Rothenburg ob der Tauber - a must see place

No internet cafe again today folks so pictures will be added to this blog and the previous ones when we hit a more suitable venue. In the meantime we are using the computer in the reception room at the campsite to write our thing.

We have just had the most enjoyable day out to medieval town of Rothenburg ODT. We only intended to stay for a couple of hours before moving on to the next town along the Romantische Strasse but we were so captivated and there was so much to see that we stayed all day.

Rothenburg is a walled city perched on a hill by the River Tauber and dates from the 12th century and has been invaded, bombed etc as all of them have but remains very intact, well preserved and beautiful. Most of the old towns have a small area to visit but this is very large with four gates to the town with steps to the defence wall where you can walk along the covered sentry walk. There is an abundance of very old half timbered buildings now converted into shops and hotels, a beautiful Town Hall with an old tower attached that has endless steps to the top from which you have a birds eye view of the red roofed town and valleys beyond. One small house was found undisturbed after the death of its hermit tenant and has been turned into a museum depicting life as it was in the 17th century - 10 to 15 children were the norm in one small house - and grandma and grandad lived there too!

We walked all day through cobbled streets and saw everything it has to offer - we rested in the church that has altars which are masterpieces, especially the one sculpted from wood depicting the Last Supper. We can thoroughly recommend the town for a visit and apparently they hold Christmas markets in the town which should be spectacular.

We had lunch in a lovely German hotel with just the right atmosphere and we ordered the Tucher beer and explained that Steve was its namesake - the waiter then brought a huge steinpot for him to have his photo taken with - doesn´t he look a happy man with that jug in his hand? I had white asparagus with potatoes and salad, while Steve had veal in gravy with fried potatoes - really enjoyed both.

After yet more walking we treated ourselved to a speciality pastry of the town called a snowball. We chose the chocolate version - just one between us but if filled us more than the lunch! It was only ok - nothing to shout about.

Steve was taken with one particular historical tale of the town. In 1631 the city was attacked and the conquering general was intent on destroying the place. On a whim he promised to spare the town from destruction if one of the councillors was able to empty a 3.25 litre tankard of wine in one go. He managed to do that and therefore saved the city and made himself a hero. This Meistertrunk (master draught) is held annually at Whitsun and we missed it by a week. Steve fancied trying to match the man! I don´t think so.

With regards my own tipple - Steve could not resist taking the photo of me with my empties! No wonder I suffer from headaches.

So a good day again today - the weather has been cloudy and chilly, only managing to reach 16c. This was perfect for walking the town though. Tomorrow we move on again down the Romantische Strasse to a new campsite to sample our last days in Germany for a while.