After only an hour or two on the autobahn we arrived at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the "most medieval town in Germany." The story goes that it was so poor and backward after being devastated by the Thirty Years War that it couldn't afford to modernize. Then, all of a sudden it was a historical monument to the Middle Ages and tourism became its road to riches.
Our arrival in Rothenburg was only a little less vexing than Nuremburg. No problem navigating, our Garmin got us right to the hotel door where Marty could bound right up to the desk and ask about parking while Don waited in improvised "temporary parking." The twist here though was that Marty and the concierge came out together to inform Don, who had made all reservations, that no reservation was to be found. After a little chat (in English), the concierge said that a room could be found, reservation notwithstanding, and directed Don to an permit-only, on-street parking area. No multistory parking garages in old Rothenburg.
By the time Don returned to the hotel desk, the concierge had found the original reservation, and Marty had checked us in. Another charming little room. Here is a view out one of the windows. Sorry the photo isn't very clear but the view is out over a valley to a castle on the other side.
We took advantage of this little atrium with a couple of tables for dining from the hotel restaurant.
One of our do-not-miss activities in Rothenburg was the "Nightwatchman Tour". Appropriately, this tour is given at night, so we didn't get any personal photos, but this one will do. Our Night Watchman guided us around Rothenburg, telling fascinating stories and history, and enhancing it all with his humorous delivery. Of course, he opens with the duties and related paraphenalia of the medieval night watchman. All in nearly flawless English. Worth every euro.
We chatted with him at his day job in his gift shop the next day. He said he had been to the U.S. only once, for about two weeks when they were finalizing the editing of his video just a couple of years ago. It's amazing how well so many Germans speak English.
This is one of the original "wealthy person's homes" on the Rothenburg main street, the Herrengasse, or "Gentlemen's Avenue". An interesting feature is the grain loft and hoist. Yes, like a barn. People had to store their winter's supply of grain in their own homes.
We always find these non-mass-produced doors interesting.
And the doorways!
At this doorway are the pre-electric doorbells for four apartments. Also noticeable is the man-sized door within the carraige-sized door. The grander houses had courtyards so one didn't have to de-coach in the street.