Rothenburg ob der Tauber

It was a glorious spring day despite the chill in the air. The sky was bright blue with no clouds in sight. We traveled to Rothenburg because we had heard of Germany’s “Romantic Road”. The Romantic Road runs north to south for approximately 220 miles and passes through a multitude of gorgeous old towns and cities. Rothenburg is one of the many towns which is more well known and is a very romantic city that dates back to 950 AD. From where we lived this city was about an hour and a half away but there was traffic so it took us longer than we expected to the point and we were stuck in a tunnel, no less!

There are very few cars in the city because the roads are so small and visitors have to park outside the city walls and walk through one of the many arched gateways. My husband has trouble walking so when we arrived at the Marketplatz (the main market plaza) we took a bicycle tour of the city. It was amazing.

What impressed me the most were the city walls. I imagined guards walking on top of those walls and keeping watch for those who would attack. While it probably was a dangerous and often bloody time, there’s something about armed guards standing as sentries to protect the weak.

We wanted to tour the 2,000-meter criminal museum but by the time the bicycle tour was over, we missed the opportunity to see it.

Visiting unusual cities and then tasting the city’s special food offerings is fun too.  For dinner in a small local restaurant, my husband had a Bavarian specialty called Maultaschen which is sliced rolled pasta with spinach or meat filling and then fried with scrambled eggs.  It doesn’t sound too appetizing, but it was fantastic. I had ham and cheese in a rolled pancake. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of that dish. Also, very good.

We then bought some souvenirs: a dish towel for me and a few puzzles for my two-year-old grandson. Spotting a bakery, we purchased two Schneeballen which is a Rothenberg specialty desert.  They are deep-fried balls covered with different toppings. What is amazing about this dish is that they have been producing it for over four hundred years!

When we left, we took a short ride on the actual Romantic Road which has brown road signs.  The ride took over an hour, and we finally found the freeway to go back home to Stuttgart.

I would love to go back to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and spend more time in this enchanting city.

Have you ever been to Rothenburg?  If so, what was your experience?  If not, would you like to go?  What would you like to see?