Romantic Road to Rothenburg

Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Winter 2013

Out from Burgtor's mask to the Castle garden at Rothenburg ob der Tauber
(Feb-2013)

Journal Entry... As I've said, when traveling to Germany on a first visit, it has got to be on the Romantic Road... After all, I want to Germany with an open mind and heart. 


27-jan: Romantic Road to Rothenburg odT...

Arrived Rothenburg odT

Rothenburg odT (ob der Tauber - "Red Fortress above the Tauber") is the 8th stop on that 350-km roadway attraction of old world towns, from Wurzburg to Fussen. Fairy tales have been told, including Brothers Grimm's, out of the "Romantic Road". I got all excited by the mere thought of it, much more driving on the Romantic Road. Hubby took to a Traveler's Forum for pointers, but one comment had him reconsidering the supposed dangers of driving not only in an unfamiliar road but when it will surely be covered in snow in winter. Commenter warned, "If you have not at all driven in snow, don't." Joining in a tour group was out of the question, with my turtle pace. Hubby and I agreed to doing Plan C: Train. On a rail transit, then, I had to limit the stops down to two best parts of the Romantic Road-- the idyllic medieval setting at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and the mad King's castle up Schwangau from the Romantic Road's nearby pit stop in Fussen.

A winter scene - Medieval Rothenburg sits above the river Tauber

"Night Watchman"
in Rothenburg odT

From Frankfurt, hubby and I connected trains, twice, to Rothenburg odT. Connecting trains was nerve-wracking given a window of time of ten minutes. Because the Germans are known to be stickler to time, like a stopwatch, making it to the connecting train was not a laughing matter. At the two connecting stations, we had to be quick on our feet... to get on the right train, on the right track, at the right time... with a big, heavy luggage in tow; other passengers were only carrying a medium-size luggage who, at times, would glance at ours. Hubby did a recon online going over a station map, and had set a drill in mind; the drill was easier said than done. Hubby and I had a set drill in mind; the drill was easier said than done.

On medieval walls

On that second train connection, we did not see any elevator, except a flight of stairs that had a black rubber belt on the side, which was dirty with mud and wet from the snow. We debated how to bring our luggage down the flight of stairs... I told the hubby to (just) slide the luggage down the black rubber belt, but he said there was no time to play around and miss the connecting train. Down the stairs, hubby hauled two big, heavy luggage, one at a time. And up the stairs to the connecting train, hubby repeated the luggage drill. Tip: "Black rubber belt" serves as a conveyor belt that automatically moves up or down when luggage is dropped on it... as we've seen another traveler work on his luggage. Upside to rail transit was not having to worry about road safety and navigation. 

Entrance gate to
Rothenburg odT

True to forecast, Germany's Bavaria region was in a blanket of snow... Hubby had arranged for a hotel shuttle to pick us up at Rothenburg odT stop. A lady driver came in a Beamer wagon so typically Made in Germany. Check-in: #HotelKlostersteuble, in the southern part of the medieval walls and near the Burgtor's mask - the Castle Gate. Hotel room window opened up to an empty street both at daybreak and nightfall.

A real Christmas village in Rothenburg odT

A fairy tale setting to a tee - night in Rothenburg odT

Rothenburg ob der Tauber was a pop-out Christmas village, post-Christmas. It was a fairy tale setting to a tee. Now I understand why writers' imagination for tall tales had run wild in this part of the globe. I couldn't resist making up one for myself, featuring the "Little Green Riding Hood" (to match the parka color I was wearing...) and the "Big Bad Wolf" (...hubby, of course!), as the night fog set in as we strolled the empty streets past curfew on that first night we arrived in the medieval town.

"Night Watchman"
at Marketplatz

Truth be told, hubby and I were the only guests at the hotel that first night; out in the street, the only lighted room in the hotel was our room. Because none of the Klosterstueble staff would stay-in for the night, hubby and I had the hotel to ourselves-- Great! Klostersteuble staff had locked the door to the dining area/kitchen, that meant no midnight snack for me, sigh. From the open landing on the second floor, hubby had dared me to rappel down to the kitchen using the bedsheet. "Hey, I'm no kitchen Raider, huh?!"

Night at Plonlein

Never did I have a dull moment in Rothenburg odT even at non-peak season. In fact, the non-peak season turned out to be the best time to immerse oneself in the medieval setting. While most shops were closed for the season, a few worthy local restaurants remained open. As the locals stayed indoors avoiding the cold outdoors, hubby and I had to explore the town on a visit. A clock tower in Marktplatz reverberated with an expected hourly chime throughout the day, not excepting the wee hours. At every hourly strike, a small window on the clock's face popped open, from where wood figures came out and went about with a clock show no visitor could resist looking up to, and perhaps, to take note of the time of day. 

Postcard scene at the Plonlein in Rothenburg odT

Two Peas in Rothenburg odT

It being a small town, it was easy for me to locate Rothenburg odT's Plonlein, that postcard-worthy fork in the road. Hubby and I went for a bit of adventure and climbed up to the old walls that circled the medieval town. That surely brought us back to the era of the Night Watchman, who had patrolled over town circling the old walls. Up the walls, see Rothenburg odT's quintessential Bavarian village scene, with frosted rooftops, like those miniature Christmas village display.

Hide-and-seek
at Castle Garden

A memorable experience was to come walking out of the Burgtor's mask, through the "Eye of the Needle". Accordingly, "one hour before the gates were closed at twilight, the bells of the town were rung to call the citizens back home; after that hour, the gatekeepers shut the gates until the next morning for security reasons; if a citizen arrived at the gate after curfew he had only one chance to get inside where it was safe and that was through the eye of the needle." [Excerpts, Night Watchman of Rothenburg ob der Tauber]

Photo-op with
Klostersteuble staff

Burgtor's mask opened down to a garden, where a real castle had once stood (before it fell into ruins because of an earthquake.) Castle garden, too, was not excepted from the blanket of snow at winter time. One could not resist acting out the Disney scene of... Belle frolicking in the snow, while the Beast hid himself in the castle tower watching Belle... It was at the Castle garden where I'd bump into the Japanese lady tourist who took a photo of us back in Frankfurt.

29-jan: ICE train to Berlin... Link to>>> Journal Entry: A Take on Present Berlin #germany #berlin #winter2013

oOo
PHOTOSTITCH


#Germany #RothenburgodT #winter2013