Day Three - Nuremberg to Rothenburg od der Tauber

May 18, 2018 – Day Three - Nuremberg to Rothenburg od der Tauber

It got downright chilly last night with the window open!  Great sleeping weather!  And there are little strip lights under the wainscoting so you don’t need a night light.  (It’s like the lights under my kitchen cabinets – just enough to keep from stubbing your toe!) That’s good because the light in the bathroom only comes on automatically when you open the door.  That’s not an option for all night long!  Too bright!

Another wonderful breakfast buffet!  This one even had brie and liverwurst in addition to all the other choices from yesterday!  It’s going to be especially hard to part with the coffee machine!

Back to the room for final packing and we hit the road around eleven.  Our big plan for today is to get settled in our hotel, walk to town, and make sure we know where to meet The Night Watchman for our English-speaking tour tonight at eight.

Yea, it should have been so easy to get to Rothenburg.  First off, we didn’t find 73, but we stumbled onto 2, which was actually a shorter way to get to A6, which is what we wanted. We’ve gone a really long way without seeing a sign and stop at a gas station, to find that we are, indeed, going the right way! Yay! Then, the entrance onto A6 only went in the wrong direction;  ours was “x”ed out!  So we got on anyway, figuring we’d get off at the next exit and come back on going the right way.  So, after about forty-five kilometers, we’re heading for the road that will take us to Rothenburg!  We get off at the right exit and drive into this charming old Medieval town.  Our hotel is only a ten- or fifteen-minute walk from the town center and our room is spacious, with both a shower and a deep tub!  We even have a balcony and a sofa and two chairs and a table and a desk!  Very uptown!

We bring in some things from the car and head into town.  This is what I’ve been looking for!  Glorious old buildings, cobblestone streets, people in medieval costumes!  It’s a Ren Fair!!  Actually, it’s a three-day festival celebrating an historical event that probably never took place – kind of like Gasparilla!  In this case, the town is saved when the mayor is challenged to drink an entire gallon of wine without taking a breath!  He did it!!  (Well, if he’d actually been challenged, I’m sure he would have done it!)  There is a play which tells the story and lots of singing and dancing and parades and cannons going off from Friday afternoon through Monday! 

We stop at the TI to see about getting tickets to the play and an all-weekend pass to everything else, and the helpful young man sends us right outside to a little kiosk on the market square.  There the young lady sells us our passes and tickets for the Saturday performance of “Der Meistertrunk” at 5:30.

Tonight we’ll meet The Night Watchman for an historical tour of the city;  but before that we have lots of time to wander around, checking out some of the shops and getting our bearings, since we’ll be here until Monday morning. 

After a bit of shopping we agree to sample the signature treat of the city.  It’s called a Schneeballen and we each got one at the Schneeballentraume Café.  All they sell are these large dough balls in a huge variety of flavors, and beverages to go with them.  Marilyn gets the cinnamon and apple version and I get Baileys and milk chocolate.  Rick Steves, our travel guru, says they are just a way to use up left over dough.  He may be right.  You have to pry them apart with a knife because they are crunchy.  The first several bites are tasty;  but the novelty wears off.  Marilyn finished hers;  but I was stuffed before I could get through mine!

It looks like something is about to take place in the Market Square!  We claim two seats on the top step of the large building in which the play will be presented and the man sitting next to me says the gypsies are coming!  It’s a festival troupe!!  There are bagpipers, tambourines, girls who spin poi, jugglers, all the classic elements!  And the big surprise for me is that they are called Mummenschantz!!  I was expecting the performers we’ve seen in the States and on youtube.  I guess they took their name from a much older form of entertainment!  After we’ve watched for five or ten minutes, “guardsmen” who herd us all down the steps and part way across the square.

When the clock strikes the hour, the two windows open!

I believe this is the cast.

Gradually more and more “townspeople” and musicians take their places on the steps we’ve just vacated.  What follows is a variety of musical performances and a lengthy speech (in German, of course) which I think is a long promotion for the play, as he introduces about a dozen people who seem to be actors.  There are even two who drink from a VERY large container – probably a gallon?  All in all it’s a delightful spectacle and we’re very glad we have tickets.  (When we looked on like it appeared that they were all sold out!)

Marilyn has found us an outdoor table while the presentation winds down and by the time I find her, she’s got a glass of wine!  I order a Raddler, (thank you Steph for the suggestion) and it is very refreshing!  It’s a combination of a light German beer and lemonade or something similar.  We just have time for dinner before the Night Watchman’s tour, so we order something quick – “homemade cheese noodles with onions and salad.”  So good!!!

Even the kids get into the Medieval spirit!

We pay our bill and head about thirty feet away to our meeting place with the Watchman.  We’re just early enough to get a couple of photos with some of the cast!   

Then we gather with about thirty other English speakers to learn about Rothenburg’s history.  The Watchman is an engaging performer with a droll delivery that I could listen to forever!  You never quite know when the zingers are coming!  He tells us that the job of the watchman was to light the street lights, check that all doors were locked, and give a warning if there is a fire.  He would like to blow his warning horn for us but do we see a fire??  No one does;  but he is carrying a lantern with a small candle burning in it, and he assures us that it counts!  He also tells us that, although his job was very important, it was considered a lowly job.  The most lowly was the hangman, followed by the grave digger.  They liked to work together because they had the same clients!  He told us that his job now is much better.  It pays more – thanks for coming! – and he doesn’t have to go around in the dark by himself – he’s got all of us for company!

 The tour lasts about an hour and hits all the historical highlights of his charming old city.  Rothenburg was the only imperial city in the Holy Roman Empire, which meant that there was no duke or earl or anyone over the city’s government, only the king!  At it’s peak it had 6,000 people inside the city wall.  It was so prosperous because it was a crossroads and people stopped off to spend their money – just like us! 

This parade actually brought our Watchman to a halt.  He'd been able to ignore the cannons that kept going off while he was giving his tour;  but this was too much!

Look closely.  Teddy's love marks our corner to get home!

When we get back to the Market Square and fill his hat with Euros, it’s really time to head home.  It’s been a lot of walking!!  When we get back Marilyn tries out that outrageous tub and declares it divine!

We’ll be having breakfast tomorrow here at the hotel.  We didn’t actually see any places in town that looked like they were open that early in the morning.  Lot of late night spots, though!!  Tomorrow should be another fun day with exploring during the day, perhaps walking the old city wall, and the play at 5:30.