Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Our day began in Schwangau, Germany at the Weinbauer Hotel. Travel plans changed yesterday when Tory came down with a stomach bug, and we were forced to stay in Schwangau for a second night. Fortunately, the hotel receptionist was able to book us another night’s stay in one of the hotel suites, so we had a quiet night together watching a movie and eating Chinese take-out. The weather turned cold and blustery yesterday with a dusting of snowfall covering the ground overnight.

Tory’s stomach felt better this morning, but she was still tired and weak. She probably could have used one more day to rest, but we needed to keep moving in our travels. While this was a nice town and hotel to visit, neither Andi or I wanted to stay here any longer. We’re only in Germany for five days total, and we’d like to see & experience something other than the interior of this place.

I’d left our backpacks packed, so it didn’t take long to gather our belongings and load them into the trunk of our rental car. Before we left the Weinbauer Hotel, we enjoyed one more continental breakfast in the hotel’s dining room. Compared to other European breakfasts we’ve experienced, German breakfasts take the cake in offerings. We enjoyed a spread of deli meats and cheeses, hard boiled eggs, yogurt with fruit and toppings, and the best part — fresh breaded pretzels.

Our original plan had been to cross the border into the country of Austria yesterday, as the political map line is only about 10 minutes away from Schwangau. Andi and Aden teased that they already crossed into Austria yesterday during their bike ride, adding a new country to Aden’s list of places visited and not to Tory’s. (She’s been teasing Aden that she visited Vatican City and he didn’t, giving her one more country on her list compared to his.) In reality, Andi and Aden waited for Tory and I to join them in crossing the border to Austria. We drove to the nearby town of Füssen, Germany, and then over the border into Austria.

Did you know Germany is known as ‘Deutschland’ in Germany? And that Austria is called ‘Österreich’? We didn’t! Naively, I thought the names of those countries were written as ‘Germany’ and ‘Austria,’ but those words are the English translations of the German words (if that makes any sense). A sign reading “Republik Österreich” welcomed us to Austria as we crossed the country line, and a sign reading “Bundes Republik Deutschland” (which means “Federal Republic of Deutschland”) welcomed us back to Germany a few minutes later.

While in Austria, all four of us got out of the car so that we could say we officially stepped foot in a new country, although the verdict was out among us as to whether this officially counted as a new country visited since we were only there for a few minutes. I added Austria to our family’s list of countries visited with an asterisk next to the name. We’ll have to come back for a proper visit another time.

I wish there had been something for us to do across the country border in Austria, but the reality was that it was just a small map-dot-of-a-town with a couple houses and (closed) businesses, and rural farmland surrounding. The weather was cool and drizzling, so even a short walk around town didn’t sound very appealing.

We crossed back into the country of Deutschland (Germany) and made our way toward our next destination — Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg is located about 2 1/2 hours north of Schwangau, halfway between Munich and Frankfurt. This stretch of the country is coined “The Romantic Road” as it weaves through the Bavarian region’s dramatic mountain scenery, forests, and fertile agricultural land. We couldn’t get over how much the small towns and landscape of this area reminded us of home in the Midwest. It was easy to see why our ancestors, who migrated from Germany to the USA in the early-to-mid 1800’s, settled in the central part of the New World — because it felt like home.

Thoughts of “home” have increasingly crept into our minds as the final days of this trip are looming. Small differences, like the way bottle caps are purposefully fused to plastic bottles in Europe, are really starting to annoy us. I hear us all saying things like, “I can’t wait until …“ as we allow our minds to think about our lives at home.

This week, another big difference has been driving an electric vehicle — something we are not at all familiar with doing in the United States. On our way to Rothenburg today, we needed to stop at an electric charging station to recharge our vehicle. Andi did some research prior to our departure from Schwangau this morning, and found an electric charging station along the Autobahn that offered “fast charging” to help speed up the process. I think normally if this was your daily driver, you’d charge your car overnight at home so it was ready for you to drive the next day, but since this is our rental car we had to stop at an electric charging station to recharge it.

We really had no idea how to recharge this car, but figured it couldn’t be much different than getting fuel at a regular gas station. Andi used the kiosk menu translated into English to read directions on the charging station, and plugged the cord into the side of our vehicle. Then, we waited. A gauge on the vehicle dash told us the percentage of charge the car had.

It took about 45 minutes for our electric car to go from 20% to 85% charged — and remember, this was one of the more expensive 50kW rapid charge stations. This experience made the quick convenience of stopping by a gas station to fill up a car with gasoline seem like a luxury!

While we waited, Aden and I went into the service station to use the bathroom. Of course, we had to pay to use the toilet (as is customary across most of Europe) — €.50 per person at this station. Having to pay to use the toilet is another difference between the USA and elsewhere in the world; a simple convenience we take for granted living where we do. That said, paying to use the toilet usually guarantees a clean bathroom experience and at this service station, there was even a self-cleaning toilet! As I entered the toilet stall, the toilet spritzed cleaner on the seat and automatically wiped it clean before I sat down. That was something I’d never seen before!

Now that our electric vehicle was almost fully charged, we continued along the German Autobahn toward the city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Aden started to feel ill as we drove which worried me that he was likely coming down with whatever stomach bug Tory had just had. Our week in Germany was not going as planned!

Andi booked us one night’s stay at Hotel BurgGartenpalais, located inside Rothenburg’s original city walls on charming Herrngasse Street. Andi and I are always a little nervous driving into historic walled cities as the roadways are typically narrow with few places to turn around. This was also the case in Rothenburg, but fortunately we found the hotel relatively easily after passing through one of the six arched gateways.

Pictures online made this hotel look fairly updated with modern decor, but that wasn’t really the case. We booked the family suite again so that we’d have four beds. The room’s furniture and decor were dated and somewhat basic, but the linens and bathroom were clean. There was also a small refrigerator and free wi-fi.

Our hotel room overlooked Rothenburg’s cobblestone streets and colorful half-timber buildings with one of the town’s many clocktowers outside our window.

By the time we settled into our hotel room, it was already 2:00pm. Andi hoped we’d find a restaurant still open for lunch as we’d just missed the cut-off time to eat at the restaurant inside our hotel. Aden still wasn’t feeling well, and asked to stay back in the room to rest so Andi, Tory, and I ventured across the street to Hotel Eisenhut. We were the only customers inside the restaurant and had our pick of tables. Naturally, Tory picked the one inside an odd metal cage.

Restaurant Eisenhut had a short list of menu offerings. Once again, I ordered the weiner schnitzel which seems to be a safe & satisfying selection in Germany cuisine. Andi branched out and ordered the barbary duck breast for his meal, and Tory tried the spätzle as the first real food she’s eaten in days. My schnizel was served with a pickled cucumber salad which was a refreshing compliment to the heavier fried meat dish. Tory said her spätzle (served with brown gravy) was just OK; I’m surprised she didn’t enjoy it more.

After our late lunch, the three of us returned to our hotel across the street. Aden seemed to be doing fine now, and was laying in bed watching his iPad. I couldn’t tell if he was really sick, or was simply losing steam in traveling altogether. We’ve kept a rigorous schedule for months, visiting six countries and close to 40 different locations. I think we’d all agree that we’re just plain worn out at this point.

I’d read about a night watchman’s walking tour that takes place every evening in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is the thing to do when visiting this medieval walled city. Every evening at 8:00pm, as the sun begins to set over the town, the Rothenburg night watchman meets tourists on the steps of the town hall. He dresses in a long, dark cloak and carries a hellebarde (long-poled ax) and lantern. This felt like an experience we couldn’t miss out on while visiting this town.

So, around 7:45pm, the four of us made our way to the market square down the street from our hotel. A group of tourists were already gathered in the market square waiting for the night watchman to make his appearance. When the bells chimed on the old Councillors Tavern at the top of the hour, we watched as wooden doors opened and two carved figures appeared in the windows. One of the figures raises a mug which I learned later is in honor of a past Rothenburg mayor who saved the city from defeat by drinking a tankard of wine in one gulp during the thirty year war. (Probably a made-up story, but a fun legend nonetheless.)

Also located in the square is the Georgenbrunnen (or, St. George fountain) where traders and townspeople’s lifestock used to refresh themselves with water. Today, the fountain simply serves as decoration and as a starting place for many of the city’s tours.

There was no sign-up for Rothenburg’s night watchman tour; just a prompting to show up at 8:00pm in front of the town hall that I’d read about on the night watchman tour’s website. A crowd of about 50 people gathered in the square for the tour, and audibly gasped when the night watchman entered the space. He somberly strolled to the steps of the town hall and welcomed his audience by saying, "It was a bad job, being medieval Rothenburg's night watchman — low esteem, low pay, dangerous work. Only two jobs were lower: the grave digger and the executioner. Yes, this was a dangerous job.”

The night watchman broke through the crowd of people and we all clamored to follow after him. What a strange, but exciting tour this was turning out to be already! Was this the beginning of it? Apparently, so. Were we supposed to pay for this tour somewhere, I wondered? There was no mention of any logistics.

The night watchman stopped in front of St. George’s fountain and turned to the crowd. "These days, the job's more respectable: People take photos of me," he continued. "And it's no longer dangerous, because you're all coming with me." The crowd chuckled at the light-hearted joke, and continued following the night watchman down the cobblestone street as the sun began to go down over the 15th-century buildings.

The night watchman stopped in various spots along Herrngasse Street, telling the crowd what times were like for people living in Rothenburg back in the old days. He described drunkards and criminals, and filth and garbage in the streets as there was no such thing as indoor plumbing or garbage service. Soon came the plague, and in one terrible year one-third of Rothenburg’s population died.

We followed the night watchman to the edge of the walled city overlooking the valley. He told tales of the thirty year war which all but decimated the town of Rothenburg in the 1600’s.

Then, for centuries, the townspeople of Rothenburg were broken and impoverished.

The Rothenburg night watchman continued leading the crowd though the town, telling stories of its history. In the early 1900’s, the sleepy town of Rothenburg was rediscovered and revitalized during the Romantic Movement. Poets and painters found inspiration in the town’s quaint medieval buildings and idyllic landscapes. Later, German Nazi ideologists called this “the perfect home town” which they believed represented quintessential Germany.

In the spring of 1945, toward the end of WWII, a man by the name of John J. McCloy, the U. S. Assistant Secretary of War, saved the destruction of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. McCloy was shown war plans for an upcoming attack on Rothenburg. Having never visited Rothenburg himself, he remembered listening to his mother’s descriptions of the German town and seeing a painting of Rothenburg in his childhood home. McCloy asked his army general to consider sparing the town of Rothenburg because of its historical significance and beauty. The US Army general agreed, and the town was saved from artillery fire.

About an hour after the walking tour began, the night watchman led the group back to the market square and collected payment from the crowd that’d followed him. He sheepishly held out his hat, and announced a charge for the tour of €9 for adults (children were free of charge). We tossed our payment into his hat, and made our way back to Hotel BurgGartenpalais.

Of course, Andi, Tory, and I were hungry for dinner now and most of the town buildings were dark. The front desk receptionist told us of a few places we could try for dinner, but they were all closed. Aden wasn’t feeling well again, and asked if he could go back to our hotel room to lay down. Andi and I settled him into bed, and then wandered the streets of Rothenburg with Tory to find something to eat for dinner.

A few pubs were still open, but were no longer serving food. Eventually, the three of us settled on an Italian restaurant called Profumo di Pasta da Giuseppe — it was our only option.

I ordered a proscutto pizza with arugula for my meal, Tory chose classic gnocchi with marinara, and Andi picked veal (kalbfleisch). Why? I’m not sure! This food looked absolutely terrible. I think he was trying to avoid eating a tomato-based dish as his gut is still really iffy. The quality of our food was sub-par to say the least, but at least we were able to find something to eat before turning in for the night.

Finally, around 10:00pm, we returned to our hotel room and concluded our evening in Rothenburg. It was a long travel day, complicated by the fact that the kids weren’t in 100% health, but we’re glad to be in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and excited to explore more of the town in tomorrow’s daylight.