Southern Germany Sampler: Rothenberg ob der Tauber

Even though we started a day late, our trip through Southern Germany was absolutely incredible.  I am so excited to share all of our photos and experiences with you from this trip.  I hope to give some good advice for traveling in this area as well - especially with children.

Planning these trips, Matt and I used two books - Fodor's Germany 2011 and Rick Steve's Germany 2011. Both books were very helpful in their own ways.  Fodor's is a comprehensive look at traveling in the country, with information on just about every destination here.  It also offers sections and icons which recommend restaurants and hotels that are kid-friendly and sights that are geared towards kids.  Rick Steve's book is less comprehensive, but has great suggestions for the less touristy options in each area he reviews.  He also offers excellent self-guided tours and scenic drives for various destinations in Germany.  We felt the combination of these two books provided excellent guidance for planning our trip.

We planned a total of seven days, spending one to two nights in various locations along the way.  We overnighted in Rothenberg ob der Tauber, Neuschwanstein, Meersburg, Staufen, Bad Wimpen and then at Ramstein Air Force Base.

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It was a grand total of almost 19 hours of driving, but most days we only drove 2 hours, which we planned around Kellan's naps, so on most of the days, K slept while we were driving.  Changing hotels almost every night began to wear on us after the fourth or fifth location, so if I were to do it over again I might not have hit so many places.  That being said, the vacation was fantastic despite that and I have no regrets!

The first leg of our journey took us along part of the Romantic Road, which was a trade route during the Middle Ages.  Today, many of the cities along the road have been preserved so that they look quite similar to how they looked hundreds of years ago.  The drive from town to town is beautiful, with lush, rolling green hills and pastures. The Romantic Road starts in Würzberg, just southeast of Frankfurt and continues almost due south down to Füssen, which is very close to Neuschwanstein Castle - the castle that inspired Walt Disney's castle in Disneyland.

We left right after lunch on Monday, April 23rd, and the weather was fantastic.  So the drive down the Romantic Road to Rothenberg ob der Tauber was gorgeous.

Around 4pm, we arrived in Rothenberg.  There are many places to stay the night in Germany that are a mix between a hotel and a bed and breakfast.  In German, they are called "Gasthof."  We opted to stay mostly at these types of establishments throughout our trip and were very pleased with most of our experiences.  In Rothenberg, we slept and ate at the Gasthof Goldener Greifen (pictures below from their website).

This guesthouse was recommended by both of our books.  The accommodations were nothing spectacular - these are not four/five star hotels - but they were quaint and completely adequate for what we needed - a place to sleep.

After checking into our hotel, we took a short walk around town before dinner.  We marveled at half timber houses and shops and the old town wall.  Photos are courtesy of Matt on this post!

The picture below is Kellan and I walking through the gate of the wall that surrounds the town.  All of these medieval towns were surrounded by fortifications to protect them from their enemies.  (More on this later).  Beyond the wall in this picture is the Castle Garden.

Looking from the Castle Garden back at the wall.  There once was a castle here, but now it is a beautiful garden, with views overlooking what once was a moat, but now is a lush valley dotted with cozy cottages.

Kellan had a great time stretching his legs and exploring the gardens.  There was no time to stand still for pictures!

We headed back to the Goldener Greifen to have dinner so we would have time to go see the Night Watchman Tour, which is done in English every night at 8pm.

Our meal was delicious.  Both of us had pork dishes with brown gravy, sauerkraut, spatzel and delicious locally brewed beer.  Dessert was apple strudel.  Also very yummy.  The restaurant had a lot of toys for Kellan to play with once he was done eating the pasta from the kid's menu.  And everyone spoke perfect English.

After dinner, we walked over Marketplatz for the tour.  This tour was recommended in Rick Steve's book and we highly recommend the tour as well.  The guide was hilarious and gave fascinating accounts of life in this village during the Middle Ages.  The prevailing theme was that the "good old days" weren't so good.

So here he is, the night watchman.  His voice sounded like a mix between someone on Monty Python and (obscure reference that possibly only my sister will get) and Jemaine from "Flight of Concords" when he is impersonating David Bowie in a dream sequence.  He was funny.

 At 8:45pm, this massive cuckoo clock built into this building began to chime, with some beer drinking and cooking figurines popping out.

The night watchman explained to us that the bells would chime at night in these cities when the gates were closing for the night.  Everyone had to scurry back into the village before they closed or they would be forced to re-enter through a manhole/tunnel in the wall to get back it, which was protected.  It was pretty small and I imagine would be very difficult to get through drunk, as I assume many of the late-comers who had to use it were!

 Town wall from the Castle Gardens at dusk.  The night watchman patrolled the wall of the town, alerting people with a horn if something was amiss - an intruder or fire.  It was a dangerous job and was an occupation that ranked in society among the lowest of the low, right down there with the executioners.

 View of opposite side of town across the valley/moat

One topic the night watchman discussed was how people were very superstitious and fearful of death, as it was something they were rather accustomed to seeing.  For example, much of the population of Rothenberg ob der Tauber was killed by the Black Plague.  That combined with it's siege during the 30 years war rendered it a ghost town to a certain extent, so it never developed beyond the state it was in at that time.  That is one of the reasons it is such a beautifully preserved town; no one was there to develop it and change it for a number of years.

Night Watchman brochure and map of Rothenberg from our trip.

One other topic the night watchman discussed was, ahem, waste removal.  Something that you will notice when you peruse the two travel guides we used is that many hotels and restaurants are closed in August at some point.  On the tour, the night watchman reminded us that during "the good old days" people would dump their chamber pots out of their windows each morning.  Out of the their windows....and onto the sidewalk.  In August, when it was hot, humid and little rain fell to wash away the waste from the streets, many people left the city to go to the country to get away from the stench.  This traveling time period has stuck as many Europeans close up shop to travel or just rest in August.

Kellan tolerated the nightwatchman tour for about a half-hour in the baby backpack and then decided he was going to do some exploring on his own.  He just started to say the word, "water," which sounds like "wah-woo" when he says it.  Trying to keep him entertained, I walked over to a covered manhole where, underneath, you could hear water rushing through the sewers.  I motioned for him to come over, told him to listen and I pointed and said, "Water."  After that, every single - and I mean EVERY SINGLE - grate or manhole he encounters he stops, points and says "Wah-woo.  Wah-woo," very matter-of-factly.  It is extremely cute.

After our great tour, we went back to the hotel, got Kellan through his bedtime routine and collapsed into bed, happily exhausted.  Day 1 was awesome.