We decided to take my in-laws to one of our very favorite cities we've visited in Germany - Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It was one of our very first over-night trips when we arrived almost a year ago. It's about two and a half hours from our Village so we opted to make it an over-night. ...plus, you can't visit Rothenburg and not stay for the Night Watchmen's Tour.
After parking (in the lot we discovered on our last stay - directly next to our hotel), we ventured through the wall and into town. Our first stop, the Crime and Punishment Museum.
After cringing at so many of the "punishment" tools and laughing over the "shame masks" we were ready for lunch. It was also a great chance for a sit down break. We took everyone to the delicious little pizza place we enjoyed the last time we were in town. It didn't disappoint. Four of us enjoyed pizza and my brother-in-law had spaghetti.
... refueled and ready to see more, we headed towards the closest watch tower and climbed the narrow steps to walk the wall. Rothenburg's nickname is, "The Walled City" as it is one of the last cities in Germany to still be surrounded by its original wall. The entire distance of the wall is just over a mile and half.
We climbed down and made our way to Castle Garden to enjoy beautiful panoramic views of the walled city. But first...
Obligatory yellow house picture.
From Castle Garden we made our way back through town and headed toward the car. BUT FIRST, a necessary Schneeball experience. Schneeballen ("snowball" in English) is a popular pastry in Rotheburg and is made from the crust of shortcakes. Not a favorite of mine, more of an experience and curiosity fix than anything.
We drove a few minutes outside the city to our charming little hotel. We managed to score a simple little three bedroom apartment just outside the wall. We unloaded our bags & relaxed for a while before heading off to dinner and the Night Watchmen's Tour. Some of the group even managed a quick nap.
After a traditional German dinner, we met at Market Square (along with SO MANY other English speaking tourists) for the Night Watchmen's Tour. Daniel & I had experienced the entertaining, informative tour in the fall when we had visited Rothenburg the last time, so we had an idea of the good time in store. The tour was just as good, if not better than we had remembered. We got to experience a different tour guide this time around. He did things just a little different then our last guide and showed/told us some things we hadn't heard the first time. My father-in-law said it was his favorite part of the city.
The next day, after a very traditional German breakfast of cold-cuts, fresh bread, fruits, jams and French-pressed coffee, we did some more shopping around town & visited the famous Kathe Wohlfahrt store and Christmas Museum (upstairs from the store).
-------------------------------------
Rheine River Cruise
The next morning, after a goodnights sleep, Daniel made everyone biscuits & gravy (so stinkin' GOOD. Love my southern man.). We hurried through our showers & jumped in the car (again) and head to Bingen, Germany. Before boarding for the cruise we hiked up to Klopp Castle for lunch. That's right - lunch at a castle.
After lunch we hiked back down to the water just in time to board our first mode of transportation for the day - the boat.
After a quick ride on the Rhein, we disembarked in Assmannshausen. From here, we walked through the town to the chair life to take us to the Niederwald Momument.
I had never been in a chair lift before.
Our ride dropped us off a few miles from where we needed to go. That meant our third mode of transportation - Pete and Charley.
Pete and Charley brought us right to the Niederwald Momument and offered some breathtaking views of the Rhein and cities along it. You could literally see for miles.
Next, a Gondola Ride down to Rudesheim - another noteworthy town along the Rhein.
Last, but not least, after walking through Rudesheim we took a fairy back across the Rhein to Bingen, where we had parked. Walked to the van, hopped on the A6 & two n' a half hours and quick beverage stop later, we made it home in time to take everyone "downtown" and do some shopping and grab dinner. We finished off the evening playing Apples to Apples and eating s'mores in the backyard. Day well spent.
Instead of heading to France the following morning like we had originally planned, we opted to stay around the house and let our very tired tourists rest and recover before their flight back to the states.
Thanks for making the trip. Hope we didn't run you too hard. We loved having ya'll.
No comments:
Post a Comment