Germany: The Romantic Road with a Case of The Mondays

Again, Mondays are never a great day to be in a city.  If you are in a German city on a Monday, make sure to have at least one more day surrounding.  Nothing disappoints a tourist more than closed sites.

We departed from Dresden on a direct, long, and motion-sicknesses-inducing train ride to Nuremberg.  What can I say- I have a morbid fascination with Nazi History.  Perhaps I should state that it frightens me that approximately 35% of Germany liked the guy enough as early as 1932 to vote for him in the elections.  After we checked into our hotel, we took the tram to the Nazi Documentation Center which was formerly the Congress Hall and Nazi Socialist German Workers' Party Rally Grounds from 1933-1938.  During those years, tens of thousands of German citizens would make a "pilgrimage" to Zeppelin Field for political rallies, to see Hitler up close, and then to party.  The propaganda films of these trips were rather eerie; they felt a historic duty to be a part of the NSDAP and to travel to Nuremberg once they accepted Hitler as their Führer.  After seeing such a heavy hearted site, we chose a friendlier activity of wandering around the Hauptmarkt.  There were cute stands of local business owners selling their wursts, produce, and baked goods.  It made for good people watching, and we can imagine what craziness ensues in December.

We realized that Nuremberg wasn't enough for Christmas bonanza, so we stopped in Rothenberg ob de Tauber for two nights.  True, there is some medieval history inside the city walls and some history with the conclusion of WWII since Major Thömmes and Secretary McCloy saved the city from an artillery assault.  After the war, donors could pay to restore the city and then have their names placed on the city wall.  The more one donated, the more meters of the city wall were dedicated to the donor.

Theresa posing during a sunset wall walk

We arrived on a Tuesday, and we immediately walked to the market square where hundreds of tourists were Christmas shopping.  We continued to the Burg Gate and Garden which supplied glorious views of the Frankonian country side.  We decided then and there that another bicycle ride would be necessary.  In the evening, we joined The Night Watchmen Tour which was the perfect mixture of history and comedy to describe the city's significance to Frankonia.  For someone who lived during the Middle Ages, he certainly enjoyed talking about his DVD with previously unreleased material.  He said starting the tour was a "good idea."  To make money, you need a "good idea" first; he charges €7 per person, and he does the tour twice a day, every day, from the middle of March until December.  It looks like he gets about 100 people per tour, but perhaps those numbers dwindle after Oktoberfest.  Then again, I'm sure they increase exponentially during December when all of the tourists are there for the Christmas Market which we went back to on Wednesday morning at 9 AM.  It was our intention to arrive as soon as it opened so that we could shop without the enormous crowds.  We successfully dropped about €250 on gifts in about one hour of time; this was perfect because as we were checking out, the crowds were pouring in with their tour groups.  Later during the afternoon, we took the necessary bicycle ride.  There was hardly anyone out on the path.  I think we passed at most six people, and one couple was riding with their pet dog and pet goat.  There was a light breeze, and the colors were just starting to change.  When we returned back to the city walls, Nathan decided it would be the perfect time to photograph the city wall walk.  The sunset glistened over the names of those who had donated to the Rothenburg's rebirth.