Rothenburg ob der Tauber and a lot of Christmas

 November 8, 2024

Under steely gray skies we docked in the town of Wurzburg, Germany, early Friday morning.  After breakfast we bundled up and made our way to the buses.  A walking tour of Wurzburg was included, but I, and many others, opted for the upgrade, and thus, a ninety minute ride to a nearby town.  

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which means "red castle above the Tauber", was billed as "romantic", as well as "the best preserved medieval town in Germany".  I felt like I'd heard that before, but perhaps the distinction is "the best", rather than, "one of the best".  

And it was a charming town, filled with historical buildings, a castle, ancient towers and narrow cobbled streets.  An intact wall surrounds the city, that can be walked on.  As usual, our tour was just snippets of information as we walked, then paused briefly, with our guide's frequent admonition that a car was coming and to get off the road.    

After pouring over my scribbled notes, as well as doing a ridiculous amount of online research, I don't feel like I can accurately identify most buildings, so I'm going to just post them as pretty pictures.  Even after seeing so many, I'm still fascinated by the history and architecture in this part of the world.

Below, a pharmacy, with its corner cupola, Mary and the Christ child, and very ornate sign.

This yellow, half-timbered home, tucked up against one of the city's towers, may be the one my notes referred to as the "oldest continuously inhabited home".  High up in the gable is a small sign with 1220 on it.  Situated between two windows is a plaque, written in German of course, that no doubt outlines its history.  I'm intrigued by the gray doors opening from an upper floor.

Finding a good spot for pictures is always a challenge when traveling in a group.  If I move to the front of the group, I'm often too close.  But standing further back to capture the whole image always has a gaggle of fellow travelers in the foreground.  Especially the big guy front and center.  He always managed to sit or stand in front for every presentation both on and off the ship.  On the bus he would occupy the seat just behind our guide and ask questions all the way.  She would answer, using the bus mic, but we would never hear the questions.  

This quirky, lopsided home, is situated on a hill between two angled streets and next to Siebersturm, one of the cities entry towers.  The area is known as Plönlein, which is translated to "small square by the fountain".  

The fountain, like every fountain on our trip, had been shut off for the winter.  In some areas the fountains were being encased in protective plywood sheeting. 

During WWII, many homes and businesses were destroyed.  They were rebuilt with much simpler construction, but in a way that didn't clash with the older buildings.

Included in this upgraded tour was a stop at a sausage shop, with a very ornate sign.  I've always avoided sausage due to its fatty content, but on the bus we were told that back in the day, they couldn't afford to fatten their cows, so the sausages were lean.  To make up for the lack of fat, they crafted enticing seasoning blends that they still use in their recipes today.

This was Germany, a country known for its sausage, so I wasn't going to not try it.  I ate every tasty bite of the six varieties offered, and wished there was more.  

Alas, there were too many of us to go inside, so we clustered about in the chilly air, poking at our sausage, while trying not to get mustard on our gloves.  

Near the sausage shop was this cool store with medieval costumes, armor and weapons.  Not a place I would shop, but I saw it through the eyes of my sons and grandsons. 

Our guided tour ended in the town square, in front of an interesting clock tower with two animated figures in open windows.  Somehow I didn't get a picture.  There was also a tower on the city hall building, with a spiral stairs to climb up for a view.  Prior to the top there would be a one euro fee to access the best views.  When we dispersed, I decided to go straight up the tower before I got distracted and ran out of time.  Once again I gave thanks for my new hip as I climbed the relatively short spiral.  The floor with the turnstile gate for further ascent, was a single, low ceilinged room with a simple wooden floor, like an attic.  There were interesting windows here and there to look out of, but no furnishings or displays of any kind.  There were also no people.  I felt like I had somehow taken a wrong turn, and ended up in an off-limits area.

Near the gate was a sign with a traffic signal contraption and instructions for going up.  The only English was "wait for green light", and there was no place to deposit a coin.  Finally someone came up the steps, but ignored me and headed through a door.  I called to her and asked how I could gain entrance to the tower.  She looked at me like I was stupid, and said simply, "it's the weekend, it's closed.".  It was, in fact, just Friday morning.  But since there was nothing I could do about it, I snapped a few more pictures, then made my way back down to the square.

The buildings bordering the square reminded me of the colorful row of shops that make up Bryggen, in Bergen, Norway.  On the left of the nearly empty cobbles stood an unadorned Christmas tree.  I was sure that by the following weekend this area would be packed with the sights and sounds of a bustling Christmas market. 

Leaving the square I made my way to what was billed as a Christmas museum.  Mostly, it was a huge, multi-story, year around Christmas store.  Käthe Wohlfahrt is a well known German designer of all things Christmas.  The store, with its life sized nutcracker and brightly painted bus out front was easy to spot.

Inside of the welcoming shop was every imaginable aspect of Christmas.  Nativity scenes and sets, ornaments galore, Christmas "smokers", (which are whimsical wooden characters that burn incense), revolving wooden pyramids, candle arches, and so much more.  

Though a large building, the interior was set up like a Franconian village, with ornate "store fronts" dividing it into smaller rooms, each uniquely decorated.  Along one wall near the entrance was a charming village with animated creatures.

In the middle of a two story room was this giant Christmas pyramid.  Nearly twenty feet tall, it is said to weigh two tons!  On the lowest level of it were the figures of Joseph, Mary, and the Christ child, revolving slowly around.

I spent more than a little, both time and money in this shop before making my way back outside.  It was well past lunchtime and I was getting hungry.  I knew that we would still have a meal waiting for us back on the ship, but with some extra time, I was drawn into this enticing bakery.

One thing Rothenburg ob der Tauber is known for is schneeball (snowball in English), a deep fried German pastry.  My guess was it started with the scraps from a pie-making project, and became a tradition in the area.  They looked messy and unappealing to me so I didn't buy one, but later on the bus one of the women let me sample hers.  It was rather hard, and as I expected, messy to eat.  

There were plenty of other tempting items in the case to choose from.

I opted for a fat piece of strudel, which I took, along with a cup of coffee outside to a table on the square, where I enjoyed every sticky bite as I waited for my fellow travelers and our return to the ship.