After our relaxing days in Garmisch, it was time to get back on the road again. That of course, meant another train:
If they had trains like this in the US I know I wouldn’t be driving so much!
In Stuttgart, we went to Panzer Kassern so we could talk to the USO travel office and draw some funds out of the ATM. Hoo-Boy, did that exchange rate get us – 500E cost us $750 - but, that’s the way it goes when traveling in Europe. My old buddy John Bartalotto met us there and took us to his home - what a gorgeous house! Because housing is tight on base in the Stuttgart area, they live downtown in a small village called Malmshiem. Here’s John, Sue, Hannah and little John. Their older daughter Emily also is still living at home too, but was in class when this picture was taken:
In Stuttgart, we went to Panzer Kassern so we could talk to the USO travel office and draw some funds out of the ATM. Hoo-Boy, did that exchange rate get us – 500E cost us $750 - but, that’s the way it goes when traveling in Europe. My old buddy John Bartalotto met us there and took us to his home - what a gorgeous house! Because housing is tight on base in the Stuttgart area, they live downtown in a small village called Malmshiem. Here’s John, Sue, Hannah and little John. Their older daughter Emily also is still living at home too, but was in class when this picture was taken:
Sue and John fixed us a wonderful dinner and we finished out the evening chatting and drinking wine late into the evening. Of course Vicki also took Sue up on her offer to let her use her washer & dryer to do some laundry!
The next morning when we got up, Sue had fixed us a traditional German breakfast of cereal with yogurt, sliced meats and vegetables, cheese, pretzels and brochen (hard crusty rolls) with butter and jam. We really would have to do some walking after such a great breakfast! We left our bags at their house and John dropped us off at the bohnhof on his way to work – it was time to move back in time to the middle ages in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. After an uneventful 3 hr train ride, we arrived at Rothenburg and entered into the walled city thru the Rödertor gate, which is closest to the Bahnhof. The two round buildings on either side of the gate are where customs officials formerly collected a toll fee. In Medieval times, Rothenburg was at the crossroads of the two most important roads in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation; it was one of the 8 largest German cities and the richest city in the German states. Today Rothenburg is at the intersection of the Romantic Road and the Castle Road which are heavily traveled by tourists.
The next morning when we got up, Sue had fixed us a traditional German breakfast of cereal with yogurt, sliced meats and vegetables, cheese, pretzels and brochen (hard crusty rolls) with butter and jam. We really would have to do some walking after such a great breakfast! We left our bags at their house and John dropped us off at the bohnhof on his way to work – it was time to move back in time to the middle ages in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. After an uneventful 3 hr train ride, we arrived at Rothenburg and entered into the walled city thru the Rödertor gate, which is closest to the Bahnhof. The two round buildings on either side of the gate are where customs officials formerly collected a toll fee. In Medieval times, Rothenburg was at the crossroads of the two most important roads in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation; it was one of the 8 largest German cities and the richest city in the German states. Today Rothenburg is at the intersection of the Romantic Road and the Castle Road which are heavily traveled by tourists.
The photo below shows the inside of the gate
Rothenburg was surrounded by two moats, called Graben in German. One was a dry moat and the other was filled with water. The photo below shows the bridge over one of the moats.
You can climb up into the tower where there is an exhibition of photos about the bombing of Rothenburg by American planes on March 31, 1945, about six weeks before World War II ended on May 8, 1945. Forty percent of the city was destroyed by the bombs, but the damaged part of the old wall has been restored, thanks to donations that poured in from all over the world. New houses built in the old style have replaced the bombed homes in the residential section.
Once we got into the city proper, I immediately got a Schneeballen. Every German city has its food specialty, such as Berlin which is famous for its jelly donuts and Nürnberg which has its Nürnberger Bratwurst. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is famous for Schneeballen (Snow balls) which are strips of noodle pastry, formed into a ball and deep-fried, then dusted with powdered sugar. The photo below shows the original Schneeballen dusted with powdered sugar on the left; in the center with cinnamon sugar (my favorite!) and chocolate covered ones are on the right.
These things are addictive – Vicki didn’t care for them but I loved them! They remind me of Mom’s crust cookies that she used to make for us kids from left over pie crust dough. Now I’ve got to find a recipe so we can make some at home!
One of the first things we saw in the city was the Market Platz Clock which commemorates the mayor saving the town from destruction by the Holy Roman Army. The story goes that the general was going to destroy the town but the mayor made a bet that he could drink an entire flagon of wine without stopping. On the hour, the clock chimes and the animation shows him drinking the wine in the window to the left of the clock and the general in the window on the right.
One of the first things we saw in the city was the Market Platz Clock which commemorates the mayor saving the town from destruction by the Holy Roman Army. The story goes that the general was going to destroy the town but the mayor made a bet that he could drink an entire flagon of wine without stopping. On the hour, the clock chimes and the animation shows him drinking the wine in the window to the left of the clock and the general in the window on the right.
Then we walked down to the Church of St Jakob's which is dedicated to the Apostle St. James; it was an important church in its early days because it was one of the churches on the pilgrimage route to the grave of St. James in Spain. St. James (Jakob in German) was the patron saint of the pilgrims and merchants. The church was built between 1311 and 1436 and the Bishop of Würzburg consecrated the church in 1485. Originally built as a Catholic Church, St. Jakob's became a Luthern Church in 1544, after the Prostestant Reformation and is the largest church in Rothenburg.
This picture shows how Klingenstrasse (Klingen street) goes through the part of St. Jakob’s where the Holy Blood Altar is housed that was carved by Tilman Riemenschneider.
This picture shows how Klingenstrasse (Klingen street) goes through the part of St. Jakob’s where the Holy Blood Altar is housed that was carved by Tilman Riemenschneider.
And here is the carved wood alter that took him 5 years to complete and is called his masterpiece.
It never ceased to amaze me that these works were done before America was even discovered!
From St. Jakob’s we walked down to another gate into the city (there were 5 in all). This picture gives you a good view of the massive doors in the gate that were closed at dusk. If anybody was out after the doors closed and wanted in, they had to pay a huge fine. That's a heck of a curfew enforcement!
From St. Jakob’s we walked down to another gate into the city (there were 5 in all). This picture gives you a good view of the massive doors in the gate that were closed at dusk. If anybody was out after the doors closed and wanted in, they had to pay a huge fine. That's a heck of a curfew enforcement!
From the park outside this gate we were able to look at the countryside around Rothenburg and we got a pretty good view of the town too.
As we walked around, our guide told us about this house which is the oldest in town. It was originally built around 900 AD and the foundations of the original house are still in use. The original house was replaced around 1500 and that’s what you see here. It’s now a restaurant called the Devil’s Inn and if you look closely at the sign hanging out front you’ll see it’s the devil with horns & a tail.
Then we decided to walk along the top of the city wall. Here's Vicki at one of the sentry posts:
It goes on for about 1.5 miles and has markers along the way naming the people that contributed to the fund to rebuild the city after WW II. Here's a couple of shots of Vicki under the covered walkway.
One of the coolest things we did in Rothenburg was go on a tour with the Night Watchman - here’s Vicki with him:
This guy was very funny and we really enjoyed his tour. He took us down to one of the gates and showed us the “manhole” where people coming in after hours would have to come thru. You can see this is a small door on the massive full door that was open during the day.
It was very small and made the person coming in stoop down as well as step up to go thru making it easy for guards to stop them if they turned out to be hostile.
After the Night Watchman tour, we stayed in a nice little hotel right on the market square and headed back to Stuttgart the next morning after Vicki and I did a little shopping. Rothenburg is full of really neat little shops like this one.
After the Night Watchman tour, we stayed in a nice little hotel right on the market square and headed back to Stuttgart the next morning after Vicki and I did a little shopping. Rothenburg is full of really neat little shops like this one.
Guess I’ll close this entry as we say Auf Wiedersein to Rothenburg. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Vicki & Vic’s European Adventure, coming soon to this Blog! 
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