Do you like medieval castles? Sure you do, why wouldn't you! So how about an entire medieval walled city complete with bastions and towers, cause that's basically like a castle... or maybe even better. Right?!
Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Franconia, Germany, is one of those towns I have heard about time and time again, a supposedly amazing place full of history and pretty houses and so we just had to go and check it out for ourselves.
Last week we were headed down to the mountains in Germanys South and stopped in Rothenburg for a day whilst passing through Franconia. What can I say. It was magical! We stayed in the valley outside of the town walls, right next to the river Tauber in an old mill, which has been beautifully converted into a small B&B.
Walking through the valley, across an old wooden bridge with a roof and up a steep track to the town centre, we were starting to feel the medieval vibes, imagining how the people who used to work at the mill in old times would have carried flour and bread up to the town in a setting not much different to the one we found ourselves in.
When we entered the historical centre through one of the many gates, it was like going through a portal and being thrown back in time by hundreds of years. Rothenburg is one of the best preserved historical towns and the locals take pride in their home - it is perfect, every single house looks like straight from a fairytale dream.
With it being such a unique, beautiful place it is no surprise Rothenburg ob der Tauber sees a lot of tourists. After all, where else can you get completely lost in history nowadays? Despite the crowds, locals are very friendly.
You'll find many restaurants actually have Chinese menus due to large numbers of people from China visiting every year. This might be an annoyance to some, to others it adds a little twist of cultural diversity to an otherwise quite traditional place.
If you want to avoid huge numbers of travellers, early November seems to be a good time to visit. If you don't mind a bit of a crowd - the town's christmas market is also an event not to miss out on. The christmas lights just add that extra sparkle and since Rothenburg is also home to the German Christmas Museum, it just all makes perfect sense.
It is also worth mentioning that we felt incredibly safe in the city centre, even walking back down into the valley in pitch black in the evening (for there are no street lights), we didn't have any problems at all.
Anyways, I have put together a tiny little Rothenburg odT guide for you, I'm hoping you're already planning your trip!
Where to stay?
'Pension Fuchsmühle' is the cutest B&B, we were surprised when we realised it was only a 2 star accommodation, because it really deserves a lot more. The rooms are cosy, clean and comfortable, the hosts are lovely, the location is perfect if you enjoy some peace & quiet and they offer a nice breakfast for an extra charge, consisting of local and mostly organic produce. Right next to the B&B is one of Rothenburgs main sights, the 'Topplerschlösschen' - a house from the 12th century built on a tower like structure, complete with its own moat. Back in the day it used to be the medieval mayor's summer residence.
Explore, explore, explore!
We spent the majority of our stay exploring the narrow alleyways and hidden nooks and crannies of Rothenburg of which there are many. You can walk along the top of a large section of the city wall and see the famous old buildings from above. There are also 42 town gates and towers and a historical town walk which leads you to all the most important sights. Our favourites were the 'Burgtor' and 'Spitaltor' gates, the first because it looks like part of an actual fairytale castle and because it leads to a beautiful little park with great views over the Tauber valley. The second, 'Spitaltor' gate, is a former bastion built in a figure eight shape. We discovered the entrance to the bastion by accident and as it turns out you can walk around the inside, too, for free!
Other towers worth seeing are the 'Rathausturm' right on the main square and the 'Röderturm' gate, both of which have viewing platforms and are open for visitors, just make sure to check the opening times here and here!
If you're interested in architecture, you might also want to check out some of Rothenburgs six churches.
Try the local cuisine!
If you like hearty, warming food and Sunday roasts, then Bavarian cuisine is for you. Also, do I even need to mention the beer? Yeah, I thought so.
Café & Restaurant 'Ratsstube' on the main square fulfills all your German stereotypes (which are really mostly exclusive to Bavaria by the way) and they won't have you leave with an empty stomach!
For those with a little bit of a sweet tooth, Rothenburg has a speciality that comes in the most delicious varieties: The snowball, called 'Schneeball' in German. It's basically a big, ball shaped mess of thin biscuits which comes with or without fillings and either dusted with icing sugar or coated in any flavour chocolate you can imagine. Because sometimes you just have to sin.
Check out the museums!
Rothenburg has some quite unusual and interesting museums such as the German Christmas Museum, Museum of Medieval Crime, Imperial Town Museum and more. You can find more information about all of them on the town's official website.
A little bit of retail therapy...
There are plenty of cool shops and really something for everyone. I noticed that many shops sell ridiculously cosy, warm socks called 'Hüttensocken' - they're just perfect for the colder days, to wear around your home, in front of the fireplace if you're lucky enough to have one and they also make cute gifts. Super warm gloves and hats are also widely available and I am so glad I bought myself a pair of fluffy gloves, because it did get really cold in the evenings and I don't know what I would have done without them.
Ever wondered what King Solomon's or Robin Hood's swords looked like? Fancy dressing like a maid / knight? Want some pretty, unique silver jewellery? Mead, absinth or wine in a magic potion style bottle? Or just need a new dagger cause that's how you roll?! No problem, 'Waffenkammer' has it all! Just an FYI: Take a potion down to the basement and have a game of medieval cards with the cellar boys!
What do you guys think? Would you visit Rothenburg? Let me know in the comments!
I will obviously keep you posted about our mountain adventure in the alps as well, so keep your eyes peeled for updates and don't forget to upvote if you liked this post. Thank you! :)
Hallo @nomadrituals !
Dies ist eine automatische Nachricht.
Anscheinend hast Du das erste Mal auf #deutsch geschrieben.
Willkommen bei Steemit !
Schau doch mal im https://steemit.chat/channel/deutsch vorbei !
Rothenburg ist der Hammer! Kenne es sehr gut und war dort bereits zig mal. Gerade zum fotografieren ein Traum. Wer auf Romantik steht, für den ist Rothenburg ebenfalls etwas tolles - hier empfehle ich eine abendliche Wanderung bei Vollmond. ;-)
Toller Beitrag, der schöne Erinnerungen wieder wach ruft. Danke dafür!
Danke DIR fürs Lesen und Kommentieren, Rothenburg ist wirklich wunderschön, mal wieder ein Beweis dafür, dass man gar nicht immer so weit reisen muss, um tolle Ecken zu finden, manchmal verstecken sie sich auch vor der eigenen Haustür! :)