Rothenburg ob der Tauber - A Medieval Christmas

Rothenburg ob der Tauber in the Bavarian region of

Germany was the jewel of our trip.  

The highlight of the stay here was a walking tour through

the old town with The Night Watchman.  As we walked

we were entertained with his humor and knowledge as

he shared with us the history of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

This medieval city was wealthy and industrious until

it was defeated during the 30 year war which went from 

1618 to 1648.  An army of 40,000 under Count Tilly 

was marching through the region and wanted to quarter

his troops there for the winter.  They refused and ended

up being defeated, being left poor and destitute.  Thus

poverty preserved this city as the people left it for

more prosperous areas.  

You can find the tour nightly at 8:00 pm in front of

the beautiful Town Hall.  Of course, as I have said, we

had lovely weather for an evening stroll.

We started our stay here with checking in at the

Mietermeier Hotel - a boutique hotel just outside

of the city wall, so it was only a 5 minute stroll to

get to where we wanted to be.

Each of the rooms were decorated differently, and they

were HUGE, even for American standards.  This was our 

lovely room.

This modern free standing tub was part of our 

open concept bathroom.  It also had a huge 6 foot shower

done in glass tiles.  

Here is a shot of our friends', the Harkness's, room with an additional

day bed in theirs for their daughter Hannah to sleep in.

It likewise was huge.  Their room had a closed off bathroom.

We all said we would have loved to have been able to take

a peek into every room.

Every part of the boutique hotel was wonderful.  This

was the breakfast spread.  There was a room right off this

with couch and fireplace where you could gather,

and there were several other gathering places.  We

all agreed that a full week here would have been

marvelous.  It was right around $200 a night.

The main street leading to the center of town is lined

with charmingly preserved homes, all unique and beautiful.

As you get further into the town center, the houses become

taller and more eleborate.

In all of the towns we went to, they decorated the inside

and outside of buildings with fresh trees, usually

with red bowls and lights.  The town squares and churches

had giant fresh trees placed in them.

These unique little tree holders up on the second floor

for short fresh trees were quite common here.

Windows were decorated with such charm and style.

While some were just charming unadorned.

This was definitely my favorite town, and although the

Christmas Marts were not as plentiful, the stores in themselves

were Christmas wonderlands.

The best store was the huge Kathe Wolfarht store, but alas,

they did not allow pictures inside.  This store had at least a 30 

foot tree that twirled, and a 20 foot wooden pyramid - the

famous German kind that spins by the light set off by candles.

It was amazing and you could spend a fortune in there.

(I got my cute German hat in Nuremberg.)

In Rothenburg we ate at the same restaurant both

nights (after we ate our way through

the Christmas Marts for lunch). 

 We loved it so much.  Again, it felt like we were

in someone's home for Christmas.

Not only can I not pronounce it, but I can't read it,

but it was up towards the castle on the hill.

We tried a tortellini soup - the tortellini was huge

and enough to share.

Sausages and potatoes are always on the menu, and

it was fun trying the different varieties.  I loved the

presentation in this restaurant.

This was our favorite, pork on spatzle in a cream mushroom sauce.

It was one of those sauces that make you swoon.

I highly recommend this place.  We asked a

shop lady for a recommendation, and we were

thrilled with it.

Each city is so different.  This was truly

a Christmas wonderland.  I would have

to say that Rothenburg ob der Tauber was

my favorite.  It charmed my heart!