The tour along the Romantic Road in Bavaria included a stop at the well preserved historic town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber literally translated as "Red Fortress above the Tauber". The problem with touring in a group is the tight itinerary. I would have loved to take my time sightseeing and making my must-do round of souvenir hunting.
(Town Hall with its 60 metre high tower)
(Old Defence Wall)
(Herrnbrunnen Fountain with The Franciscan Church in the background)
Time was definitely not on my side at Rothenburg. This medieval town has so much history and is the real deal with its awesome patrician buildings and churches. But I was lured away from my exploration through the cobbled streets by attractive window displays that were beyond irresistible.
There was no darting in and out of stores. I just spent too much time in every store I entered. I bought Franciscan wine, wine glasses, Christmas ornaments at the famous Kathe Wohlfahrt store, table cloth and runner with beautiful lace, kitchen accents and so many souvenirs.
I longed to get at least one of those simply beautifully crafted cuckoo clocks and wasted too much time making up my mind.
The stores closed too early and dusk fell too soon. When we walked back to the hotel after a delicious dinner, the streets were already dimly lighted, empty and silent.
(Dinner at Gasthof Butz Restaurant)
I was up and about early the next morning trying to see as much as I could to compensate for my neglect. Unfortunately, it was rather cloudy and I could not get many good shots. Then it was time to leave Rothenburg with my bulging bags.
I managed to snap some photos of forged iron craftship signs that medieval towns are famous for.
You sure are right about the stores closing too early! I spent most of last week in Southern Germany, from Cologne all the way to Munich. Somehow, I managed to miss out on pretty much all of the stores being open.
I learned the hard way that the grocery stores (in addition to all the other stores except petrol stations) are closed on Sunday. It's a family day, or so I hear.
I'm glad you got some shopping done. I spent two days in Alsfeld and didn't manage to catch anything open except for the restaurants. Here's a pic from Alsfeld:
The town hall is on the right. It was built around 1250. In the background is a church that Martin Luther visited on his way to Worms. It's pretty neat! I just wish I'd been able to buy those shoes I had my eye on. :-)
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Lovely architecture! There's so much history in these lovely old towns.
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It looks like a really lovely city! It's a shame you didn't have more time to explore, but maybe another time :)
We always travel light so I cannot buy any souvenirs whatsoever, but it's such a big challenge leaving beautiful things there without buying them.
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