Adventures of a Wandering Thirtysomething

It was quintessential Germany. From the city walls to the Bavarian homes, Rothenburg was everything we dreamed Germany would be. I hit my first big wall of this trip in Munich. It was a city we hadn’t intended to visit, but due to location, Munich was a two night jumping off point for Ludwig’s castle and the Dachau concentration camp, leaving us just enough time for my perfect storm of stress, fatigue, and irritability to result in a hatred for all things Munich. While our trip to Salzburg (about the size of Spokane) immediately put me in a good mood, it was Rothenburg that made me fall in love with this trip again.

Arriving in Rothenburg took some quick maneuvering as a train crash forced us to add four train stops to a trip that was supposed to be just three, but nothing could have spoiled the fun when we strolled into town entering through the same gate in the city wall as countless others had for centuries. The best preserved medieval town in Germany, Rothenburg was the inspiration for the village in Disney’s Pinocchio, but it looked like it inspired every small village I’ve ever seen in a Disney movie.

This was also the first place we’ve been where tourism hasn’t ruined a town, but rather has saved it. On our first evening we took the night watchman’s tour. The tour, led by a guy with a lot of dry humor dressed up as a medieval night watchman complete with lantern and hellebarde (a scary looking axe on a long stick), took us through the main parts of town painting a picture of life in Rothenburg during it’s medieval hayday and the history that has left us with such a historic marvel. During the close of WWII, German Nazi’s fled to Rothenburg after defeat in nearby Nurnberg. As the American troops closed in, intending to level what remained of the town, word reached an American general whose mother visited Rothenburg before the war and raved about its beauty. He stepped in and demanded instead that the city be spared by offering opportunity for the Nazis to surrender.

Even today Rothenburg relies solely on tourism to survive, but they have somehow managed to remain tasteful. It was truly a night and day difference to the way tourism has destroyed so many parts of Italy. The other shocker was how well Leavenworth has mimicked this great Bavarian town. Christina and I were amazed to see that while Leavenworth is, at its heart, a tourist trap never settled by any actual Germans, it also has a quaint appeal that is characteristic of the real thing.

Words can’t really describe the town so here are a few of our photos. Day 21 - VerHeul’s Do Rothenburg:

Photo #1: Christina and I with the night watchman

Photo #2: Rothenburg city wall and bavarian home

Photo #3: Inside the christmas shop at the Rothenburg christmas museum

Photo #4: Christina and I in the streets of Rothenburg