Tuesday, June 3
Traveling with my mom, my patterns quickly shifted. We were both up before 8, had breakfast at the hotel, and then made for a 9:41 train to Rothenburg. This was supposed to be a very cute town, the quintessential German postcard that would fit into the Disneyworld aesthetic but in a totally authentic way. Unfortunately, we weren't so quick in getting out the door, and it took a little bit to figure out which Rothenburg we were going to of the three options provided on the electronic ticket machines: Rothenburg, Rothenbürg, or Rothenburg ob deer Tauban (the correct choice.) Once we had it straight and checked the train departure board to make sure we had the right track, we scrambled and missed the train by about thirty seconds.
The next one wouldn't arrive for another hour, but I used the time to go for a brisk walk around Würzburg while my mom rested at the train station. We were plenty prepared for the 10:41 train, and we were both in awe on the ride by the prevalence of windmills and especially solar panels, covering roofs and fields alike. It's amazing what they've accomplished in terms of pushing forward with renewable energy. I wonder what percentage of their energy comes from these sources.
Rothenburg was indeed super cute. It was perched on a hill above what appeared to be more of a stream than a river. Vines covered the hillsides below the town, and several rings of walls provided layers of security for the town. There appeared to be one smaller ring in the center of town with watch/clocktowers over every major roadway. Then a more distant ring of walls surrounded what must have been later additions to the town. Further enforcements still covered many of those main gates, providing an even greater barrier for entry. The inside was absolutely pleasant though, with every "big" street, small alley, and shingled house worthy of a picture. I don't know that I have much more to say than what you can see for yourself in the photos. We didn't have much of a plan for the day other than to wander around and ogle at the scenery, and that's about what we did.
Lunch was terrific. We found a nice place on a shady porch with a menu full of tasty-looking food. The first whole page was just asparagus dishes, so we split a creamy white asparagus soup to start that was very fresh and tasty. As the main course, my mom got veal schnitzel with potato salad, and I got flammkuchen, a thin-crusted German pizza-like pie with melted speck, potatoes, and scallions. It was all so good, definitely up there for one of the top meals of the trip.
After lunch we went up the tower at the main church and got to see the town from 200-stairs up, getting a great view of the whole city and what lay beyond.
As a cold front came in, seeming to indicate rain, tourists cleared out of the town square.
We headed back home not long after, not needing to stay for the supposedly good "night watchmen" tour because we felt we'd thoroughly seen the city already. Instead, we enjoyed more of the wine festival in Würzburg. We really planned well, landing in the city during the two-week festival, where there were a handful of restaurants, producers, and local street vendors serving up a good time in the main square. None of the wine was amazing, but the ambience was great, and it gave us a good idea for the culture of the town. Young and old were both out in droves, sharing in the wine and food. We got some really fresh tasting french fries and one of the tastiest hot dogs, like a really well-spiced Hebrew national, but on a hearty roll and stretching at least twice as long. I saw a number of people walking around eating them, so I had to try.
We ended the evening with one more glass of what they would call "un sprizz" in Italy: sparking wine (usually prosecco,) aperol strawberry liquor, a orange slice, and ice. It seemed to be one of the popular drinks at the main bridge, so we were happy to join the locals for this pleasure under the watch of the Marienberg Fortress across the river.
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