allied bombing that resulted in a firestorm that destroyed nearly every downtown building. Most residents survived in bomb shelters but the 5,000 mostly women and children who died were either burned alive, crushed under fallen buildings or smothered in underground shelters. That has haunted me for days. It's remarkable that the city is so engaging after undergoing such devastation. After strolling through the rest of the town and enjoying the views from the bridge, we headed into town for a lovely dinner al fresco by the river. 

We’ve been hinting that one of our travel-related dreams may soon come true and we stepped up the planning for that during this phase of the trip.

Next Stops: The Rhine and Mosel Valleys.