On Friday we got up really late, at 9:15; brilliant !!! I spent what was left of the morning catching up on computer stuff and when Rodney finished his breakfast at 11:15am, he gave Eileen a bit of clean outside. A short walk around the tiny village of Detwang and along the river was about the only exciting thing we did all day. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner outside, which is what we had expected to be doing in Europe in the summer, and it was oh so lovely to have a day of doing nothing much in the sunshine.
Saturday morning was another lazy start and then a big breakfast outside, watching the comings and goings of a campsite morning. We tend to try and greet people in the language of the country we are in, unless we can see their vehicle registration plate and then we’ll try their language. Mind you, I have said bonjour in Austria and momentarily forgotten how to say good evening in German. But we have noticed that the Germans always say “hello” or “guten morgen”, whether they’re in Switzerland, Italy, France, or at home; I’ll keep an eye on this theory as we pass through Luxembourg, Belgium and France. We also want to know how they play Scrabble in Germany, as there really don’t seem to be many words that consist of only seven letters or less…..?
We finally got our shoes on, very late in the morning, and walked up the steep footpath to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We entered the medieval town through the very impressive Klingentor gatehouse and started to follow the walking tour in our Michelin guide book, assisted by the local tourist information leaflet. The town’s turbulent history has been threatened with destruction a few times in the past, but always managed to survive. Firstly an earthquake in the 14th century took out the castle. In the 17th century, during the Thirty Years War, the Protestant town failed to withstand a Catholic siege and 40,000 mercenaries pillaged the place for three months. The town was going to be razed to the ground and the citizens executed, until the victorious general of the Catholic army agreed not to, if one of the locals could empty a single draught tankard of wine containing 3.4litres / 6 pints, in one go. The mayor volunteered and miraculously succeeded, and the town was saved. The Meistertrunk now celebrates that event every year!! Then the third attempt at destruction was made by allied bombers in WW2, damaging parts of the town, but much of it has now been beautifully restored.
Wandering around, we photographed so many lovely mediaeval buildings and walked on parts of the impressive city walls. As it was a hot day, we took refuge for a while inside a cafe in the market square for drinks and to sample the very impressive desserts on show. I couldn’t resist the local speciality, a chocolate schneebälle and Rodney overdosed on a raspberry tart covered in cream, along with an iced coffee topped with a pile of cream. He was thoroughly creamed by the time we stepped back outside.
With legs slightly rested, we paid to squeeze ourselves up the narrow staircase and ladders inside the tower above the Rathaus (Town Hall); it was quite tricky at the top, but worth the effort for the delightful view over the town and surrounding Tauber Valley. And, after further exploration down on ground level, we visited a very impressive Christmas shop, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. The Germans obviously love their Christmas decorations, with some prices reaching into hundreds of dollars!! It was all too much for Rodney, so our next stop was a beer garden and a soothing ice-cold beer!!
Rothenburg really is lovely, even if it is a bit of a touristy town, hence we spent a long time there. So we were rather glad, after being on our feet for so long, that the 2km walk back to the campsite was all downhill. Cod, rösti and salad, cooked up by chef Rodney, was a lovely meal to top off a fine day.
Most of the day on Sunday, after being woken at 7am by manic church bells, was spent cleaning, washing and some relaxing. I actually sat in the sunshine for a while and read 125 pages of my book; that was a first! Rodney opted to go for a long bike ride up the Tauber Valley and then late in the afternoon, we both walked back up to Rothenburg to have a bit more of a wander and an evening meal cooked for us.
We started with a drink in an old fashioned Weinstube and sat discussing where to head to, on Monday. Somehow we just weren’t in the mood for more meat, potatoes and cabbage and so we picked a Japanese restaurant for something a bit healthier. It turned out that they have a buffet dinner on Sunday evenings, so we pigged out on unlimited, miso, sushi, gyoso, spring rolls, fried chicken and more. Then we finished it all off with chocolate pancakes and fresh fruit salad. It was delicious and we literally waddled back down the hill to the campsite.
