Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We finally made it to Rothenburg ob der Tauber! This past Sunday we had signed up for the MWR trip to Prague that was supposed to leave at 5 in the morning, but due to some logistical issues, namely I got the wrong place the bus was supposed to be leaving from, we missed the bus! We were both pretty disappointed, since we've been trying to go on this trip ever since we all got back in December. I think it was for the best though. It's a several hour bus ride and we weren't supposed to get back till 9 in the evening. All very tiring, especially with a toddler that we knew wouldn't take his afternoon nap on the go. I think it would be better to stay a night or two to make the travel really worthwhile and have a place where Liam can nap in the afternoons.
So with all of us all packed up and nowhere to go we decided we should still try to go somewhere that day. We went back home and Liam and I went back to bed for several hours. We've been talking about going to Rothenburg for awhile now but either weather or something else always seemed to come up at the last minute and deter us. But after the frustration for the last couple months with this Prague trip we were determined to make it work.
We decided to take the train and try out the Bavarian rail pass which allows you to travel an unlimited amount of times (on certain trains) within a certain region for that day. Definitely a money-saver if you plan correctly and only need to take regional trains. Liam travels free until he's four and it was only 27 euro for Will and I. That's about $37-38! We would have spent as much, if not more, on gas and parking once we got there. Sometimes it just feels more beneficial to not worry about the car. It can be more convenient to drive but it's starting to not feel that way. You always worry about whether your car is in a safe place and finding parking is not always the easiest.

This was our first train ride all together and I have to say, despite all the transfers and connections, it was considerably less stressful than last time having someone else there to help with Liam and not carrying a ton of stuff with us. The only thing you need to worry about is being at the right place at the right time and being quick about getting on and off. Travel guides usually advise that trains are usually only loading and offloading for 1-2 minutes before they leave but, especially at small stations like Vilseck, it may be even less than that. So "moving with a purpose" (as is the popular phrase in the Army) is important.
Sundays our actual Deutsche Bahn office in the train station was closed but you can still get tickets through one of these trusty machines:

They're easily found at airports, train stations, bus stations, etc. so it's not a problem to show up at the last minute day or night and get tickets. A benefit we take for granted in the States but a definite plus in a country where there are very regimented and sometimes odd opening and closing hours.
Here's our local train station at Vilseck.

Only one platform which makes it easy to figure out where you need to be. I love how it's called platform 2, but knowing the Germans, there must be some logical reason for it. Liam had fun running up and down while we were waiting.

The first one that went by he didn't recognize as a choo-choo. I asked, "Liam, what's that?" And he said "Vroom!" Lol, they don't look too much like Thomas the Tank Engine but I think he started making the association after we kept talking about riding a choo-choo and after breaking out a new book about trains on our way to Nürnberg.

Reading about choo-choos on the choo-choo

Apparently he was not a fan of the apple he had just bitten into

After several hours, a couple train connections later and having to pay out of pocket for the short IC train jaunt from Nürnberg to Ansbach (things finally clicked into place when the conductor was explaining the regional pass doesn't cover "the white trains," hey, I'm still pretty new at this) the novelty of riding the train had worn off.

Thank you 21st century technology. Judge me all you want for relying on a DVD player to entertain my kid but that last leg of the trip there was... QUIET. /Sigh, such a relaxing sound!
And a big thank you to the Rick Steves series of guidebooks! I HIGHLY recommend them. Much of the information you find in them can be found on the internet and that's why I've held off on getting some before but there's just so much practical information... it seems obvious when you read it but in reality will actually save you valuable time and money figuring it out on your own once you're on your trip, away from home and without a way to access the internet. Thank you Rick Steves, you're AMAZING!
He gave us very simple instructions on how to get from the train station to the Old Town. "Take a left, take a right and head straight into medieval cuteness." After the last turn Will asked where we went next and I said, "Rick says we just go straight into medieval cuteness." He replied, "Yep, that sounds like something he would say." Oh, Rick Steves, you're such a dork but I love you.

 

 

The back gate of the city wall

 

 

If you're trying to storm the castle... it's the other way. But I appreciate the enthusiasm.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in all of Europe. This, combined with being the home of the popular Christmas retailer giant, Käthe Wolfhart, creates a perfect storm resulting in the ultra-tourism that is the bread and butter of the town. Summer and December (the Christmas market here is one of the most famous in Europe as well) are packed with tourists but we were there during the off season so there really weren't all that many people there. The only downfall was that, becase it's the off-season, only a few cafès were open and were in high demand for people wanting to step in out of the cold.

 

 

The backside of the above tower

Rothenburg was a Free Imperial City from the late Middle Ages until 1803, one of about fifty towns that was self-ruling, was only subordinate to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and enjoyed this autonomy for such a long time.

Liam and I in the Marktplatz

"Neues Rathaus" or New Town Hall in the Marktplatz (new since it was built in the 16th century, way to rub it in Germany)

Taking a rest after chasing Mommy around and running up and down the steps

I don't know if it's just me but something about this door makes me want to pull a cart around and yell, "Bring out yer dead!"

St. Jakob's Kirche (St. James Church in English) is one of the churches along the Way of St. James, an ancient pilgrimage route that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain where St. James' remains are buried. This route has been in existence since his remains were found and in the medieval ages it was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages, earning those who completed it a plenary indulgence.  This church also houses an original woodcarving by Tilman Riemenschneider, the famous German sculpturer and woodcarver. It required 2 euro to get in and a 45 minute audio tour so we skipped that. I'm sure the other tourists wouldn't have appreciated our 2 year old when he realized the wonders of the buildings acoustics, hollering and carrying on like a possessed monkey. Now, about that over-due baptism...

I am all about this pulley-basket system these people have going on. I guess if the top of your house has a pulley on it you might as well put it to good use.

Walking through another gate in the city wall

Real flattering shot of me there but I didn't realize I was in the frame

This is the gate where leading into the castle gardens and where the original Rothenburg Castle used to sit. It was destroyed in the 1300s by an earthquake.

Looking out across the city walls...

"Ugh, ugh... I wanna see!"

Maybe I'm starting to get better at taking selfies... or maybe it's having the camera that you flip the screen around to see yourself that helps.

Yep, it's the camera.

A memorial to yet another Jewish genocide. Being an American you never think too much about all the genocides that have occurred and are still occurring in the world. WWII tends to overshadow everything else. Well, they tell it better than I do...

The Tauber valley

Snack break! It's starting to sink in for Will that he's been up since 3:30

Love these signposts. Can I get one for my house?

Found it! The Mecca for all Christmas decor junkies.

This one's for you Grandma Sheppard! Everyone needs a little nutcracker in their lives.

83 euro for tiny wooden German people, yikes.
And finally, the pièce de résistance! It took some wandering around to find it but we finally got a shot of one of the most photographed spots in Germany!

Two roads converging at a weird angle in the middle of town? Not a problem for German architecture!
After all this walking around we were definitely in need of a snack and a break from the cold which was making Liam cough so we stopped in at a little bäckerei.

Yuuummmm....

You better believe I had a "Danish pretzel." It was amazing. They also sold a lot of Rothenburg's signature snack, called schneeballen. It's basically a doughy ball covered in powdered sugar. It didn't look too appealing but if I'd seen these pictures beforehand I definitely wouldn't have been enticed.

I think I'll affectionately call this schneeball porn. This woman appears to be basking in the afterglow with her ever seductive schneeball at her side. I'm not entirely sure why she doesn't appear to be wearing a shirt but I'm gonna go ahead and pass on the schneeball, thank you. On the more exciting side we were rather hungry when there so I opted to take home the largest loaf of bread I've ever seen in my life.

We were super excited to hack into this baby and it was a little less... yummy than we had hoped. But all in all I'm still really excited about finding this many carbs for less than 8 euro.

Mr. Man ready for the trip home

After all that schneeball action... or lack thereof we decided to head for the train station. Liam and I were pretty tired but Will had been up all day and he was about to fall asleep standing up. It was a great trip, all in all, and we're glad to get another Bavarian town under our belts and some much-needed train research accomplished by way of experience.

Yeah... um... I'm not sure about this one. Tired but still peppy.

Liam snagging some of our Chex Mix since we missed the train in Steinach and had to wait an hour until the next one. For the record it took about 2 hours longer to get back home than it did to get there due to my ingenius mistakes.

Cigarette vending machine anyone?

What you'll spend most of your time at a train station doing. Staring at the departures schedule.

It's all starting to come together finally. By time my family comes to visit this summer I should be able to decipher this like the back of my hand! Next up for the upcoming four day weekend? Salzburg, Austria!