We arrived in Rothenburg ~ 4:30 – found the old walled city, and
eventually our lodging:
Gastehaus Victoria, where we will have all three of the
rooms. It is cute and cozy – bold fabrics and silk flowers everywhere, with a
sitting room in the suite and table and chairs in a common room on the 2nd
floor. We were warmly greeted by Hanne, and welcomed the chance to relax a
little before exploring this charming old town.
Four
of us decided to take the recommended “Night Watchman’s Tour” from 8-9 PM. For
4 Euros per person, we enjoyed the walk – in spite of the large Saturday night
crowd – led by our “Night Watchman – George”. He provided lots of interesting
history of the town and plenty of humor, too! Some of the highlights: The
town began as a parish in 970 – grew through the favor of several kings until it
was granted a town charter in 1172, and the first wall was built. In 1204
construction began on a second fortification, which is still largely preserved
today. It became a free imperial city in
1274 (and again in 1325 and 1349)… The building continued,
with many political upheavals over the centuries – with the Thirty Years’ War,
beginning in 1618, inflicting severe damage on the village. In 1802 Rothenburg
was annexed to Bavaria and throughout the 19th century was discovered
by tourism. In 1945, just a few weeks before the end of WWII, forty percent of
the city was destroyed by a bombing raid -- but it escaped total destruction
thanks to the energetic intervention of a US general.
We then met Dad and had dinner at
Hotel Altfrankirche
Weinstube am Klosterhot (several blocks from
Gastehaus Victoria), run by Hanne and her husband Mario, the chef. It’s one of
the few p
laces
in town that serve hot meals after 8:00 – they serve dinner until 10:30 and the
pleasant, candlelit pub is open until 1:00 AM. (They also rent 6 rooms with
baths above the pub – but they were booked when we inquired.) We had
a
delightful late dinner, including creamy potato soup, plates of Tyrolian ham and
cheese, baked Camembert and a wonderful Camembert and onion spread – with
fantastic brown and rye breads, fruit and vegetable garnishes, and delicious
local Tauber beer and dry white Sylvaner wine. Hanne presented us with a
special after-dinner drink made with Schnapps and cassis – wow! Satin sheets
and huge down comforters and pillows greeted us when it was time to sleep.
(9/19/04) We awoke to sunshine, so Paul and I decided to
walk the 1.5 mile wall around the city
before
breakfast – but we misjudged the time it would take, so we had to race-walk
through town to meet the rest of the family for breakfast! The wall walk was
pleasant – you couldn’t help feeling the history here, in spite of the added
roof and safety railings – but the view outside the wall was rather
disappointing – though the views over the town were great. Breakfast was the
usual German buffet at Hotel Altfrankirche – but with good coffee and lots of
fresh fruit.
Candy, Stan and Paul then headed to the Medieval Crime and
Punishment Museum – “Interesting,
with lots of history!” – while Dad and I walked to Market Square, visited the
TI, and relaxed with coffee at an outdoor café next to Town Hall. We marveled
at the number of Japanese tourists that visit this town (and supported the post
WWII effort to rebuild it – as evidenced by plaques on the wall walk). Next,
Paul and Dad returned to the guesthouse to relax, while Candy, Stan and I went
shopping, with limited success. The shops and souvenir places are generally
overpriced with an emphasis on collector nutcrackers and Christmas ornaments.
We found one shop that had very fair prices for dolls and beer steins: Herbert
Kabalo, #11 Schmiedgasse. Anyway, it was interesting to look around and walk
the narrow streets.
We met for lunch at 2:00 at a place several blocks from the
square, advertising Sauerbraten – Paul’s favorite. However, we were dismayed to
discover that they stopped serving from their main menu at 2:00 (Germans eat
early) – but the waitress arranged for 3 servings of Sauerbraten (with spaetzle,
instead of potato dumplings) – but it was, unfortunately, only fair. Candy and
Dad had bratwurst with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes – a better choice.
During
a leisurely walk back, we stopped at St. Jacob’s Church – built in the 14th
century, and Lutheran since 1544. It was very impressive, with an ornate high
alter (from 1446), the Alter of the Virgin Mary (1520), and the famous 500-year
old “Alter of the Holy Blood” – by Tilman Riemenschneider, completed in 1504 --
some very famous wood carvings!
Dad was quite tired by this time
in the trip, so, after a rest, we picked up dinner at Hotel Altfrankirche and
took it back to the guesthouse for him… then headed out on foot to find a spot
for our dinner. It wasn’t easy on a Sunday evening – so after a stop for a
glass of wine, we found an empty restaurant just off the square (name forgotten)
where we had an acceptable, but not memorable dinner of typical German fare.
I’m sure that Rothenburg has many fine restaurants, but we were typical tourist
victims in a very touristy town. If we return, we’ll stick with Hanne and
Mario and ask for their suggestions for other local places!
