Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 & 25 

For our last morning in Munich, we decided to head to the BMW Welt (World) and Museum before heading up to Rothenburg.  We thought that Ewan would enjoy a museum dedicated to stylish transportation.  

As it turned out, he was more impressed with the gift shop than all the displays of immaculate, shiny cars and walls of motorcycles!  No matter, we enjoyed our visit, and pressed on toward the famous medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  

Unfortunately the skies decided to open up and DUMP rain on us for the entire 2+ hour drive, which slowed us down a bit.  For a while, we actually considered changing our plans and skipping Rothenburg, and instead seeing if we could stay the night in Stuttgart, as the weather forecast looked dismal, but we were too far along at that point to turn back, so we decided to stick with the plan and hope for the best.  We were so glad that we did.  The rain eased up as we approached this historic, walled city, and we wound our way driving through the cobblestone streets until we reached our hotel and checked in.  It was about 4:30 when we arrived, and the city seemed very quiet.  Fortunately, most of the tourists day-trip their way to Rothenburg, and most of them had already headed out by the time that we had arrived, so it felt like we had the little town to ourselves!  Unfortunately, most of the attractions close around 5:00 or 6:00, so we really had very little time.  

The main attraction that I wanted to see was St. Jakob’s, (aka St. James’) a Lutheran church dating from 1311.  

The big draw of this church is the well-known “Altar or the Holy Blood,” an incredibly intricate wood carving by Tilman Riemenschneider, who according to Rick Steves is the Michelangelo of wood carvers.  I didn’t want to leave Rothenburg before setting my eyes on this masterpiece, and the church closed at 5:15.  It was only a block or two from our hotel, so as soon as we dropped off our bags in our hotel room, I quickly ushered my boys along to the church.  When we arrived, we were greeted by people at the door, passing out flyers asking if we wanted to attend the concert.  Concert?  Why, yes indeed, how serendipitous!  It turned out that we had arrived precisely in time for a 30 minute concert of organ music.  So much for wandering the aisles and snapping photos, but this was a new experience, and one I had been secretly hoping for.  We took a seat in a wooden pew and waited, not quite knowing what to expect, then, just a minute or so past 5:00 PM we practically jumped out of our pew, startled by the glorious power chord that 5,500 pipes could produce.  The music began, and I was positively transported to another place, as I stared ahead at the centuries-old stained glass windows behind the high altar, as the notes, written 300 years ago, echoed and bounced off the bare stone walls and the pointed, gothic arches in the vaults of the long, graceful nave before us.  It truly was a spiritual experience that brought goosebumps to my arms and tears to my eyes.  Understandably, it did not quite have the same effect on my boys, who after 5 minutes had heard quite enough, and politely ducked out of the church to head for the nearest ice cream stand, and left me to soak in the culture, solo.  At the end of the concert I had hoped to climb the stairs to the gallery where the famed Alter of the Holy Blood stood, but the docents were ushering all of the audience out of the now closed church, and I was disappointed.  I met Gavin and Ewan outside of the church and we walked to the town square, where we chose one of Rick’s recommended restaurants for an early dinner.  

The restaurant/hotel where we enjoyed dinner

The other highly recommended attraction in town was the Night Watchman Tour, which began promptly at 8:00.  I really wanted to participate in this, but Gavin wasn’t as keen, and preferred to go on an evening stroll along the wall and snap more photos of this incredible, medieval city.  Ewan was torn as to which parent he would stick with, but in the end went with Gavin, which was a good thing as they ended up tromping along the almost perfectly preserved wall, fortuitously happening upon a playground and having a grand time.  I went by myself to the town square, where close to 100 other English speaking tourists had come out of the woodwork, waiting to meet this “night watchman,” and hear his stories about the history and people of Rothenburg.  Soon a figure appeared, sporting long, curly hair, clad in medieval garb, wearing a dark hooded robe with a horn around his neck, carrying a lantern, as well as a staff taller than he was, with an ax-like metal blade.  

The Night Watchman

The crowd completely enveloped him, those annoying, pushy Americans, clamoring to get closer and closer.  For a moment, I was concerned that I had made a mistake, worried that I would get lost in this huge crowd, and that this one man couldn’t possibly contend with such a large group.  However, I was proven wrong, as he gave the most professional, entertaining, and informative tour, which was definitely a highlight of this magical city.  He was extremely charismatic, every word spoken with dramatic flair, his comedic timing, spot-on.  We only walked a short block around the city, as he stopped at various points, always stepping up onto a bench or a rise, waiting for the masses to gather around him, before he would speak and mesmerize us all with his fascinating tales.  The hour passed quickly, but I walked away having learned many interesting facts about the city, and I marveled how this one guy probably pulled in close to $1000 for an hour’s worth of work.  He was brilliant.

I met the boys back at the hotel after the tour and Gavin and I both agreed that we had wished we had another night to spend here, and that we definitely needed to get up early to give ourselves another hour or two to explore, because we just didn’t get enough in the few hours that we had!  And that is indeed what we did.  We knew we had a big day ahead, as we planned to stop in Stuttgart and spend a couple hours at the Porsche museum on our way to Wadern.  Our target was to leave Rothenburg around 10:30 AM, so we did get up early, have breakfast, and  leave our hotel room by 9:00.  I insisted on going first thing back to the church so I could see that wooden altar.  We took the long way, walking along the wall, enjoying the quiet morning and its beautiful golden light.  We stopped once again at the playground the boys had discovered the night before, and we took turns spinning on the disc carousel, and pushing Ewan on the swing.  

Walking just outside the wall

Fun playground

Ewan could have stayed there for hours, but our time was limited, and I wanted to press on to St. Jakob’s  The boys were pretty much churched out at this point, and chose to abstain and wait for me outside.  I entered the church by myself, and walked straight up the stairs to the rear gallery in the loft.  There were a few other people there, but I waited a few minutes until they left so I could gaze upon this early 16th-century amazing work of art and appreciate the intricate detail of these biblical scenes all by myself.  Exquisite.  

Detail of the Altar of the Holy Blood, dating from 1500

After the church, we didn’t really have a destination, but this is the type of town where a destination isn’t necessary.  The town itself oozes charm, and there is much joy to be found by simply walking along its narrow, cobblestoned streets, lined with perfectly preserved, fine medieval half-timbered buildings, windows adorned with the shocking hues of bursting flower boxes, doors crowned with wrought iron signs and flowery, calligraphy.  

Who knew a butcher shop could be so beautiful? 

We popped into a few shops and soaked in the cuteness of this place, as the hoards of day-tripping tourists began to appear, giving us the sign that it was time to bid adieu to darling Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  

We checked out of our hotel, and Gavin entered the address of the Porsche museum into the GPS and we were on our way to Stuttgart, so Gavin could make his pilgrimage.  We arrived in under two hours, amidst trumpet fanfare and angels singing.  Well, not really.  It was just another museum with more fancy, shiny, expensive cars.  

Family self-portrait

The Pink Pig

Yes, some were really cool and unique, but Ewan and I were rather museumed-out, and Ewan was in rare form, in the highest state of crankiness.  I proceeded to spend the next hour appeasing, threatening, corralling and attempting to pacify our hun-grumpy little beast so Daddy could ogle his beloved sparkly sports cars in peace.  Lunch in the museum cafe, followed by a trip to the gift shop to spend money from Grandma, earmarked for a special souvenir, vastly improved Ewan’s disposition and we left Stuttgart.  In the car, once again, we made our way westward, fighting bad traffic at times, but then making up for it, passing hulking lorries and other dawdlers as Gavin ripped along the autobahn at Californian-ticket-worthy speeds.  

Three hours later, we arrived in Wadern, where we were were greeted warmly by Gavin’s old friend and high school exchange partner, Jörg, his wife, Nadine, and their two boys, Nils (8) and Finn (6).  We were warned not to eat a big lunch, as they were planning a big BBQ.  Nadine’s parents were also there, waiting in Jörg’s backyard, intrigued to meet the American guests.  We proceeded to sit down to a feast of Rollbrauten, a large marinated pork loin stuffed with cabbage and other yummy veggies, grilled on a rotisserie, as well as a number of delicious salads.  For the boys, there were skewers wrapped with thick, tasty bacon.  Mmmmm.  Meat on a stick is always a crowd pleaser.  The boys wasted no time in changing into their swimsuits after dinner so they could splash around, running down the grassy slope, and jumping into their inflatable, above-ground pool.  Though Jörg’s boys spoke no English, and Ewan spoke no German, it was amazing how quickly and easily they got along and managed to communicate.  They shared the common language of Fun: Star Wars, Angry Birds, iPads.  Who needs words?