Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Old world beauty of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Rothenburg on the Tauber river), Germany is one of the most quaint little towns in Germany. As a result, it's a favorite on most tours. Turns out, my tour isn't what I expected it to be.

The Golden Rose in Rothenburg, Germany

My train arrived and the taxi was waiting for me as expected. Upon arrival at my hotel (The Golden Rose), I learned that I wasn't part of an actual tour. What I booked (through Viator) was kind of a bespoke tour put together specifically by Viator, but contracted through various providers. So, my bus yesterday was actually being used by many, many people for a variety of stops and I was just one of them. That explains why they couldn't wait for me. At my hotel, I was just a tourist staying there as opposed to part of a tour group.

My hotel room is in a back building and I have the top floor,

My little guest cottage at The Golden Rose

which consisted of my room and a huge bathroom. They use old-fashioned skeleton keys in the building and the rooms. My travel documents (that I should have picked up in Frankfurt) were delivered and I spent a bit of time going through them. Then, I went back and read my own confirmation documents and found a little line about going to the tour office in Frankfurt -- which I had totally missed. Turns out that the whole snafu was really my fault after all!

Interior of the Baumeisterhaus

After dropping my bags, I headed out (with umbrella - it's raining) to see the town. Stopped to have lunch at Baumeisterhaus (Master-Builder's House) where I had really good bratwurst & sauerkraut and a local wine. When you order wine, they just ask 'red or white' and 'sweet or dry'.  I ordered dry white and it was delicious, and served in one of those green stemmed goblets like I have in my china cabinet.

My delicious lunch at Baumeisterhaus

Then I went to see St. Jakob's Church (with the magnificent wood carving) and walk around the city. I love these walled towns; the first one I ever visited was York (and I was about to walk a portion of that wall) and the next was in China though I only saw that wall as we drove by it.

From my bedroom window, I can see the high part of the wall, which is covered. I climbed up to the Spital Bastion and walked the covered walkway a short distance. The Latin inscription over the gate says, "Peace to those who enter; Farewell to those who leave."

Lovely hand-carved altar at St. Jakob's Church

After a lot of walking today (in the rain on cobblestones), I just wanted a nice hot bath to soak for a while. Turns out I've gotten a blister on my already sore left foot. Good excuse to visit the Apotheteke for bandaids! I also found a pretty 3-D postcard of Neuschwanstein to send to Annabelle so I had to find a post office. Stamp was .75 so I think the 1,10 charged by the Tabac in Paris included a service charge.

City Wall

After my heavenly bath in a deep claw-footed tub, I intended to go to the wifi cafe I had found earlier in the day. Instead, there was a bar/restaurant (Taverna Marathon) so I stopped in for a glass of wine. The smells from the kitchen were so amazing that I ended up ordering stuffed peppers that were really awesome! The food I've had today has been the best on the entire trip!

Snug little door in one of the city walls

Tonight I'm going to take the 'Night Watchman' tour around the city. Highly recommended by every site I've visited including Rick Steves.