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Published: April 26th 2019
We woke up to rain this morning and cold temperatures. For most of the trip we have seen the upper 60's and 70's Overnight the temperature dropped to 47 and was only expected to reach the lower 50's all day. The rain made it seem much colder. We also had a disgruntled tour manager. The tour company handles getting your luggage to your room but only one piece of luggage. You are responsible for the rest of what you bring. Each of us had two pieces of luggage. A large suitcase and a carry on bag. I don't mind handling my own luggage but when we put our luggage out to be put on the bottom of the bus we were told we couldn't do it....we'd have to put it over head or under our seat. Problem is the overhead compartment will barely hold a shopping bag and there is no room under the seat. Now just yesterday at the start of the trip we were told any luggage that would not fit on the bus needed to go under the bus in the luggage hold. We really didn't start the day off right! Marsha sweet talked the driver and he
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Canola fields and wind turbines put our bags, along with many others under the bus....there was plenty of room!
One of the things we have learned is that bread is very good here and there are lots of choices! Our breakfast buffet was difficult because there were so many good looking pieces of bread or rolls! We have really had some great food on this trip.
Once we were loaded on the bus we headed out for Rothenberg, a medieval town surrounded by a wall. It was a neat town with lots of history. It is part of what is called the Romantic Road linking several picturesque towns and castles. It was once a trade route between central Germany and the south. Even though it was rainy it was a beautiful drive to Rothenberg and later to Adelsried where we are staying tonight.
As we are driving I try to take pictures, though it is very had to do with a moving bus. Today is was made exceptionally difficult with the added problem on rain. The camera wants to focus on the raindrops on the window instead of what you are trying to capture. I love the drive through the various parts
of each country we visit. You notice things that are the same and many things that are different. We thought this part of Germany seemed similar to West Virginia.....hills and valleys...farming...small little towns. One thing that you can't miss is the fields of canola. The Canola (or Rapeseed) field are right yellow as it is related to the mustard family. It is bright yellow and you see it everywhere! It is really tough to get a good picture of it from a moving bus!
Depending on the length of the drive we stop a couple of time for comfort stops. Really it is because the bus driver had to take a break every so many hours, plus people do need to go to the bathroom. Not all bathrooms here are free. The one stop we made today cost .70 Euro cents and you had to deposit it and go through a turnstile to get to the restroom. You did, however, get a coupon for .50 Euro cents off any purchase. Our second stop today was free and was beside a McDonalds! Everyone had fun trying out menu items that were uniquely European!
We finally made it to Rothenberg.
I have to give the us driver kudos for his ability to navigate the narrow streets. He is not allowed in the historic area so he lets us soff the bus and we have to walk to the historic district. There is a tower, in Rothensberg, that is connected to the town hall and is open for visitors to climb to the top. Shealyn was adamant that this is what she wanted to do, so Marsha and I went on the climb with her. It started out simply enough with concrete circular steps...... but as we climbed higher and higher the steps got more narrow. Finally we were climbing wooden steps that were very steep. The last set of stairs were more like a ladder and straight up. There was a narrow opening to the very narrow deck around the bell tower. I had to climb through the opening on my knees and then pull myself upright. It was challenging but so worth it. There were a total of 220 steps and not for the faint of heart. The views were incredible....refer to the pictures to see what I mean. Of course coming down was just as hard until you
got back to the concrete spiral steps.
Rothenberg is also know for a particular pastry called a German Snowball or Schneeballen. It is pastry dough cut into strips then loosely rolled into a ball, deep-fried and either dipped in cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or dipped in various flavors including chocolate, Nutella, caramel, strawberry, etc. We didn't have to look far to find them! Before we ate something sweet, we went on the hunt of a pretzel. We found one! It was served hot so the cheese would melt. It was delicious! The Schneeballen was also delicious, but a little messy to eat!
There were many cute shops in this town, so of course we had to do some shopping. We found all kinds of things from magnets, hats, shirts, and all the typical souvenirs to Steiff bears, cuckoo clocks, Swiss army knives and chef knives. It was a great little town to visit.
Once we boarded the bus we continued on the romantic road heading toward southern Germany and Munich. We will head right on out of Germany and toward Austria after our visit tomorrow to Munich.
This evening we had a very nice dinner at
our hotel complete with local entertainment! Its now time for bed so Good NIght!
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