Eva’s wearing the latest in our L.L. Bean Winter 2019 collection…just kidding. Though she does look like a kiddo model in this photograph.
I took this picture of Eva standing at the entrance to this alley as it was reminiscent of the many winding narrow allies across the Greek island of Mykonos–albeit much colder. Venturing through Rothenburg you will see many beautiful main thoroughfares but also many charming side alleyways.
Rothernburg is considered ‘touristy’ in Deutschland. Which is funny because touristy in Deutschland is different than touristy in America. In America I immediately think of South of the Border which borders the North and South Carolina border. Gaudy, cheap, eyesore come to mind. In Deutschland I suppose touristy simply means the city is more expensive and filled with lots of tourists because as you will see from these photos, there is nothing cheap or gaudy about this city.
Our Night Watchman for the evening. Tours are offered daily at 8pm March through New Years Eve and weekly on Saturdays the remaining months. Adults are 8 Euro each, children 11 and under are free, and those in betweeners are 4 Euro each.
More information about the tour can be found here.
Those moments when you are torn between taking the shot and being next to your child to ensure their safety.
Rothenburg, again, a very accessible historic city that not only allows you to look at the historical aspects, but touch, climb, and explore those historical aspects.
Not really a sculpture guy but I was drawn to this exhibit that sits at the bottom of a church just two blocks from the main square. Absolutely beautiful the way the figures are sculpted out what appears to be a rock formation that seemingly existed in this historic town before it was a town.
As an American of course bathrooms are a big deal. Getting use to bathrooms in Deutschland takes some time.
First you need to reconcile the fact that in a socialist country such as Germany, most places charge to use the bathroom. Sure, that makes a lot of sense. It also explains why you see so many folks peeing on the side of the roads because that’s still free.
Rothenburg is the exception. Just off the main square is a FREE, clean, and convenient bathroom.
If you aren’t a helicopter parent, the main square is a great place to spend with you children on a non-busy day. Plenty of space for tag and hide and seek!
Rothenburg was unique in that it had so much going on. I’ve found that many Deutsch villages and cities have one or two traits that grab your focus during your visit. Not so in Rothenburg.
Rothenburg has an intact inner and outer defense wall. More incredible is the ramparts are accessible through very narrow and steep stairs that allow you to walk along the walls and you are able to do so for no charge. This in itself is unique to the cities we have visited thus far. For the most part, very few ramparts are accessible.
Rothenburg also has the eye-catching main thoroughfares and side allies.
Rothenburg has the Christmas Museum and store.
Rothenburg has stunning elevated views at different points along the fortified wall into valleys below.
And simply put, Rothenburg just looks like the idea you have in your head of what a traditional Deutsche city will look like.
We had some time in between the Christmas Museum and our Night Watchman Tour so we explored one of Rothenburg’s many fountains. The kids almost disappear into the colorful backdrop that is the downtown facade.
The Christmas Museum is at the top right with the main square just below the pink colored building at the top of the photograph.
This picture was taken just off the main square in Rothenburg.
Rothenburg is unique for many reasons and one of them is the abundance of English being spoken. Even more so then the average German or German city which is already quite high.
While discussing a candle driven Christmas carousel fan with Hunter, an older employee overheard our discussion and set us straight. It was amazing for a two reasons. One is that older Germans have the hardest time speaking English. Understandable because while all Germans learn English in school, the older ones have more decades in between when they learned it and when they are using it with you.
But it was also remarkable because we were speaking in low tones, fast, and not taking care to avoid any colloquialisms.
In the ‘snowball’ shop where we found our treats, the umbrella bucket was labeled first in English and then second in Deutsche.
The historical Night Watchman who led our nighttime tour of the city not only spoke in great detail about the history of his city in perfect English, but he even performed a tongue twister.
For those familiar with Chitty-chitty-bang-bang, the movie was filmed in this city. Apparently the Chitty-chitty-bang-bang child catcher carrier cage is located in a museum we walked past (it was closed at night). Our guide dared us to say that tongue twister fast which he was more than capable of doing.
For English speakers afraid to get outside their comfort zone, Rothenburg is a welcoming city where you will have no problems.
I can only imagine what Rothenburg is like in summer.
As it was, we visited prior to the start of the Christmas Market on a cloudy weekend day in the low 40s and were rewarded with quiet streets, plenty of parking, and it felt like–the city to ourselves.
Schneeballen….how would you translate this word.
One thing I learned in my short on post Deutsche class is that in Deutschland. they tend to take two words that get used frequently together and simply mush them together into one word. That would be the case here.
Apparently this town is know for their ‘snow’ ‘ball’ treat. It’s similar to fried dough and something else which my mind has been searching for since first trying the local delicacy. You can opt for the ones with filling or the plain ones.
They are quite large, try sharing. Hunter was the only one able to polish one of by himself.
Our visit to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber was a random gathering of Acadia’s fellow Daisy Scouts. It started with a visit to the Christmas Museum. The museum explores the routes of Christmas and Christmas related items in Europe so of course goes back hundreds of years. In keeping with the low cost of living in the Bayern region, admission to the museum is 7 Euro a family or in my case, 2.50 Euro because apparently ten year olds and below aren’t old enough to qualify for family.
While the museum was interesting, the store that surrounds the museum is the draw. They put the Christmas Tree Shoppe to shame. No, you will not find tacky Christmas ornaments here but you will find an entire room filled with cuckoo clocks. You will find Christmas trees extending two stories high. You will find a wood worker with a lathe handcrafting wood items for kinder visitors as they watch his trade.
