Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Dinkelsbühl

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Down, down down to leave town. The way we had come up, up, up last time. Fortunately, as we were heading south we didn't have to go up again but followed the river Tauber on a flat path through woodlands.



There were a couple of small short inclines today but it was relatively flat, mainly through arable land and criss crossing the occasional motorway. The roads we were on were very quiet with very few cars so it was strange when we heard the noise of the motorway traffic.



The route took us to a McDonald's late morning as that was the only coffee shop that had been found to be open on a Sunday and the rest of the group always stop for coffee. We joined some of them for coffee, and a snack, as we had plenty of time to get there and we had no yoghurts.



After that it was only another nine miles to Dinkelsbühl so we arrived at lunch time. We entered through the city walls to a beautiful street lined with colourful wooden buildings. Our hotel was very central and we were lucky that our room was ready. Some of the group had to wait quite a while for their rooms to be ready.



After showers we went in search of lunch. We found a cafe and sat outside to order food. I thought I had ordered a ham and cheese baguette but when it came it was a plate full of water thin ham and a little cheese with no bread. Paul had a burger and chips. It was very expensive but that's what you tend to find in these very touristy places. All the supermarkets close on a Sunday so there was no chance of buying food there. While we were eating we were watching some storks up on the rooftops . You could see that there were chicks in the nests.



Then we wandered around the town which was very pretty and full of tourists . We were keeping to the shaded side of the street as it was so hot. We also went into the church for a few minutes reflection, it being Sunday.



The evening meal was booked at the hotel itself so we didn't have far to walk. We sat outside and had a lovely meal and compared notes for the day. How lovely it is to be able to sit out and still be warm in a tea shirt. The evening meal cost less than lunch had! Several members of the group were going straight to bed as we had a long day the next day.



After the meal I rang mum up as I had missed phoning her yesterday on her birthday. She had had a good weekend with lots of family and friends visiting. Then we had another walk around and found a webcam showing storks on the building opposite. It was fascinating to watch the two parent storks with the two chicks in the nest. The temperature is better at this time of night as it's not too hot but still pleasantly warm. On the way back to the hotel Richard, Dave and Bob were having a pint so we joined them. I had my first glass of wine for several days. I have been drinking orange juice with mineral water to make a much longer, refreshing, drink.



33 miles.

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