Day 7: Creglingen Day 4:

---

Today started like our previous days, we woke up around 7:30 or so, did our morning duties, went down for another decent breakfast in the hostel, climbed in our car and away we went. Today we planned on checking out Lauda-Konigshofen, about 40 kilometers away. I had found a map showing a walking tour of the town with about 20 or so sights, but hadn't printed it out, figuring it wouldn't be clear/big enough to read. We also figured we could pick one up at the town's tourist information center. Well, first of all, although I knew Lauda-Konigshofen was two towns more or less joined together, I didn't realize the two parts were that far apart, or that the only Tourist Information Center, in Lauda, we found we be so small with so few pamphlets. We didn't find the walking tour map, so we just sort of wandered around town, figuring we'd check the other part of town, Konigshofen, afterwards. Lauda did have a nice small marktplatz, a couple of decent churches, and one tower/gate that we could find.

Not finding much more to see in Lauda, we returned to the car which we had parked in an unmarked and very convenient parking spot about 2 blocks from the marktplatz. I found the Konigshofen part of Lauda-Konigshofen, but never did find their tourist information office, if they had one. We didn't even find anything like a marktplatz. After wandering around looking for anything worth seeing, we decided to return to the car and maybe revisit Rothenburg and see the tail end of their weekend festival. Soon after we got going, Manoli mentioned we should stop for lunch somewhere earlier, and mentioned Bad Mergentheim that we'd passed through on the way to Lauda-Konigshofen. I easily found the turnoff for the town and a ways down the street spotted a Norma grocery store, that of course was closed on Sunday but looked like it was being used for parking. I pulled in and parked next to several other cars, feeling pretty good about not getting a fine. When we got out of the car, Manoli noticed an LBV Backerei (Bakery) Cafe right on one side of the parking lot that was open and inviting. Well, not only did they have delicious looking pastries, but an assortment of sandwiches and fixings. While Manoli looked for a good pasty for her light lunch, I watched a lady slice off some meat for a customer and asked if I could just have meat without the bread. I quickly found out she spoke pretty good English and we worked out a plate with schnitzel (a filet of pork or veal, pounded thin, then breaded and fried in oil) and a good helping of potatoes. I had her put some mustard on the side and I was good to go. The schnitzel was delicious and I surprised Manoli, and myself, by finishing it and wanting a pastry. By the time I finished the delicious pastry, I was pretty stuffed.

We left the bakery trying to find their downtown, marktplatz, to see what there was to see in the town instead of returning to Rothenberg. A few blocks down the same street, we found marktplatz and the Tourist Information Office. I'd researched the town before the trip, but only found a few sights worth seeing, so hadn't planned on visiting it. Since we were there, we checked out the brochures and discovered not only did they have a couple nice churches/cathedrals, but the Deutschordenmuseum in the Deutschorden Schloss or Castle. After taking some photos of the marktplatz, we walked the block or two to the castle. We both decided we didn't want to pay for a tour, so we just walked around outside and also checked out their garden. The garden was pretty, but nothing special. The castle did look quite cool, and was the biggest one we'd seen so far. By this time it was after 4pm, so we walked back to our car and headed back to Creglingen.

Back in the hostel, and after a short rest, Manoli said we should walk down into town to see what was open for dinner, and since she wasn't hungry, maybe I could get a takeout pizza to bring back to the room. Well, when we got to the Da Salvatore pizzeria/restaurant where we'd eaten last night, I remembered people had come in and ordered pizza to go and one family appeared to order pasta. After looking over the menu, and having it confirmed that I could order pasta to go too, I settled on a Pasta Mixto al Forno (mixed baked pasta). The lady told us it would be 20 or 30 minutes, so we decided to walk down to the scenic Tauber River for a stroll. Along the way, I spotted a couple of unusual pieces of playground equipment. One was a sort of Jungle Gym, but the other was a very unusual swing, with two seats opposite each other on a frame the sort of teetered. I convince Manoli to get on one and I got on the other. I have to say it was the wildest swing I've ever been on and a lot of fun. After goofing off, we crossed the river on a pedestrian bridge, then walked back to the main bridge and the restaurant, just in time to pick up my food. By the way, the large tin of mixed pasta cost 8 Euros and was plenty and delicious.

We got a negative reply on our first choice for where to stay after Donauworth, so I sent out an inquiry to our 2nd choice. Tomorrow we pack up, have breakfast and head to our next stop in Donauworth where we have reservations for a private double room for four nights. We'll probably stop at a town or two along the way, both to pass time before we are able to check in, and to see the sights of a couple towns around Donauworth. This next stop will be like our stop here in Creglingen, where we'll spend some time checking out Donauworth, then discover other nearby towns on other days.

---