I got up early to complete my circumnavigation of Rothenberg atop the city's fortress walls. Only two other cities in Germany have medieval walls as intact. That cutesy horse and carriage sign in the lower right-hand corner tells you everything you need to know.
Like the previous evening, I walked in the direction that had the best light for photos. A wooden canopy protects visitors from the elements.
I descended to check out St. Wolfgang's, a late Gothic church which hadn't opened yet.
Empty streets yielded quiet treasures. Tour buses don't begin rolling in (and then filling up the streets with horse-drawn carriages) until after 9 a.m.
You may be wondering why the Allies mostly spared Rothenburg from bombing given its proximity to Munich, Frankfurt and Nuremberg, my next stop. An assistant U.S. Secretary of War took pity, and local American troops gave the Germans a three-hour window to surrender prior to launching an artillery assault. The Germans complied, defying Hitter's orders to fight to the end. It's now on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites. I heard something similar about Heidelberg which, IMHO, is more worthy of a visit due in part to the presence of a world-class university which promotes knowledge, not folklore.
I climbed to the top of the bell tower on the tall white building (no easy feat; it felt like going back in time the higher I got) for a bird's eye view. Note the fountain in both photos.
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| "Rothenberg" by Ed Ruscha (1961) |
I couldn't very well depart from the city without checking out Germany's national headquarters of Christmas porn.
Käthe Wohlfahrt sells some pricey cuckoo clocks, too. Each of these will set you back at least $1,000. I should have kept the one my parents gave me as a kid.
Other stores were just beginning to open as I made my way back to my hotel, just outside the city walls.
This cafe awaited the afternoon rush with a branded scooter, appropriately orange.
I had one final item on my check list: getting a close-up of a Jewish star I had seen from atop the city walls the evening before.
More Bavaria:
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