Feeling pretty pumped that we finally got our
castle pictures, we made the drive up to Rothenburg through rain and cold!
Rothenburg is a medieval city, and it feels very much the same today, just with a ton of Christmas shops added in! After checking into our pension, we took the Rick Steve's walking tour through town, checking out St. Jakob's church with the huge wood carving from 1500 of Jesus and the Last Supper.
We then headed to im Zoll, with the intentions of making reservations for the following night based on high reviews. But, when we saw how quaint, and
warm (the temps were freezing in Rothenburg, we were not prepared!), we decided to sit and have some wine and food. We had their "young" wine, which is less alcoholic, and more like champagne. A delicious meal!
To end the night, we went on the night watchman tour around the city. Both Rick Steves and TripAdvisor gave this amazing reviews, which always makes me a bit skeptical, but it really did live up to expectations! He told some historical stories, all while making it hilarious. Definitely one of the best things we did here!
The next morning, we woke up to more coldness and rain, and decided to check out the Medieval crime and punishment museum. This was also one of Rick Steves's must-dos, but we were not as impressed with this one. There were definitely cool parts...old torture devices on display, beheading axes, etc. But, there was also a completely random assortment of other things in this museum. Want to see a collection of wax seals? Or old laws? Or how about some drawings of devils next to a neck violin? We're pretty sure whoever laid out this museum was on something, but oh well. It kept us out the rain for a while, at least!
Next, we walked the ramparts of the wall enclosing the whole city. The best part is that it is covered, so we didn't get wet in the rain! Much of the wall was destroyed during WWII, and it was rebuilt from people's donations. That's why you see people's names along the wall...they bought that part of the wall.
After a little nap and rest, we grabbed some lunch, complete with schneeballen, the local desert. They look super yummy, but don't get too much food envy. They're really not that good...it's basically pie crust rolled up in a ball with a little sugar. Too bland for us!
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the Christmas stores. So much fun, and it really put us in the Christmas spirit! I wouldn't be surprised if our apartment is decorated for Christmas before it's November! :)
We topped off the night with another walk yummy German meal. Although, I have to say, by this point, I was ready for some other options besides meat and potatoes!
Some pictures from our walk:
On our drive home to Paris the following day, we decided to make a pit stop in Strasbourg, France. We had originally planned to go here for a weekend in December for their Christmas market, but when we realized how long the drive was (5 hours each way!), we decided that was way too far for just a weekend.
And, boy, are we glad we decided to see Strasbourg this way, I think we spent a total of 47 minutes there (according to our parking stub). Granted it was cold and windy, but there also wasn't a ton to see. The cathedral was pretty (add another Notre Dame to the list!), and Petite France was quaint and charming, but everything was quiet. We couldn't even find a place to have a hot chocolate on a Saturday at 11am! It was a nice town, but we decided we like other towns more than this one with similar charm.
All in all, a wonderful first road trip for the Guldans! Can't wait for more! :) See more
pictures from Rothenburg here.
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