15 JUN - Rothenburg (Day 8)

Today we took a trip to Rothenburg. It is a beautiful medieval town with its city wall still intact. Cobble stone streets and all it is a really cool town.

We didn't plan our travel very well though. It takes 3 hours to drive there from Weimar. As the crow flies, it would probably only take 2 but, you see, I'm not a crow. Hell, I'm not even a dodo. Anyway, the GPS took us west most of the way to Frankfurt on the A4 and then south to Rothenburg on the A7. We left at 11AM which was our problem. We weren't planning on staying in the area. So the schedule would be arrive 2PM and leave at the latest around 9PM. That's barely enough time in the city to match our travel time. Oh well, we'll plan better next time.

The trip was worth it though. It's great fun walking around these really old cities.

It's really not convenient to drive in the city since the streets are so full of people AND they are narrow. The streets more than the people. Well, there are some pretty thin people. Anyway. We were able to park right outside the wall.




Now the tour (or show) starts.


We parked near the south end of town so we got to traipse up the main street through most of the city.


Let's play "Where's Knuckles". I'm doing my best impression of someone in the witness protection program. Unfortunately, the haircut, the Vegas shirt and the funny accent give me away.


This city was BIZAY! Even the horses put on their best for a day's work here though. Watch out for road apples. (No, Zacheus, road apples are not REAL apples)



Rocco was lucky. Today, he had one of America's finest scouts, Mohican Knuckles, to guide him through this old city. I was a pretty good scout in my day. OK, I only made Webelos (sp?) but the haircut makes me say strange things.


We found this really cool terrace just off of the main street. We got an awesome view of the west side of the city and city wall. The surrounding area is just beautiful.






It was a really sunny day so I used sun screen since we would be walking IN the sun. Unfortunately, I succeeded in wiping it all off as we made our way through the Medieval Criminal Museum. I know, I know. Most of you are thinking that I should avoid such a place seeing as how's I spend a lot of time avoiding the police as it is. Turns out this is a museum about some really old, really cool law and torture stuff.

(This says Middle Ages Criminal Museum)


This is what they did to annoying tourists who wear sterotypical vacation shirts. At least, I think that is what the sign says.


Come into my liar! (That's lair you liar. Where is your lyre?)


I'm going to ask my boss to requisition one of these chairs. I have to use something to stay awake if I am going to attend any more staff meetings. Or, hell, anymore meetings of the Society for the Criminally Boring.


The museum was full of the different ways to humiliate the nobility and torture the working class. (Things haven't changed much have they!) This is not the biggest shot glass you have ever seen although it is related to being drunk.



I'm ALWAYS amazed at how old some things are in Europe.


There were no documents indicating that these cannons were anything but what they appeared to be. I was so attempted to straddle one. You know like Slim Pickins in that movie riding the nuclear missile all the way in? Unfortunately, the doscent was only a few meters away and I didn't want to get arrested so early in the day. Plus, I was in the WRONG place to get arrested.


SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY. Iron Maiden at Rothenberg City Centre. You bought the whole seat but you only need the EDGE. Here is a real Iron Maiden with a real Lead Dumy.


Once we left the museum, we made our way to City Centre. This stubby but well protected fellow was trying to keep me out of that store. He kept saying, "None shall pass." I didn't get it. He had a flesh wound on his back which isn't apparent from the picture.


I told you this was a happenin' town.


For those OSU fans in the crowd, take a look at the guy's shirt, second from the right. Rocco was pretty sure he is Polish. They'll let anyone attend that school won't they. We thought we saw another student go cycling around the corner.



This town is also know for its shopping. We saw this really cool store. I just wished today that it was as "cool" as I was hoping on the inside. It's a German Christmas Museum and shop.


There was a competing store across the street too. They had this cool Elf Schoolbus borrowed right from the North Pole. The driver and I were arguing about how to get from the North Pole to my house. I said you had to take I-75 through Cincinnati. He said just go south with the reindeer. Dumb-a**.


The day was slipping away from us as you can tell from this REALLY COOL clock. I went cuckoo when I saw it. I didn't have enough patience to wait to see how it worked. I though I would leave that exercise for the reader.


Before Rocco and I left town, we decided to get something to drink so we stopped at this little cafe.


We didn't think it would take an hour though. I expect European service to be slow but this was crazy. Just as we were finishing (and about 3 other tables as well), our waitress decides to spend the next 15-20 minutes talking with this old couple at the back of the cafe. Of course, when she comes through, four tables indicate that they want to pay. The more enfurating thing is that each table then proceeds to ask the waitress a question after they pay. Had they not learned the lesson?

Let me explain something. No, it would take too long. Let me sum-up. Germans typically don't drink straight water. They drink carbonated water. Rocco HATES carbonated water. I ordered a liter of table water and, frankly, half-expected it to be still water (no bubbles). I was wrong. It wasn't a huge deal. Rocco drank some Coke and was fine. For future reference, friends and family, be sure to serve Rocco flat water, not carbonated. He gets a little grumpy and you have to pet his mohawk to settle him.

As we were heading back to the car, tour over, we found this cool little store. We were VERY tempted to buy a toy for our little friend Oli. We had a feeling that Weezy and Moondawg woud appreciate neither the toy cross-bow or FULL SIZED WOODEN SUH-WORD (you have to say it that way). Besides any of the other gifts in this store would have been redundant for Oli. Seriously, don't most kids have their own personal beheading suh-word?


We stopped at a bakery on our way back down the main street. The "Schneeball" is a specialty of the city. Translated it means a snowball. It's a pastry filled with something and then coated with something. The magic is that YOU get to choose the somethings. I really liked the sign they had for us ferners though.



Luckily, Rocco's camera has GPS or we would have lost the car. I was taking a right when I was supposed to bear left. Doggone bears.


Here is a picture of some of the city wall and also of the southern gate into the city.



Here are Momma L's two little angels posing at a church. We always told her that we would be immortalized in stone. I hope it goes something like this rather than what we really expect.



The trip back was uneventful. I'm really getting the hang of this driving thing. I stay on the right side of the road and everything. Rocco freaks out occasionally when someone swerves towards us but we've made it so far.

Tomorrow is laundry day. I only brought 10 sets of clothes. Seein's how we are on day 8, I only have a couple pair of skivvies left. Why are they called a pair anyway? It's not like a wear two of them. Oh yeah, there was that one time that they SPLIT into two but it's not quite the same thing.

I hope you enjoyed my recap of our day in Rothenberg. Let me know what you think of the pics and the comments.


Slightly sun burnt,

Knuckles