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Published: July 14th 2008
Ah ...
The romantic road can do it to you ... us in Rothenburg, a truly romantic looking place, when you look past the tourists June 4th-10th
WARNING! This is the best entry yet, and, after this, I doubt there will be one to top it!
First, between Berlin and Munich. After Berlin we were meeting our friends David and Kristi, and their bub Finn ("the Hetheringtons"), for some time in Munich. In between, we had a couple of days to explore another part of Germany. I was keen to explore one of the German wine regions and in my research discovered the most practical way for us to fulfil this ambition was to explore the
"romantic road", a route winding through a number of picturesque villages north of Munich and claiming some of Germany's wine production. To achieve our goal, we flew from Berlin to Munich where we picked up a car to drive north to Wurzburg, the top of the trail.
Wurzburg, was indeed an appropriate place for the road to start. A classic European country town that appeared to retain many of its original buildings, and a good deal of pride. We dumped our bags at the hotel and sorted out a restaurant recommended "by gospel according to the planet" for its "mostsuppe" (as in wine
Wurzburg
The town at the top of the romantic road must). I decided I had to try it. We were given a menu in German and when we couldn't decipher that, a smaller, tourist-fied version in English. However, tourist menu or not, we had a great meal, and I'd recommend trying the must soup. It was great.
We also tried some of the wines "from here", starting with a silvaner. It was enjoyable, but it left a feeling of slightly furry teeth. We decided to try something else and made it a riesling and a top notch version of the silvaner. Neither were the best decisions we've ever made. The riesling was barely drinkable and the expensive silvaner a bad wine, they tried to make more palatable with an unintegrated touch of botrytis. Well, you've got to try these things!
We spent the next day exploring Wurzburg and taking a cruise up the river, before winding our way back down the path through the most idyllic of idyllic towns in Germany, or so the route claimed in its title. The towns were really gorgeous, especially Rothenburg, which maintained an almost medieval purity, with gorgeous views over the surrounding valleys. I'd recommend dropping in if you're in the vicinity.
I wouldn't worry about the signature pastries though. They look something like balls of wool covered in icing sugar, chocolate, or whatever else takes their fancy, but they look better than they taste!
We spent a night in
Augsberg, having a surprisingly great Mexican dinner there, before heading back to Munich the next day to meet the Hetheringtons. It took the good part of an hour to get all our things, as well as our persons into the car. Four adults on extended holidays and a baby with cot, etc, extended the capabilities of the slick Audi, but we managed, even if David did have an indent in his leg for a couple of days after travelling with a suitcase between his legs. We then drove to a small village the other side of Munich that was to be our base for the next 3 days.
The reason we were there was that David and Kristi were attending the
wedding party (the couple had got married a few months earlier) of some friends, Stephanie and Malte. We thought we'd spend some time with the former on the days surrounding the wedding, but when the bride and groom found
The blushing bride
Stephanie enjoying her wedding party out we were there, much to our embarassment, but absolute pleasure, we were also invited to the wedding party. That first evening we met the unbelieveably hospitable bride, Stephanie, and some (mostly English) friends of hers for drinks and dinner at a local pub / restaurant before everyone went home for beauty sleep. The wedding was to start with breakfast, before a "river boat trip" and end well into the night the day after.
The morning of the wedding party, we dressed, well, for a wedding. David had nice pants and I was wearing a dress with stockings in my coat pocket in case it was cold. All I can say is I was thankful I didn't have high heels with me, because I would have worn them! The party started at 9am where we met the equally ultra generous groom, Malte, before a breakfast of weissbier, pretzels and white sausages with sweet mustard. It was sensational!
The morning was wet and quite cold, so when we arrived to discover Stephanie wearing a pink satin dress and green gum boots with pink flowers and pink socks, I decided she was one of the most practical, and possibly interesting,
The Wedding Party
On a flossfahrt. Literally, a raft, built that morning! people I had ever met, but I didn't think much more of it. The next hint that things might be different than we thought, was when others in the party donned windcheaters and changed into hiking sandals and other practical shoes after breakfast. It wasn't until we reached the river to board the boat that we all understood.
The boat was not a river cruise, it wasn't even a "boat". It was a
flossfahrt. A raft (see the pictures!), no motor, no nothing, that had been constructed that morning, designed to drift down the river, powered by the current, with 3-4 gondolier-style stewards to ensure it stayed on track. Understanding that any measures for a toilet would be, well, "rustic", we used the porta-loos perched by the side of the river as a precautionary measure (and to put on pre-mentioned stockings as it was freezing!), before boarding, mouths agape. We were all allocated a name tag and a beer stein as bonbonniere. The name tag was to put on the stein that was then passed back to one of the five kegs on board which we drank from as while we spent the next 5 hours floating down the
Casting off ...
Our 'crew' cut the ropes, literally river from Wolfratshausen to Munich.
We 'cast off' with one of the crew cutting the rope that moored us with an axe, and watched as the 'crew' expertly wedged their axes into a log in the raft which they later used as leverage while their arms pulled against the massive oars they manipulated as rudders to keep us from crashing into the embankment on either side, or items in the way. Mid trip, we stopped once for a loo
(and a quick schnapps at the bar with Malte's brother) and to remove the tarpaulin, redundant once the rain had stopped, before proceding down the final part of the river, complete with locks that provided a thrill like something out of a theme park log ride, along with a good dowsing of freezing water - for some more than others. Needless to say. the first timers (foreign friends) copped the brunt. I was fine but David had quite wet trousers for a while, but mostly, we were OK.
When we arrived in Munich, we watched as they dismantled the vessel, and others like it that had arrived before and after us. When they finished they loaded all the logs
A show of traditional brilliance
There was no motor or sophisticated steering, just a big long rudder, an axe, and a strong bavarian man (well 3-4 of them). No OH&S issues here! onto a truck and drove them back up river for the next time. I have never had, and it's doubtful I ever will again have, an experience like it. It was awesome. Thank you Stephanie and Malte for including us!!!!
(fantastic way to spend a day and celebrate a wedding, floating through the rural outskirts of Munich with our very own band who were excellent and some lovely local beer. Very difficult day to top.) After the flossfahrt, we piled onto a bus back to Stephanie's family home, where a gorgeous marque had been erected with bench tables and stools, ready for a feast. We spent the evening enjoying the great BBQ banquet that Stephanie and Malte and their familes had prepared, drinking more beer off tap (yep, no bottles here!) being entertained by the newlywed's talented family, most of whom seemed to have prepared performances for the celebration, and pinching ourselves that it was all real. We collapsed into bed still wondering. I was pleased there were photos to convince me in the morning.
Not much could top this experience, but we had a great couple of days after the wedding exploring
Munich with the David,
The hills are alive ...
.... Anna's obsession with fields covered in vines continues Kristi, Finn, Stephanie and Malte, including a great lunch in a somewhat hidden restaurant garden, a Mike's Bike tour, a few beers at the 'Chinese Tower' in the 'English Garden' (go figure?), all topped off with some beers and a meal at the infamous Hofbrauhaus (which looked decidedly different from my memories of it on a Contiki tour 10 years ago!, although the beers hadn't got any smaller!)
We spent our final night in a hotel with easy access to the airport where we were to pick up our hire car the next day to head to Slovenia ... the next chapter ....
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Liz
non-member comment
Dejavu!
Oh my gosh Anna! Your trip to Munich brought me back many memories of mine! Plenty of things in common -weissbier & white sausage, Mike's bike tours, Chinese Tower, more beer, English gardens, pretzels....and of course - more beer!! Have posted all my photos on facebook. have loved reading all your blogs - so sorry again I didn't get a chance to come down & see you in Spain!! Keep having a ball!!! Liz xx