Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a little walled storybook town that has seemingly been untouched by the passage of time. We took a day trip there from Nuremberg via train (take note that there are several Rothenburgs in Germany).
Walking the Town Walls
Rothenburg’s medieval wall loops around the whole town and is very well-preserved. The entire circuit spans 4 kilometres and there are multiple access/exit points. We only did a portion of it as we were worried about time but we really enjoyed it. Walking the ramparts brought history alive.
The Plönlein
This is probably the most iconic view of Rothenburg. Ours was somewhat marred by the ugly blocked-up area but you get the idea.
The street from the Plönlein led directly to Marketplatz and it was lined with beautifully decorated shops.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber’s Christmas Market and Marketplatz
Rothenburg’s Christmas market was small. I prefer larger markets like Nuremberg’s as the festive smells and sounds are amplified but Rothenburg’s was charming. It had all the typical German Christmas market food which is always enough to bring a smile to my face. I tried a half-metre sausage for the first time and loved it! Super yummy.
Rathausturm (Town Hall Tower)
The viewing platform at the top of the Town Hall gave amazing views of the town but it was one scary platform! After climbing numerous steps, a steep narrow ladder and squeezing through a tiny hole (not sure what a plus-sized person would do), we tumbled out to a platform so narrow that everyone could only go in one direction. I didn’t feel like I had any protection from the elements. Thankfully, the tower wasn’t that high so I could still appreciate the views. Worth it!
Käthe Wohlfahrt
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is home to Käthe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas Village and the German Christmas Museum. For those that have not heard of Käthe Wohlfahrt, it is a chain of shops specialising in rustic and traditional Christmas decorations. The shop was packed, which took some joy out of browsing, but we were able to scoop a couple of ornaments for our Christmas tree at home.
The Christmas museum required a €4 entrance fee. Most tourists we saw gave this a miss but as it was the Christmas season, we decided to check it out. The exhibits were very simple but they did offer interesting nuggets of information on the evolution of Christmas and its traditions. Did you know that the idea of Christmas trees originated from Germany?
Random Streets
No shortage of “pretty” in this town.
Lovely!
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