Rothenburg ob der Tauber

When you live in Europe, and get a day and a half free, you make sure that you do something with the spare time.

There are outlet shops in Metzingen, Germany that we wanted to go to. It is a bit of a drive, so we wanted to find something else to do in the same direction and make a weekend out of it. With a little research, I came across the little medieval town, Rothenburg.

There are a few towns with the same name, so if you go, be sure you get the right one. We arrived after dark and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Eisenhut, which is a few hundred meters from the city square.

This hotel, much like the rest of the town, is very medieval. When reading reviews, people complained about this, but we figured that was kind of the point of it all. The whole town feels like you're living in medieval times, so why not get the full experience! The service here was amazing, the room was nice and clean, and the breakfast was the best we've seen so far in Europe.

Shortly after we arrived, we went on the Night Watchman's tour. Is is a tour where a local (dressed as a watchman) guides you through the main street and provides you a history of the town.

He does the first tour in english, and the history was really cool to learn. It was raining and sooo cold. Even still, it was worth it. I can only imagine how much more enjoyable it would be if our feet weren't soaking wet.

I'm not a big history person, but there are a few things I remember. The town is completely surrounded by a wall. This wall played a major part in preserving the town and leaving it with the whimsical medieval feel that we get to enjoy now. The wall kept the town from being attacked or destroyed (too many times).

You can walk on top of the wall, all the way around the town. It gives you fantastic views and it was covered, which was great for our rainy Sunday.

Although parts of this town were destroyed, the majority was well preserved. Even though the walls protected it, it was invaded several times during the 30 year war. After the wars, although the town still stood, it was very poor. This meant the town wasn't updated or modernized, which is lucky for us as tourists now and leaves it with this medieval feel.

After our night tour, we went to a cafe for some food. We ended up meting a man from Washington, who sat and talked with us. After way too many hours, and a few too many beers, we finally headed to bed so we could explore in the morning. Unfortunately, as you can see in the pictures, it was still rainy.

I would have loved to see this town closer to Christmas. The town is full of Christmas shops and I have heard their Christmas market is a must.

Just before leaving, we sopped and got a Schneeball. These snowball-shaped pastries tasted like shortbread, and are traditionally covered in sugar.

They're unique to this town, and there are several shops that sell a wide variety of them. You can get them covered with pretty much anything you want. Since this is a staple of the town, of course you need to try them.

If you're ever near the town, it is a great place to stop. You probably won't make a week vacation out of it, but it is a must-see in this area. I am already wanting to go back for another schneeball.

+Kahli