Deutschland

Another weekend, another adventure.

Thanks to the national holiday on Tuesday, Elizabeth and I spent our 4-day weekend in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It’s a gorgeous town, only a short train ride north. Rothenburg is known for its well-preserved outer wall and ancient buildings, as well as for its cannonballs… I mean, Schneebälle. Founded in 1274, Rothenburg is 6 years younger than Schwäbisch Gmünd. It’s no wonder that their city walls are still in excellent shape. That half decade makes all the difference.

I don’t want to drone on like I’ve done our past 2 trips, so I’ll stick to the highlights. Relaxation was the objective this weekend. On Friday we picked up 2 books for me from the library. Thank you, Cousin Liz, for the help (not “The Help”, though I actually am reading that, too). We hopped on the train Saturday, shortly before 9:00, and by 11:00 we had arrived ready to party.




That’s a lie. We arrived ready to nap. But we were too excited (and I was too hungry), so we resisted the cozy hotel and dragged our lazy butts outside. After lunch we explored the town. We hit as many of the tiny shops as we could, which triggered a substantial amount of déjà vu, and I’ll tell you why: While beautiful, Rothenburg is not immune to the terrors of tourism… of the 50 stores, there are maybe 3 suppliers. In other words: none of it is unique. Once you’ve been to 3 stores, you’ve likely seen everything.

Of course, shopping wasn’t why we were there. We were there to eat! And Elizabeth is my mealtime good luck charm (Abendessenglücksbringerin), BTW. We are American, so we never reserve tables. Nevertheless, not once in Rothenburg were we denied a table. That might not sound impressive if you’re American. And if you’re German, it probably sounds reckless. Interpret it as you will.

The biggest mealtime fail was Sunday night, when I ordered something direct from the server’s mouth. She kept saying that it was extremely, extremely fresh. I didn’t know what she was saying, obviously. It turned out to be another pig knuckle (like I ate in Berlin). It’s not a matter of taste. It was very good. But I’m not happy to say that I ate the entire thing. Again.




The mealtime biggest win was Monday night (Halloween) at Hell. Hell is a restaurant in a cramped little house along the wall of the city. Its foundation is older than Rothenburg itself – constructed before the year 1000. We grabbed the only non-reserved table in the restaurant. Well, to be honest, it too was reserved beginning at 7:30, but we promised them we’d be gone by then. During our meal, no fewer than 15 parties were turned down at the door. It was great fun.

After Hell, Elizabeth and I took the Nightwatchman tour. It was a late night walking tour through the city with local history, led by – whom we agreed upon later – Eric Idle carrying a very large weapon. All of us in his pack gave him a wide berth, for fear of his halberd which was swinging haphazardly behind him. If you go to Rothenburg, do the tour. It’s short and cheap. No risk.




Anyway, during our stay, Elizabeth and I also walked all the way around the city wall. We explored horrifyingly creepy abandoned churches. We ran away from nighttime Halloween weasels. And we still managed to squeeze in enough down time for me to read “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro. Very interesting read. But now I feel like I need to read “Remains of the Day”. Or watch it? We’ll see.

We’re back to the routine again. The cats were ecstatic to see us Tuesday afternoon. They haven’t stopped ramming us with their faces since. Now it’s time for me to bug Elizabeth, to ask to use some of her pictures. I myself shot 1.