Travel Diary

Rothenberg

Again, my train travel was in the evening. I prefer the night trains since I arrive in the morning, but this distance wasn't long enough to span the entire night. Thus I would be arriving around 10 p.m. I had a few transfers along the way.  And while they were tight, I made each one of them. Upon reaching Rothenberg, I exited the train and began looking for my hotel. Once again, it was an adventure. I had a photo of the map on my camera, but apparently it wasn't good enough.  I also had my compass available this time, so I headed north.

After about 15 minutes of walking north, I realized I wasn't reaching the city center. I then headed west. After some time, I spotted the heart of the city and headed south. I entered through the big stone archway and gate into the city. It was rather neat at night, but still, I was freezing and needed to find my hotel. I kept traveling through the city, and eventually reached the south part of the city. I then exited the city. Argh! Getting lost was becoming a little frustrating, but I was fairly used to it. I then headed east, followed by heading north. Finally, I headed west and entered the city to the east gate. This was getting quite monotonous. Luckily, I did manage to finally find my street, but even that was tough because the street names were all done in an old script font for effect--the effect being that it made it harder to find hotels at night. Reaching the hotel, I rang the buzzer. A lady answered and said her husband would be driving over to let me in. Odd, but okay. Minutes later he arrived and showed me to my room. I asked about Internet access, but he said it was too late for that. I didn't even bother asking about food, though I was starving at that point. I'd eaten breakfast that morning in Fussen and had a pretzel in the afternoon, but that was mainly about it. Since I had been on trains for five hours, there wasn't a place to eat then. And now I was in my hotel room, famished. No matter. I would survive.  I drank some water and begin charging my batteries. This room was the smallest yet. There was no TV or phone. It was just plain tiny. It was also cold. I turned up the radiator to 5, hoping for a little more heat, but that wasn't working too well. I just went to bed.

The next day, I arose around 7 a.m. to get a nice walk around the city. The streets were quiet at that time, but the weather was…yeah, you guessed it…cold. I also didn’t bring my umbrella. After time, it started sprinkling. It wasn’t heavy, but a little water after a long enough time would make for a wet James, and James wanted to be a dry James. I headed back.

Again, I enjoyed a nice hearty breakfast. The food was good and I was ready to explore. I left my bags there and checked out.

The city is surrounded by a great wall, which was nice. I knew I could never get too lost. I could always find my way back no matter where I went. I climbed the steps of the wall again and traveled that way for a way. It offered nice protection from the drizzling rain which refused to let up. The sites were great. It’s one of Europe’s oldest medieval cities and very well preserved. I explored most of the wall and finally went shopping on some of the streets. For people who love to shop, this city is a paradise. I just wanted snacks. I found a shop selling Schneeballen, something I had read about. Rick Steve doesn’t seem to care for them, so I was wary, figuring they’d be some odd doughy treat, but the chocolate-covered ones looked tasty and it would have been a shame never to try one. I ate it that night, and I will add that it was excellent. It’s like a tasty balled up cookie. If you get the chance, buy a half-dozen, just be sure to share them—they looked very high in carbs.

Afterwards, I visited an old church and got some photos. I then went to city hall, and climbed a tall tower. It was about 2 euros to ascend, but highly worth it. Up on the bell tower, there was little room, yet the view was impressive. A sharp cold wind blew heavily, but my gloves and hood did the trick. I snapped many photos before coming down again.

My last stop was the Kriminal Museum, which mainly featured torture devices from medieval times. I actually wasn’t too thrilled with the tour. I guess it’s just sort of a sad part in history. I also think, looking back, that I was mainly worried about catching my train. I left the museum about 15 minutes after entering. I had forgotten that I would need to have the hotel people come let me in to get my bags. Walking back led to jogging back, for the time was getting short. I rang the buzzer and the wife said she’d call the guy to drive over. Yikes! I was hoping it wouldn’t take too long. About 10 minutes later, he arrived and I grabbed my bags and sprinted off to the train station. I had a clear idea of where I was going this time.

I did make the train in time, and looking back, I think I would have more interest in returning to the criminal museum again. In one way, it is sort of sick and macabre, but in another way, it’s an interesting part of history that offers insight into how people thought and acted (twisted as they often were). There is a ton of notes and paperwork about medieval torture. Next time, I’ll just have to allot a little more time. By for now, my next stop was Munich.

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