LOCATION:
Rothenburg, Germany
If Hallstatt is the most beautiful place on earth, then Rothenburg is the cutest place on earth. This walled, medieval Bavarian town is usually a day trip from Munich, so we decided to make a night of it in hopes of missing the swarms of tour busses. We checked into our hotel around 5pm and the owner recommended a restaurant where "everything is made of potatoes" and also the Night Watchman tour that departed at 8pm. Both of the recommendations were spot on! For dinner I had potato soup (with bacon) and a salad with potato dressing (and also more bacon). We had a few beers and then walked to the town square to await the watchman! Back in medieval times, the worst job to have was the hangman, followed by the gravedigger, and the third worst job was the night watchman. The duties were to knock on every door just before dark and remind people to lock their doors, and then stay awake all night to contend with crooks and drunks, and alert the town of fire which - back then - was the greatest threat to any small town.
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| Walking to the square to meet the tour - cute, right? |
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| Blowing the horn to warn of fire! I think that stick was called a "hell stick." |
We also learned a little about the relatively recent history of Rothenburg. During WWII, forty percent of the city was destroyed in a bomb attack. The city had no money to rebuild, so had the brilliant idea to ask the whole world for help. Rothenburg has a long and charming history of tourism, so people from everywhere sent money to help the town they had once visited or held special meaning for them. Rothenburg showed their thanks by putting their name on a stone in the wall as it was rebuilt. Walking the wall the next day we saw the names of people from Germany, other European cities, Japan, and America to name a few.
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| Erin was a good wall-size, I was a little big! |
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| Where is Erin??!! |
Another thing we learned about was a Rothenburg specialty - a pastry that dates back to the Middle Ages. Schneeballen (which translates to snowball) is a ball of flaky yumminess that comes covered in all sorts of toppings. We tried chocolate and peanut butter.
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| Schneeballs!! |
Rothenburg is small and could have easily been a day trip, but the idea to stay a night was one of Erin's best yet. The town was so cute, and seeing the streets and town walls nearly empty enhanced its charm. Two great small-town visits in a row! Now it's back to the hustle and bustle in Munich, before chasing down the sun in Croatia.
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| Could this get any cuter? But notice the ugly tour bus lurking! |
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| Rothenburg oozes Christmas charm, even in late April. |
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| PS - this is what I look like, loaded up and ready to ease on. Eight weeks in and I don't even hate my pack that much! |
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