Category Archives: Germany road trip

Germany Austria May 2018: The castle at the end of the Romantic Road

We’d driven the 350 km of the Romantic Road over 2 days and reached the end, Füssen. Nestled at the base of the German Alps, this tiny town has the biggest claim to fame as the access point to the fairytale castle Schloss Neuschwanstein. This most famous castle of Germany has supposedly been the inspiration for Walt Disney’s famed castles at all their theme parks.

Sleeping Beauty castle at Disney World Hongkong in my 2008 trip

I love all things Disney, just love them. I’ve grown up on a staple diet of Disney princess movies and even today, I get goosebumps seeing the logo of Disney productions with the lit up castle and the stars shimmering over it. Naturally, when I heard about the “original” Disney castle, I was desperate to fit Neuschwanstein castle into our itinerary.

We left early to visit the castle. A bright and sunny day, a heavy breakfast to power us through the day and a fully charged camera were important adjuncts on this beautiful drive along the mountains.

As we approached Neuschwanstein, we saw the castle perched up on a small cliff, playing peek-a-boo from between the trees. It looked stunning!

Thanks to the internet, we knew where to go and where to park. More importantly thanks to the internet, we had booked the castle tour online, which meant that there was no queue for us to pick up our tickets. Best thing ever. This meant that we waltzed past 100 people (minimum) to an empty ticket counter. However, the online booking didn’t save us from the bus queue with huge tour bus crowds. Since you can’t drive up to the castle, you have to take a bus, horse carriage or walk.

The queue for the bus seemed never-ending, but moved quickly as soon as the bus rolled up. Since Murphy always gets his way, the bus doors shut just as our turn came, making us wait another 20 minutes in the glaring sun for the next one. However, it was good that we didn’t walk up, it was very steep and the bus groaned its way up slowly. The kid was very upset about the horses struggling to pull the heavily loaded carriages up the slope and was determined to write to the German chancellor about the cruelty shown to animals here.

After getting off the stop, we still had a long walk till the castle itself. As we rounded a corner, we got this stunning view.

Note the similarities with the Disney castle

The view of the countryside from the same path and the castle itself

It was all too pretty and we went trigger-crazy, but remembered that we had to climb onto the Marienbrucke, the bridge from where you get the best view of Neuschwanstein castle. The bridge is a metal bridge high above a narrow gorge and initially, I was a little scared walking on it. But the sight of the castle took away all fear.

Precariously perched on a cliff, surrounded by tall mountains, with the Alps as the backdrop, Schloss Neuschwanstein was the perfect castle. I could completely understand the obsession of King Ludwig II to build this castle. Apparently, it was designed first by a scene painter, and later on, architects came into the planning process. The king had himself written to his close friend, the opera composer Wagner, “The location is one of the most beautiful to be found, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple.”

Worthy temple indeed for a recluse king who’d been stripped of most of his powers, and was ruler mainly in name. This was his dream castle, but sadly he died before completion.

Just below the bridge was a waterfall plunging into a turquoise-green pool. There was a walking path down in the gorge, but the sight of it from high up was just too scary for me to venture all that distance down.

However, I did want to continue on the narrow rocky path beyond the bridge, from where the views of the castle are even better, but the kid got very frightened by the lack of people and the steep climb and refused to go on.

We crossed the bridge and walked a long walk to the castle, looking up at its side façade.

Neuschwanstein can only be entered at fixed timings with tour guides who leave every 5 minutes. If you miss your time slot, you can’t enter the castle at all. So we stood outside the castle in the heat well in advance till we entered and started the tour. The tour itself was very rushed, so we couldn’t enjoy it much. The castle was grandly decorated but photography is not allowed inside, so there are no pictures of the interiors.

There was a throne room with a very high brilliantly painted ceiling which lacked a throne as the king died before the room was completed. The room that I liked the best was a grotto, fantastically lit up. A grotto in a castle? No wonder they called him the mad king. The paintings on the walls were inspired by operas of Richard Wagner, but the pieces de resistance were a swan beak tap with fresh spring water, flushing toilets and telephones. All this built in this remote high location in the late 19th century was certainly commendable, and expensive. So expensive that the king was certified crazy and arrested a few years after the construction began. Most shockingly, he was found dead with the certifying psychiatrist only two days after his arrest. Murder, they wrote?

We were done with the palace in 30 min after which we went out to the balcony to enjoy the views that King Ludwig could barely enjoy, of lake Alpsee and the gorgeous Bavarian Alps.

The bright yellow castle between the two lakes was Hohenshwangau castle, the king’s father’s palace and childhood retreat. He stayed here to supervise the construction of Neuschwanstein, which towered over this smaller castle.

We could appreciate the stunning viewpoint of the Marienbrucke after seeing it from here.

“Good we didn’t walk down into the gorge,” I thought with relief.

“I walked on that?” was my next emotion. “What a precariously balanced bridge!” Once we had our fill of the views, we walked through the kitchens and an interesting souvenir shop and came upon a model of the castle.

Perfect fairytale castle

We walked through the courtyard, where we lost each other. Or rather, the hubby and the kid lost me. It’s a staple for every trip, that we miss each other somewhere and then go nuts locating each other.

Reunited, we walked down the long leafy walk to Hohenschwangau castle, which we had decided not to tour from inside to avoid castle overload.

It painted a very pretty picture as a bright yellow building against the bright blue sky. Climbing up to it was a very steep walk indeed and we were very tired by the time we reached the courtyard but impressed by the multitude of swan fountains and swan flags.

The view of the lake from the courtyard was stunning, glistening in the sun with the snow-capped mountains behind. “What a beautiful view to wake up to,” I thought.

We turned to have a last view of Neuschwanstein before leaving. This was the view that King Ludwig II must have been dreaming of while his castle was being built. Such a non fairytale ending for a fairytale castle.

No “happily ever after” for King Ludwig II

We had chosen to stay at Hopfen am see, a lakeside town near Füssen, for beautiful views over an Alpine lake. We had wanted to see the town of Füssen too, but we thought we’d see it in the evening as it was too hot in the afternoon, even though it was on the way. However, we found Hopfen am see terribly crowded and we couldn’t get any parking anywhere. It was a though the whole of Germany had descended onto this lake. After failing to get a parking spot after driving through twice, we finally drove back to Füssen for lunch.

We parked on the street outside the pedestrian only old town and walked in the bright sun past the small pretty houses. Food was the priority and so we sat down at the first vacant table.

The crowded main street of Füssen

Füssen was terribly crowded as well. “What’s with these people,”I wondered, “Do they also not cook on Sundays like the Gujjus?” After a lacklustre meal, we roamed a bit of Füssen. It had pretty colored houses and a castle of its own, and a river ran through the town.

Germans have a thing for pharmacies, they are elaborately designed everywhere

We walked down the main street and the river and admired the pretty houses, but it was intolerably hot and sunny.

A lovely church that captured my eye

Cafes overlooking the main old town

I was keen on seeing the Lech falls, a small manmade waterfall on the river Lech, a short walk from the old town. By this time, a few clouds started rolling in, covering the sun and making the walk more pleasant.

We crossed the bridge over the river and started climbing up alongside the river to the falls.

The footpath had a clearly marked cyclist path and this area must be very popular for cyclists as there were so many of them. My dear child walked continuously over that designated path and almost got run over.

We huffed and puffed along the 20 minute climb to the falls.

They were thoroughly disappointing. I knew that the falls were small, but this was positively tiny. The Lech falls were known for a deep turquoise color, but this day, they were a dull grey mirroring the sky. We turned back quickly and crossed the river to see the museum looming up ahead.

It was drizzling so we rushed for shade in an ice cream shop and ate some delicious ice-cream. As soon as the rain stopped, we walked out of the town and headed back to Hopfen am see and drove past the lovely lake Forgensee.

It was bad luck that we visited Füssen in the heat, after we were already tired at the castles. It was a beautiful town in a very charming locale, that we’d have loved had we seen it in the evening, after a good rest.

Thus ended our Romantic Road drive, where the towns provided the romance and the castle the tragedy. It was a wonderful drive with great stops along the way, a must see part of Germany.

Germany Austria May 2018-The unromantic Romantic Road with the very romantic towns

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The name Romantische Strasse, or Romantic Road conjures up images of a fairytale road, lined by roses, lilies and floating Cupids, with pretty hamlets and castles on the way. In reality it was a narrow single carriageway road with great views of meadows and small towns, and most importantly, speed limits unlike the autobahns that we had been given reason to fear. However, the road was aptly named for the very gorgeous romantic towns that lay on the way, the smooth drive with practically no one on the road, and the stunning vistas of the German countryside from vineyards to the snow-capped Alps.

“What’s so romantic about this road, mommy? Are you going to hop out of the car and start dancing?” asked the irritating smirking brat. “Or something worse?” She added wickedly. Remind me not to take her on the next trip. “The Romantic Road was a gimmick, a 350 km long tourism booster in the 1950s to tempt travellers to drive along this road after the devastation of WW II,” I explained. The road could be driven from North to South as we did, or reverse. Our Romantic Road drive began in Würzburg where we picked up our Volkswagen Golf and ended at a lakeside town just ahead of Füssen. In all, we spent 4 nights on the Romantic Road.

The wheels for the trip, Volkswagen Golf

The dream wheels for the trip

Its tough to drive on a road with 20 charming towns with a man who hates pausing the trip. Würzburg, the beginning and Füssen, the end point were undebatable. Rothenburg ob der Tauber where we stayed the night, was essential too. Stops other than these required careful planning to avoid visiting towns that looked similar to each other. We finally agreed on stopping at Dinklesbühl, Nördlingen and Landsberg am Lech ( a lot of effort was spent in convincing the hubby). As we were keen on driving the romantic strasse, we keyed in the names of the next Romantic Road town to stay off the autobahn.

The university town of Würzburg on the river Main

The drive to Rothenburg was the first leg of the journey, very scenic with the undulating meadows, vineyards and forests on a warm sunny day.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber was undoubtedly the most romantic of all towns on this road.

Both these towns have been covered in previous posts, so I continue my story with the day we left Rothenburg. The drive out of Rothenburg was beautiful with cloudy skies, gentle rain and lush green fields. Small towns dotted the road here and there.

As we took the exit to Dinklesbühl, we were a little worried about parking (because we hadn’t figured out how to work the parking machines) but we found free parking outside the walls.

A tulip-studded roundabout just outside the town

Dinklesbühl is a mini-Rothenburg. Just like its more crowded and famous version, it is a walled town with a night watchman tour. It dates back to the medieval period as well, but has somehow been spared in WW II, so all the buildings are the original ones. It seems much smaller than Rothenburg, far more real and infinitely less touristy. However, it’s just as high on charm and good looks.

Adorable little houses with sloping red roofs and windows with contrasting shutters greeted us as soon as we entered the town. As we walked towards the town centre, the half-timbered buildings with intricately carved signs started coming up.

The town square was simply gorgeous with a church at one corner and stunningly colored half-timbered houses on both the sides. It was a lovely overcast day and the recent rain seemed to have washed the entire town clean.

The most beautiful of all the houses was a hotel, but the others were lovely too. I simply loved the lace curtains on all the windows.

Cafes lined the sidewalks and flowers peeked out from everywhere.

A wedding party was climbing into a horse cart driven by a pair of adorable horses.

We strolled along the street so taken in by the city that we lost count of the time. The gentle breeze blowing through along with the chocolate high from the morning breakfast set us all in a great mood. After walking down the entire main road, we walked through the wall to emerge on the side of a little stream with pretty houses around it.

Looking back through the walls onto Dr Martin Luther strasse with the prettiest buildings

We walked into St George church for a moment of peace and to rest our legs. In contrast to the colourful town, the church was a dull grey and brown, the stained glass and the flowers being the only color there.

We had walked only on the most famous road of Dinklesbühl for want of time, but I managed to peer into one of the crossing lanes and found it just as charming.

One of the many towers along the walls

As we walked out of the town, I felt so happy that we chose to stop at this town, even if for very little time. I know I went trigger-happy but it wasn’t my fault, it was that of Dinklesbühl.

Good-bye Dinklesbühl!

We drove off with the next stop Nördlingen keyed in to Maps, again staying on the smaller motorways. Romantic Road isn’t very well-defined as a road, and there are many alternate routes to reach any town along this route, so we were very worried when the smooth-as-silk motorway was replaced by this.

With no other road in sight, we drove through this partly closed road instead of doubling back and taking the autobahn. Not a very good move in retrospect, as it turned into a dirt road and we were flung about. The only reassuring things were Google Maps pointedly leading us on and a BMW that had followed us.

We managed to reach a proper road and were thoroughly relieved to see this signboard.

“Thank God we are getting somewhere!” exclaimed the hubby, convinced that I was leading him on a wild goose chase through Bavaria. Relieved was I when we drove up to Nördlingen, yet another walled town.

I’d chosen this town because my best friend Olivia, who’d driven the Romantic road in the Easter break, had stayed here and recommended it strongly.

My bestie Olivia and Harun Gupta on their drive through Germany on a very similar trip as ours. I had desperately wanted to recreate this picture with the hubby

Also, the scene of the elevator rising above the town in the first Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie was shot here. Since I’d loved the original movie, I was keen on seeing this view in person.

Snapshots from the original movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Nördlingen is a unique town as it is built in a crater left by a probable asteroid impact onto a graphite deposit. The impact created tons of tiny diamonds to get embedded in stones, that were used to build the stone buildings when the town was constructed in the 9th century AD. Of course they are microscopic, which is why we haven’t heard of this “glittering” town, but the time we reached there, Nördlingen was certainly sparkling under the fierce sun.

The town is built within circular walls within the impact crater

For some reason, the town was totally empty. All the shops, all the cafes were closed. It was like a sleepy town. Also, it was so hot and sunny that I couldn’t even enjoy the walk or the very attractive buildings.

The hubby was not pleased at all with my addition of this stop. Hence I was clearly told, “Get to the bell tower for the view, have food and get out quick.” So my limited pictures are of the walk to the bell tower.

I loved this cute car with the big headlight “eyes”

The bell tower, the Daniel, is part of St George church, from the top of which the whole town and the surroundings can be viewed. “No church, only tower,” repeated the man. So, we started climbing, and climbing, and climbing, almost 8 storeys up.

It was such a long way up that the hubby and I had to take breaks and rest in the middle while our little mountain goat scampered up and found a friend.

We climbed up the last steps and out onto the viewing platform. The red roofs glistened in the sun and the circular walls could clearly be made out.

I felt like Charlie, soaring above the sky in the great glass elevator. I found myself wishing that I could inherit the magical Willy Wonka factory too. I could even smell the chocolate bubbling, the chocolate river flowing, the bubblegum swelling, even hearing the breaking of a bar of chocolate. Snap, and I was jerked back to reality. The hungry hubby and kid were merrily devouring a slab of Cadbury chocolate by themselves while I was lost in Wonka land. Hmmmpphh.

Since I wasn’t going to wander about the town, I decided to view it from high above with the zoom lens, and was pleasantly surprised to see very gorgeous buildings.

The town centre with the cafes we were eyeing hungrily from above

It was terribly sunny and we were all very hungry, so we left quickly. The kid was whining for pizza, the hubby for the car. I climbed down carefully and slowly, thanks to my unstable ankle. The kid and the hubby had sped past me 2 storeys above. Suddenly, I heard a huge thud. Fearful about the kid, I rushed down to find the hubby groaning in pain, holding his head in his arms. He’d lost his balance and had broken his fall by holding the railing with his left arm, that was already very painful because of a frozen shoulder. He was in so much pain that i was worried he’d torn his rotator cuff. Somehow, he made it down the tower and to the car where I had some painkillers. We had a quick MacDonalds lunch and drove off, the hubby managing with the painful arm.

Guilt flooded through me. This town wasn’t on the original plan I’d made in Mumbai. This was a last-minute addition that the hubby hadn’t been keen on. “No more going anywhere the man doesn’t want to,” I thought to myself. Nördlingen will always stay a bad memory for me, and bell towers a bad one for him. I dropped all plans of visiting Landsberg am Lech and chose the shortest route to Hopfen am see, the lakeside town near Füssen, the end of the Romantic Road and our stay for 2 nights.

The road not taken, the one to the picturesque town of Landsberg on the river Lech (photo from internet)

Weird trees lining the road out of Nördlingen

The views of the surroundings got prettier and the towns we passed seemed to get cuter.

All of a sudden, we turned left and merged onto a large highway, a dual carriageway road. “Oh no, the autobahn!” I thought. “Yaay, no speed limit!” thought the hubby.

The big surprise was that the man loved this highway, after he’d insisted earlier on never driving the autobahn. He grew more and more confident and drove faster and faster, despite his injured arm. He even started overtaking other vehicles Mumbai-style and now, I was really scared. Luckily, we took another turn and were back on the smaller, slower country roads.

Typical Bavarian villages with small wooden houses and church towers

The autobahn had fortunately cut down on the long drive, both by distance and time. After 2 hours on the road, we started seeing snow-covered mountains. “The Alps,” I gasped. We were nearing our destination for the day.

Large meadows with wooden houses spread out on all sides around us. Fat cows grazed on the lush green grass. Pretty yellow wildflowers covered the fields. “Germany is prettier than Switzerland,” I thought.

We reached our hotel in Hopfen am see soon after that, but our journey on the Romantic Road doesn’t end here. It continued the next day to the fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein and the last town on the Romantic Road, Füssen. But that needs to be temptation for the next post, so I leave with these pictures as a sign of things to come.

The multicolored buildings of Füssen

The stunning Neuschwanstein castle

The reason for this outstanding drive was the hubby. I can’t thank him enough, for driving expertly on the other side of the road than he’s used to, getting us everywhere safely and especially for driving despite his injury and the considerable pain he was in.

Germany-Austria May 2018: Rothenburg by evening and night

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There is great enjoyment in walking about a gorgeous town alone, where one can stop and see what one wants to and take as many pictures as one desires, or simply sit alone and feel the breeze ruffling one’s hair. That’s how I felt roaming about the streets of the quaint picture-perfect medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Rodt for short) by myself. I’d already seen most of it with the hubby and the kid (previous post), but this was my “me” time. Coffee and cookies flooding my system, I walked out of our homely and wonderful hotel Garni Kreuzerhof, with no particular route in mind, and stumbled unexpectedly onto the most photographed building of Rodt, the Plonlein.

This cute yellow half timbered house sits at the junction of two roads, sloping upwards and downwards towards two towers. It is actually the face of Rothenburg, the stock photograph, the one that comes up the minute one googles Rodt. It was being restored, so the lower part was cordoned off and actually didn’t look too appealing, but that aside, I just couldn’t see what the fuss was all about. The whole of Rodt had houses like this, and this street was as pretty as any other street. More charming that the Plonlein itself were the houses and shops leading to it, with quaint signs, old-fashioned lamps and eye-grabbing shop windows.

Yeah, I know I’m too old to like teddy bears but I can’t help it. I spent a good 15 minutes in Teddy’s Rothenburg, allegedly to look for toys for my year-old niece, but actually just to have a good look around for myself. And I actually dragged my daughter here just so that we could leave with one teddy (allegedly for the kid, but again, really for me). Oops, I better make sure that she doesn’t read this post!

Walking away from the toy store took a bit of discipline but more sights awaited me. Since I had more time to stop and stare, I could notice more details than before, like windowsills that captivated me.

And buildings with flowering trees and gardens around them.

And hotels with ivy climbing all over their walls.

As I happily wandered along, I suddenly stumbled into my much desired burggarten or castle garden, a huge green space with flowers and trees, and a terrace looking onto the old Rothenberg town and the Tauber valley.

There were very few people here. It was very quiet and pleasant. Benches were scattered about and flower beds dotted the entire garden. Small statues were lined up in one corner. I knew instantly that the kid would love it.

Unable to keep this beautiful discovery to myself, I rushed out of the castle gate, where once upon a time, the castle that protected Rodt was located. It had long since burned down and the stones used for constructing the walls, but the name castle garden has stayed till today.

I quickly called the hubby to come to the garden with the kid and walked down to the Plonlein square to meet them, which was down the lane from my hotel. It looked very different now with the lights coming on in the lamps along the street.

I dragged them to a different route than the one I’d taken, through the valley. There were multiple parallel paths cut into the hillside with amazing views of the whole valley. We soon ascended straight into the garden and the hubby was thrilled with the view of the old town of Rodt that lay in front of us.

The kid, on the other hand, found the flora far more exciting and jumped about like a rabbit amidst the flowers. I don’t blame her, they were so stunning and unique.

It was tough to tear ourselves away from this haven of peace, far from the madding crowd. But it was soon to be time for the night watchman tour, that we couldn’t afford to miss. We also had to buy the teddy bear (for the kid) and rushed to Teddy’s Rothenburg to pick up the imaginatively named “Teddy”.

Just across was the Kathe Wohlfahrt store, the grand daddy of all Christmas stores. I’d read that the store was crazy but I hadn’t bargained for this. Predictably (and luckily for me) the hubby stayed outside, so the kid and I had a great girly time together.

As soon as we entered, we saw the gorgeous animated soft toy exhibit with simple old fashioned soft toys.

But the real magic unfolded as we went in deeper. Racks of teddies, soft toys and dolls lined the walls. Small trinkets hung from the sides. Holly sprinkled with lights decorated the ceiling. A huge glittering Christmas tree stood in the centre. The ceiling and walls were slung with sparking lights. All around were decorations and Christmas colours. It felt like a Christmas market. And I felt like a little girl meeting Santa.

Wooden toys, soft toys, Christmas tree decorations, nativity scenes, mangers, lace table clothes and runners, and the most stunning range of Christmas tree balls I’ve ever seen were stacked in the store.

Crystals, angels, Santa’s, stockings, doll houses, cutlery, paper napkins, cuckoo clocks, I have lost count of the wonders. It was insane. I don’t know how we managed to drag ourselves out.

Naturally we got fired, but we didn’t care. We were still on the Christmas high. However, we were running late for the night watchman tour, so we sped up to join the group of people hanging about the steps of the new town hall with Hans Georg Baumgartner, the night watchman.

Clad in a long black cape, well-worn boots, a rakishly angled cap and carrying a bugle, a lantern and a terrifying medieval weapon of murder, the night watchman held us spellbound for the better part of an hour. We followed him like children behind the Pied Piper, hanging on to every word, learning about the growth, fall and regrowth of Rothenburg through the ages. His style was simple and witty, and he held our attention (and our kid’s especially) very closely throughout his tour. Most of all, the love he had for his town shone through, and that’s probably why the history lesson didn’t seem like a school lesson, but an engaging, gripping story.

He highlighted how the town was on a trading route and so became a very prosperous town circa 1200 AD with a population over 6000. While that doesn’t seem like the population of even a block of Mumbai, it must have been a big deal in the days of yore in Rothenburg.

The night watchman’s job was a lowly job, preferred only over that of the executioner, because he had to tour the town by night and watch out for fires. There were 6 of them, on duty each night, and they were meant to be seen and not heard. A cry from the watchman indicated a much dreaded fire, which were devastating in the town filled with so many half timbered houses.

I was surprised to learn that these decorative houses that had captured my heart and lens were actually used in the middle ages to store grain and other food stuffs. “What a waste,” I thought, but he gave a perfectly sound explanation for it. The many sieges, famines and diseases of those troubled times that made it essential for the town to stock up.

We turned into this beautiful street, admiring the stunning architecture and the gentle slope when the night watchman told us how there were no drainage systems in the middle ages. Every morning, you could be hit by a sprinkle (or worse) from the windows. There were gutters on each side of the street. All the garbage and sewage material from each home was dumped into the gutters and washed away by the rain down the sloping streets. “Can you imagine what happened when it didn’t rain?” he said in a deadpan fashion that convinced us that he wasn’t joking!

I suddenly viewed the gorgeous street in a new light, especially when I saw this pretty young bride at her photo shoot and could only think of what she would be standing over during the middle ages!

Eeks! Luckily for us (and her), we were in 2018 with decent sanitation. The night watchman chuckled at our expressions and walked cheerfully down the same path as the gutter contents and we turned a corner to see a lovely hotel with this interesting name.

Hotel Meistertrunk is named after the story of the Meistertrunk or Master Draught. Legend (or at least the night watchman) has it that in the year 1631, the protestant town of Rothenburg was invaded by a large Catholic army during the Thirty Year’s war. Rodt lost despite a good fight, and let the troops in. As per custom, they served the winning army wine and the general, impressed by the quality, agreed to spare the town if anyone could drink a tankard-full of the very excellent wine in one gulp. The commendable ex-mayor downed it at one go, sparing the plunder that a losing town generally undergoes. He supposedly slept for 3 days after the incident, but lived to be acclaimed the hero of the town. Hmmmm. Should we credit his survival to an exceptional liver or really impotent wine?

We turned into the burggarten through the tall tower gate. The night watchman pointed out a face on the tower that I hadn’t noticed earlier, through which hot oil was poured onto the unsuspecting enemy.

However, the heyday of Rothenburg, already on a decline when the trade routes changed, fell rapidly after the conquest by the Catholic General, whose troops despite the promise left the town bereft of any fortune. The plague soon hit Rodt and a large chunk of the population was wiped out. With no money to rebuild the town, it turned into a sleepy town, preserved in its yesteryear state. The misery endured by the inhabitants turned out to be good fortune for it in the 1800’s. Poets and authors flocked to the town to discover this remnant of the past in the increasingly industrialised Europe, and the fortunes of Rodt soared again.

However, good times were short-lived as Rodt became an important town of the Nazi era. Naturally, at the end of World War II, it was heavily bombed. However, only part of the town was destroyed. The American artillery was to march into the town after the aerial bombing to complete its annihilation. The General had heard a lot about Rodt from his mother, who had visited Rodt when she was younger and was smitten by the town. He offered one last chance at peace in return for unconditional surrender. The German General defied Hitler’s orders of fight until death, surrendered and spared the town. The rest is history, for us to walk through and enjoy.

The sun was setting now and glowed gently over the stunning town seen afar and the castle gates here. I whispered a big thank you to the wisdom of the American General who’d spared this town and we followed the night watchman out of the garden.

As darkness fell and we came to the end of the tour, Georg had one last recommendation for enjoying the town. He suggested dinner and drinks at the traditional pub Zur Höll (German for Hell) quipping, “If a citizen in Rothenburg admonishes you to ‘Go to Hell,’ it is a good recommendation.”

The night watchman tour was just about THE most entertaining tour we could take. The kid who had stayed in the back, shy initially, stepped up right to the front and listened carefully to every word. Thank God she liked it because she was very hungry. So, we skipped Hell and went to a fabulous pizzeria instead, and then I roamed the streets of Rodt alone.

Some towns are just meant for roaming about at night and Rothenburg is surely one of these. The main market square and most of the town itself was all lit by soft golden lights. The afternoon heat was replaced by a cool breeze, the crowds had dissipated and a magical feel had descended over the town.

The lit up new town hall

The legend of the Meistertrunk was highlighted in the windows of the old town hall, with the figures of General Tilly and the saviour mighty-liver mayor drinking his tankard of wine. In this magical setting, it was a story that could be believed.

Note the mayor drinking from his tankard

The most beautiful half-timbered houses of the market square were even more stunningly lit. Just like in the daytime, I found these the best houses by night.

As it grew darker, the lights over the house dimmed and the figure of the Madonna was the only bright light of the building.

St Jakob’s church likewise, was well illuminated at night.

There were many moments on this walk when I didn’t take pictures. I just walked aimlessly along, happier than I was throughout the day. Rothenburg had more than lived up to the huge expectations I’d set for it. And Rodt by night was far more magical than by day. Even the shop windows seemed more alluring at night.

I could have stood with my nose glued to the glass and stared for ages, but more of the town beckoned. I walked down to the Plonlein cross-roads, admiring it far more than by daylight.

The lantern like lamps lit up the signs of the stores and hotels so beautifully. It seemed like nothing could bother me when a BMW came tearing down the now empty streets. This town sure had its share of car daredevils, which made me rue the fact that it wasn’t a pedestrian only town.

I walked towards one of the watch towers gleaming in the soft lights, looking at the well lit cafes and hotels.

Beyond this point, there was no one on the streets. The silence was eerie and the golden lights threw scary shadows on the floor. My hotel was on a parallel, quieter road and I had to take the narrow perpendicular streets that were totally desolate.

I stepped up my pace and breathed a sigh of relief when I reached the hotel, and promptly slept off, contented as could be, with sweet dreams of the streets, houses and flowers of Rothenburg.

And so ended my one day in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a town that took me back in time. A place that no photographs or blogs could capture the essence of. A place I shall surely visit again.

P.S. I must once again thank Yogesh Shenoy for editing my dull night pictures and bringing out the gleam in them and insisting that I spend at least one night in Rodt. You were right Yogesh, I should have spent 2 nights here instead.

Disclaimer: This post is unfortunately not sponsored by Kathe Wohlfahrt stores

Germany-Austria May 18; Rothenburg ob der tauber, the impossibly pretty town

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“Rothenburg ob der tauber,” repeated the kid, rolling her r’s and her eyes, “Why do you like going to places with weird names, mum?” She had a point. I have a penchant for places with unpronounceable names. But then, they are all also outstanding places to visit. And Rothenburg ob der tauber (from henceforth to spare my fingers, Rothenburg will be mentioned as Rodt) is an impossibly outstandingly pretty town. A tourist haven, a photographer’s mecca, a toy town, this town deserves time and lots of it. One day is not enough for sure.

The name Rothenburg ob der Tauber means red fortress on the Tauber river. It was the first stop on our drive along the romantic road of Germany, a 350 km long road connecting Würzburg to Füssen, a drive I’d been dreaming about for months. This was the day to pick up the car and drive to Rodt, which meant double the excitement. We ate a hearty breakfast at our Würzburg hotel where, true to character, I spilt all the coffee over the table, and then cabbed it to the Sixt rental. We’d chosen a downtown pickup to save money on the pricier airport/train rentals, and were off to an early start, with me desperately praying for an upgrade from the chosen Volkswagen Golf. Apparently if they don’t have a car of your requested category, they provide a free upgrade. Fingers crossed.

We had a small panic situation when the hubby’s credit card couldn’t be swiped and they refused to accept any other card or cash as the security. A call from the hubby to the Indian bank sorted it out and we followed the Sixt guy out to the car pickup area, with me holding my breath. I saw a gorgeous yellow low-slung car and grabbed the hubby’s arm. “It’s a 2 door, silly, ” he said. “It’s fine,” I said, “The kid will jump over into her seat. And if she won’t, we’ll dump the kid here. Anything is ok for this car.” While this intense discussion was on, the Sixt guy crossed the car. “No problems, ” I said, looking lustily at a bright red BMW. “Keep dreaming,” said hubby. The sixt guy still walked. He walked past a cheery red Volkswagen, a jet black Volkswagen, an unaffordable convertible (sigh!), and then he stopped. Right beside an ugly dull grey Volkswagen Golf. I hate grey cars, simply hate them. “It’s ok,” I told myself, “Get in with your eyes closed, the interiors are good.” “Take pics of the exterior,” ordered the hubby. Ugggghhhhh. Anyways, the car was a sweet ride, sturdy and stable, and took us through the next 9 days safely, so I shouldn’t complain. Keep still my beating heart.

Excited as hell, we got out of Würzburg city pretty quickly, said goodbye to the lovely river and the empty vineyards and hello to the romantic strasse. Miles and miles of narrow tarmac surrounded by green meadows, rows of yellow wildflowers and topped by blue skies, this is the stuff road trips are made of. Add the two most important people of your life, and you know why its called the romantic road.

Of course, one must get off the road once in a while to be part of the fields of gold.

An enjoyable 2 hours drive through the pretty countryside of Bavaria and we were just short of our destination. I was looking about for the river Tauber, on which the town of Rothenburg is perched. While I was hunting in the valley, the hubby pointed out a tall hill with scores of brown roofs and said, “That’s your town.”

Rodt sits high on the hill and a lot of gentle upward curves took us to the town itself. Like all walled towns, it has expanded beyond the walls and we drove through a small part of the unwalled bit before entering the main walled town to get to our hotel Garni Kreuzerhof.

This small family-run bed and breakfast was the best hotel of the trip for me. Though they were cleaning when we arrived, they made our room ready in 10 minutes. The huge home-like room had a piano just outside it and the kid enjoyed playing while we settled in. The icing on the cake for her was a cute dog that she petted for ages.

Camera and Rick Steve’s (RS) guide book in hand, we set off to explore each little street of this fabulous historic town (my plan at least). Rothenburg is a medieval walled town with a plethora of half timbered houses and pretty flower sills, that seems frozen in time. It was a rich independent town for many years in the 11th and 12th centuries, one of the 20 largest citoes of the Roman empire back then. In the 17th century, it was invaded by Catholic troops of General Tilly, who plundered it as they left. Further afflicted by the plague, it became a quiet village for almost 400 years. So its medieval look couldn’t be revised as they didn’t have money. Then tourism slowly picked up in the late 1800s and the town became famous. In short, Rodt has stayed a beautiful medieval town because it’s gone through a terrible history, like most beautiful places.

A town that oozes old world charm

I’d forgotten to carry the town map but it didn’t matter, because I had the Rick Steves walk to follow. I like his walks because he gives just about the right amount of history and architectural details without making it boring, and he covers all the main must-see sights and tells you about the lesser known ones (which don’t stay lesser known as they are in a guide book). We walked straight to the town centre, stopping far too often to take pictures because everything here is photogenic. It’s like Disney world without the rides. You don’t know where to look.

You know you are in a really special place when the hubby’s memory card starts getting filled up. Every street, building, shop had a character of its own. Of course it was touristy, but how could it not be? Everyone would be drawn to a town with buildings like this.

Note the date of construction: 1617

Rotd is best known for its half-timbered houses that fill most of the streets and are a visual feast for the eyes. A style that became popular in the middle ages, they were actually cheap housing, because they weren’t all wood. The wood frame was exposed and filled in with plaster, brick or stone. These were very typical of Southern Germany and I just loved them.

What a gorgeous cafe!

Do I need to say that I went into a photo frenzy? Even the kid was thrilled, running about, looking into stores, staring at shop displays and basically impeding our progress to reach the town square.

Finally, we reached the large open space of the market square and grinned happily. This huge area was surrounded by some of the most picturesque buildings ever. Even though it was crowded, the people just seemed to fade into the corners. Like all central market squares, it had a town hall. Two of them actually, an old town hall and an older appearing new town hall. When the old one burned down and got reconstructed, it actually looked newer than the new town hall.

The new town hall

The newer looking old town hall

The buildings lining the square and the entire atmosphere were outstanding. I could close my eyes and picture myself in the middle ages, hear the clippety-clop of the horses’ hooves on the cobblestoned streets and the rustle of feathered hats and flowing dresses.

Once the house of the richest man in Rotd, it has statues representing the 7 cardinal virtues and the 7 deadly sins

At one corner were the finest half-timbered houses in all of Rothenberg. One was a meat and dance house, and the other, surprise, was a pharmacy. Just nearby was an ancient water fountain, that was said to be the largest fountain of the Rotd of the middle ages. Slanted metal bars extended outwards from where people could fill their buckets.

Lanes sloped away from all corners and edges of the square. Small shops with curios, wooden toys, dolls, beer steins, soft toys, cuckoo clocks and all sorts of alluring souvenirs were interspersed with restaurants, cafes and ice cream shops.

Dolls of my childhood, they dont make them like these anymore

Mini Rothenburg in a shop window

Flowers hung out of balconies and windowsills. Wrought iron signs lined by gold announced the names of the shops. It was overwhelmingly cute.

Shops like these sloped down the slanting streets

Yummy

I was keen on climbing the bell tower to see the views of Rodt from the top, so we headed back to the main square to the new town hall. The kid was thrilled; she had vivid memories of my panic attack 2 years ago at the bell tower in Split, Croatia; the hubby was scared that I would refuse to go up or down, halfway through again. Of course, neither happened as smart moi had researched well and knew that these stairs were easy and safe. What I didn’t know was that there were so many steps and they got narrower and narrower and steeper as we climbed up.

Right at the very top was a very narrow iron ladder that was meant for skinny midget boys to climb up and ring the bell. Since I didn’t fit into that category, it was quite a struggle to hoist myself up and back down. But the views were certainly worth it.

The lush green Tauber valley stretched out beyond the walls of Rothenburg with the meadows and vineyards we’d just driven through.

From up above, the marketplace with the brown roofed town looked like a toy town. Can you recognise the buildings?

This rooftop restaurant would be so wonderful to eat at, especially at sunset.

The largest and most famous church of Rothenburg, St Jakob’s church, famous for having a cordial with a few drops of Christ’s blood, stood out in all its glory. I could have stood there for ages (mainly to postpone going back down), but space was limited and so we climbed down gingerly. Never before has the slr bag seemed so heavy! Thrilled to be down on level ground, we were eyeing the icecream stores, when I suddenly realised that my Rick Steves guidebook was missing. Oh no! Had I dropped it in the square, or worse, at the top of the tower? I retraced my steps all over the town square, went up the tower and even up the narrow ladder, accompanied by the kind kid, but we never found it. If this wasn’t bad enough, my camera fell down 4 steps. Fortunately, it worked, but without my guide, I felt a little disoriented, and a little incomplete. That “no small loss” fortunately didn’t reduce our enjoyment of Rodt and we plodded on. By now, it was hot and sunny, and the kid was tired. So we sat and rested in the shade of the grand St Jakob church.

Batteries recharged, we set off to walk the walls of Rotd. Way back in the middle ages, as the town had expanded, the inhabitants had built a huge stone wall around it for protection. Tall, strong and 3.5km long, the walls now provide a bird’s-eye view over the town and into the backyards, balconies and windows of the houses. Little wonder that they keep their windows and curtains closed all the time.

Less dramatic than the Dubrovnik walls, this narrow covered track is almost complete around the whole town, except for a portion at one end. There are many towers on the wall and steps down into the town. Small crooks and crannies along the path and the many small openings looking out towards the newer parts of Rotd had the kid and me jumping about excitedly, pretending to be soldiers defending their town and reading (and mispronouncing) the names of the donors who helped re build the destroyed wall and buildings after WW II.

It didn’t take very long however for both of them to get bored and tired and want to get down from the wall. So we climbed down and made our way back to the hotel, helped only by Google Maps. They rested in the room, while I set off alone to see the town at my own pace, in my own way, and stumbled onto an amazing garden while I was at it. That however, needs another post, so I leave this afternoon in the magical town of Rotd with this stunning picture from atop the walls, that made me wonder, “Am I really in 2018?”

PS: A very very important addition: A huge thank you to Yogesh Shenoy for telling me about this town, and for editing my pictures so that Rothenburg’s incredible beauty could be expressed on the screen.

Germany Austria May 2018: Würzburg

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I think it’s amazing that a person can spend the better part of a year planning a trip and when it actually happens, the days just fly by so quickly. It’s almost like watching a movie that you are starring in. That’s how I felt through most of this trip, surreal, but nice (to rephrase Hugh Grant in Notting Hill). In fact, the planning, and writing the blog, both, have taken much longer than the trip itself. But on this day, 26th April 2018, I was not to know that. I was simply thrilled to be starting my much awaited German holiday.

After landing at Frankfurt airport, we had to reach Würzburg, the town where we would rent our car from and start the exciting road trip. Würzburg is known mainly for being the first stop on the romantic road and is not a very commonly visited place. We took the Flixbus (bad move because it wasted money and time) and walked the short distance to our hotel. We freshened up quickly, grabbed a bite and rushed off to tour Würzburg without wasting any time over (much needed) sleep.

Würzburg turned out to be the quintessential charming European town. Most of the places to see are centred around the old town. With my Rick Steve’s Germany guide-book, we set off on his recommended route, to start at the Würzburg Residenz, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The grand Würzburg Residenz

Built in the 18th century for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, this grand palace was inspired by the Versailles palace of France and the Schönbrunn palace of Vienna. Having learnt this, the hubby was quick to tell me that we were never going to see either of these two palaces now. It was sad news, as my desire to see both was increased after seeing the Residenz. While the palace exteriors aren’t that great, the interiors of the palace and the gardens are very impressive.

As soon as we entered the palace, I promptly bought the Bavarian castle pass (allegedly to save money, mainly to ensure we saw multiple castles), put away our bags and walked in to see a sight that made my jaw drop.

Pic from internet. No photography is allowed in the Residenz itself

We had come upon a grand sweeping staircase with statues along its banisters, leading to a huge hall with the one of the world’s largest ceiling frescoes, painted by the great Italian Rococo painter Tiepolo, depicting the 4 continents known at that time, Europe, America, Africa, Asia. The kid and I had a lot of fun guessing which was which continent, till we opened the guide-book and simply read. It is an architectural marvel that such a large ceiling doesn’t need any pillars except at the 4 corners.

From there we moved quickly through the rooms. Grandly decorated with elegant chandeliers and paintings, it was tough to imagine that this palace had been badly damaged at the end of World War II and then re-built in the same grand style. Large halls with painted ceilings and cherubs lining the walls abounded. Some of the paintings were 3 dimensional, a masterpiece in that era. Some had the paintings contiguous with statues sticking out of the wall. Even though these rooms were stunning, we rushed back to rest our eyes once more on the glamorous red-carpeted Titanic-like staircase and the gorgeous painted ceiling. It was easy to imagine oneself as Rose gliding down the staircase, to meet Jack. However, we didn’t linger for long, as the beautiful gardens that we caught a glimpse of from inside the palace beckoned.

The hofgarten (court gardens) located behind the palace were the best gardens we saw on the trip. They were compact enough to walk through and spread well not to appear crowded, studded with trees, flowers, statues and fountains.

Pic courtesy the kid

For the hubby who hates palaces and castles, this was a treat for sore eyes. It was cool, yet sunny, and we spent a very enjoyable 2 hours strolling about here.

On closer inspection, the barks of the cone-shaped trees had statues on them. Were they wood nymphs or dryads, or men pining for them?

We turned back to get a stunning view of the gardens with the palace behind. What a lovely place to live in! I wouldn’t mind being a Prince-Bishop and spend every evening reading books on these lawns.

Soon we moved off to see the gardens at the back, that we could see from the rooms of the palace. Arches of green vines interspersed with maze hedges and perfect lawns were spread across the length of the palace.

Steps rose to a tall platform with benches and statues and more flowers, with views of the back of the palace and the impeccably designed lawns. It was simply too grand. Rose was happy indeed.

At these gardens, I desperately wished for a huge Gujarati picnic basket that my sensible mum would always have carried (memories of Safa park came rushing back), but for now, the kid finally took out some food from the depressing Punju food stock and ate with the hubby, while I wandered about on the platform. Walking about, I came upon this statue that perfectly described the perennial state that my daughter and niece are in.

Someone designing the palace must have had kids like ours!

Finally, satiated by the gardens, we left them and exited through a pretty arch to see a prettier church, whose grandness matched that of the palace.

After a long time spent at the Residenz, we set out to roam the old town. Though I had a perfect walking itinerary in my hand, we just wanted to wander about. This meant that we missed a few sights (and churches, sadly for me), but getting slightly lost is often part of the fun!

The red Marienkapelle church

The atmosphere of the old town more than made up. Cobble stoned streets, pastel coloured buildings and cafes with umbrellas on the road were the norm of any European town, but the colourful flags along the shops lent it a carnival like atmosphere.

Old styled buildings with souvenir shops, vintage stores and all the well-known brands lined the roads. I never realised that Würzburg was such a big place. A great blend of the old and the new.

The Würzburg cathedral surrounded by newer buildings

Who wouldn’t love a town where the bakery announces itself in style?

And where shop windows have a British hangover.

And random statues line the streets!

Some were ooh-la-lah!

Roaming the streets of this totally picturesque town, it shocked us to discover that it had once been a big stronghold of Nazi Germany. At the end of WW II, the city had been destroyed almost completely during air raids. Heavy bombing led to fires, that spread easily amongst the wooden buildings. Scores of innocent women and children were killed and only a shell of the city remained. A small room has been built with vivid pictures of the historic events of the war and the destruction of the city, to remind all of the futility of Nazi ideology, war and also the heavy price of the Allied victory.

Representation of the shell of the city after the bombing and destruction

A plaque with a very important message

The sensitive kid hurried me out of this sombre place. The lively happy atmosphere in the streets of the old town couldn’t let us feel sad too long. We moved on towards our next stop, the famed fortress on the hill, the Marienberg fortress. I was keen on visiting it for its magnificent views over the town. So we made our way towards the bridge that crosses the river Main that flows through Würzburg, the Alte Mainbrucke. Even before we reached it, we smelled it. Drinking the famous Frankonian wine on the bridge is THE thing to do in Würzburg , and that explained the empty streets of the old town. All the tourists and all the locals were out on the bridge, glasses of wine in hand.

The Alte Mainbrucke is filled with statues of saints. All along the bridge are little cubby holes with a statue in each, with loads of people standing in the cubby holes with their drinks. It was so crowded that we had to cross more than halfway across the bridge before I could even get a picture.

Once there, I went bonkers clicking away. A fortress, a river, pretty houses, and lots of statues were like a dream come true.

Beautiful houses lined both sides of the river bank. People were sitting along the river edge, walking their dogs or just cycling along. It was quiet and peaceful by the riverside and looked like a fabulous place to live in.

We crossed over the bridge to the other side, where the fortress towered above the town, on a huge slope of vineyards. This part of Germany, Frankonia, is well known for its wine. Vineyards are spread around the town of Würzburg , but there are a few at the base of the fortress as well, adding to its beauty.

The hubby and the kid gasped at the sight of the fortress, high up on the hill. Predictably, he said, “No way are we going up there.” Equally predictably, I said, “Of course we are. That’s why we came all the way here.” And so the banter continued till the kid piped up, “I will go anywhere but I need pizza first.” Some things are easy to solve. As Murphy would have it, we couldn’t find a pizzeria anywhere in the vicinity and so, we walked all the way back to the hotel where I’d seen a pizzeria and hogged. I planned to head out again after a short rest, which turned into a long night’s sleep, starting at 6 pm local time. That’s how I saw neither the fortress nor the sweeping views from it.

We had chosen the lesser known Würzburg for being a good place to rest after an overnight flight and not to have to drive in a tired state. We found it a lovely charming town, well worth at least a full day and a more awake state. It will remain a wonderful memory of a place from which I expected so little and got so much.

Travels of the self and the mind

my trips, my thoughts, my dreams