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Writer's picture Jana

Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber...A True German Fairytale Town!

Before arriving, we read all about the charm of Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, in northern Bavaria. We also saw plenty of images online depicting said charm, but nothing could prepare us for what we saw when we arrived. Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber oozes charm from every square inch of its cobblestone streets and brightly painted half-timbered buildings. Ornate and whimsical wrought iron signs hang over the various shops, restaurants, and hotels, adding to the ambiance, as you stroll down the streets.


There was lots to do here, for a relatively small town. One of our favorite activities was walking the city walls. There are gates, covered ramparts, and towers to climb throughout the 2-mile Turmweg Tower trail. The views are wonderful!


We also found the Medieval Crime and Justice Museum both unusual and interesting to visit. The highlight of this museum is its exploration into the unusual law enforcement techniques used by local rulers in medieval and early modern times, such as torture instruments, shame punishments, or instruments to execute corporal punishments or death penalties. It sounds much darker and scarier than it was.


On our first night, we went on the Night Watchman's Tour. Our tour guide, in full costume, was an entertaining character who gave us a nice overview of the history of Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. The tour was from 8-9 and afterward, we enjoyed beautiful sunset views as we walked back to our hotel.


Another highlight of our visit here was the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store and museum. There are three branches of the store in this one small town. Christmas is big here is all I can say! Her store is purported to be the largest Christmas store in all of Europe and judging from what we saw, I don't doubt it.


In addition to seeing some interesting sights in this picturesque town, we also had some delicious food. Two days in a row we ate at the same famous sandwich shop for lunch that served the most divine warm meat sandwiches you have ever tasted, served on delicious crusty bread with homemade pickled cabbage, German mustard, and sweet sauteed onions. We ate them outside on the steps of the historic town hall and enjoyed every bite! We also sampled the local snowballs. The schneeballs, as they are called in German, are deep-fried pastries made from shortcrust pastry and traditionally topped with confectioners' sugar, although they now come in many other flavors as well.


We stayed in the lovely Hotel Mittermeier which had cozy, but spacious rooms and excellent customer service. We will be sad to say goodbye to this delightful town after spending two days here when we push off tomorrow.






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