The Romantic Road

Today, we drove from Munich to Frankfurt, traveling part of the way on the Romantic Road, a trade route during the Middle Ages, with walled towns, castles, churches, medieval houses, and historic hotels and with many stores to entice tourists to spend their money. The entire Romantic Road is 220 miles or 350 kilometers long. We did not travel the whole route.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

A castle on top of a hill that we passed.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

The countryside of the Romantic Road.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

A small village.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

Close–up of the houses: note the solar panels on the roof. We actually saw quite a number of roofs  with solar panels on this road,  making the area look not so romantic.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

Passing through a village.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

Entering Nordlingen, where we would stop.

The Romantic Road

Nordlingen

Welcome to Nordlingen with a map of the town. A circular city wall surrounds the town, which is very handy to know in case you get turned around. If you walk straight in any direction, you will eventually find the wall.

Nordlingen

Nordlingen (See Slide Show)

The city wall and  gate. I have put my photos of Nordlingen on a slide show on this site. Go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–2, Nordlingen, Germany.

Nordlingen (See Slide Show)

Nordlingen

Today was market day in Nordlingen.

Nordlingen

Nordlingen (Movie)

Along with the market, there was entertainment: “Summertime Blues.” I think he was an American.

Nordlingen (Movie)

Nordlingen

It became so crowded in the market that I was trying to find a way back to the bus without having to elbow my way through the crowd. I didn’t end up where I thought I would but then I saw Ellison and Renee across the street. I asked them if they knew where they were going and they said no. So, I decided to follow them––better to be lost with people you know than by yourself. After Renee and I outvoted Ellison as to the direction we should take, we ended up in a residential neighborhood. We asked a German woman walking a dog if she could direct us to the parking lot. She didn’t understood English but someone else came out of a house that did. She said, “Oh, you probably want McDonald’s.” Yes, there was a McDonald’s near the parking lot (maybe that is the trick of how to find your way in foreign towns and cities: know where the McDonald’s are and have someone direct you to them). The German woman with the dog escorted us through the area so that we wouldn’t get lost and finally we saw the city wall. We weren’t even late getting back to the bus.

Nordlingen

The Romantic Road

Back on the Romantic Road, driving through another village.

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road

Driving through the countryside.

The Romantic Road

Rothenburg

Arriving at Rothenburg, the most famous of the villages on the Romantic Road. It is also entirely walled.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg (See Slide Shows)

A street in Rothenburg. I have put my photos of Rothenburg on two slide shows on this website. Go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Euope–2, Rothenburg, Germany–1 and –2.

Rothenburg (See Slide Shows)

Rothenburg Town Clock

The Town Clock dates from about 1683. It tells the day, hour, and minute. There is also a mechanical show on the hour.

Rothenburg Town Clock

Rothenburg Town Clock (Movie)

Close–up of the clock. The mechanical figures were added in 1910. Both figures are drinking––one appears to be drinking wine, and the other, beer. The figures are to commemorate  the town’s mayor, Nusch, who in 1631 drank over three liters of wine without stopping in order to save the town.

Rothenburg Town Clock (Movie)

Rothenburg Town Clock

The figure on the left.

Rothenburg Town Clock

Rothenburg Town Clock

The figure on the right.

Rothenburg Town Clock

Rothenburg

I ate both lunch and later an ice cream at two of the restaurants on the left of the photo.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

The restaurant where my outside lunch  came from.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

My ham and cheese sandwich. They make very good sandwiches in Germany.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

What a fantastic ice cream menu this restaurant had.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

And more to make your mouth water.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

I decided on this one––delicious.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

These are schneeballs,  a Rothenburg specialty. I bought a package of assorted schneeballs but I didn’t eat them until I was on my plane the next day. They were good but probably would have been even better if I had eaten them this day. Even with all the items for sale in Rothenburg, these schneeballs were my only purchase.

Rothenburg

Rothenburg

After leaving Rothenburg, I put my camera away. Some of us ate dinner at our hotel in Frankfurt and said sad farewells as the tour was over. I really enjoyed this tour: all the sights, some of the food, the fun people I traveled with, and our tour guide and bus driver. I flew home, back to LA, the next day.

Rothenburg