For my birthday, Trek asked me where I wanted to go. We FINALLY got the okay from his office to travel further than 100 miles from our house. My answer:
Rothenburg ob der Tauber!
It is & always will be my favorite city in Europe. It's only 2 1/2 hours from where we live which makes it even better. We packed up early & drove into the city so we'd have the whole day there. We checked into our 400 year old hotel (which was used as a tannery in the early 1600's) & then ventured out on an adventure. We decided to show the kids the outer wall of the city first.
Rothenburg is special because it's one of the only surviving medieval cities in Europe. The wall around the city was built in 1300 & some of the building within that wall are dated as early as 980. CRAZY right? Rothenburg was a rich city for years with huge homes with extensive properties. Then in the 1600's they were hit with the plague & with the 30 years war where 40% of the city was destroyed. All that remained was the part inside the wall. After the war the city was poor & couldn't afford to rebuild it's once thriving city. It sat untouched for over 350 years which means now in 2020, the city still remains in it's medieval majesty. It's rare to find a city untouched like this. It's BEAUTIFUL.
The outer wall is just as beautiful as the city itself. It towers around the entire altstadt (old city) & it's fun to just walk around & see it all.
After we walked all the way around the city (2 miles), we went inside & started looking at the inner part of the city. We found a nice park where we sat & ate a picnic lunch & took pictures of the city all around us.
There are so many beautiful old buildings in Rothenburg. They are all unique & have been kept up beautifully.
The gardens are spectacular & they have flowers, shrubery, & trees growing everywhere, even on houses & buildings within the city walls.
After walking for several hours, we stopped back at our sweet little hotel to settle down & rest our feet before dinner. Our hotel was 400 years old. The rooms were adorable, the beds AMAZING, & the view outstanding.
The hotel has the most beautiful back patio area where you can sit & eat foods from the bakery. It lies right against the city wall & the flowers grow everywhere. It's looks like something straight out of a fairy tale.
After resting a little bit, we ventured further into the old city admiring the churches & buildings all around us. It's just gorgeous.
The most famous place in Rothenburg is the Plönlein. It's a funny crooked yellow timbered house with 2 of the city gates on either side of it. It's the most popular place to take a picture in all of Germany.
Rothenburg is also known for it's schneeballen (snowballs). I'm not sure what they are exactly, but their some sort of pastry dough that is fried (like a funnel cake shaped like a snowball) & rolled in chocolate or nutella or cinnamon. They are SO delicious.
For dinner we found a lovely German restaurant that had the most amazing schnitzel & spätzle ever. The kids loved their schnitzel nuggets & brats.
On the way back to the hotel, Craiger bought me a cute little chocolate high heeled shoe for my birthday. It was the sweetest thing ever.
While I was getting the boys rested, Trek & Cadence ran outside the gate to get some pictures of the old bridge leading to the city.
After the food had settled, we were rested, & ready to explore more, we made it back to the city center for the night watchman tour.
This guy has been leading this tour for over 35 years. He does English tours on Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 & German tours on weeknights. He's hilarious & a wonderful storyteller.
After the tour, the boys had a special night out where they walked along the city wall to watch the sunset. It was a great bonding time for them. I stayed back with the girls & we chatted & watched movies in the hotel room.
The next morning we woke up & our hotel served us the most delicious European style breakfast ever. We had scrambled eggs, sausage & bacon, yogurt, cereal, every kind of bread imaginable with meats & cheeses, fruit, & fresh squeezed juice. It was heaven.
It was an absolutely spectacular way to spend 24 hours on vacation. I wouldn't have traded it for the world. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. My family, history, Germany, beauty. . . I feel so blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment