Our European Adventure: All the 'burgs

Twelve years ago, Amanda and I made our first Christmas trek through the German hinterland and spent some time in Rothenburg ob der Tauber marveling at one of the most well-preserved medieval cities in Europe.

For more than a decade, Amanda and I have both considered that to be one of our favorite trips and we have always told ourselves that if we get the chance to visit again we would definitely go. So with two extra travel partners in tow who were hyped up on candy from their school Halloween party earlier in the day, we loaded up into the car, set our compass for the north. Since we were leaving after school and the sun sets around 5PM in Germany during the winter, the drive into Rothenburg was pretty mundane... except for the "fun" of roadworks and rain spread throughout the drive. Needless to say our arrival to our favorite little hotel in Rothenburg was very welcome.

The Hotel Restaurant Cafe Uhl is a very special place. They have been serving guests for more than 30 years and during our stay 12 years ago we were got to stay in a room directly above the bakery! I still remember waking up to the smell of fresh baked croissants more than a decade later. This time however we would be in a family room which was in a separate location just down the street. And while it didn't boast the same intoxicating smell of baked goods first thing in the morning it was very comfortable and suited us perfectly for the night. And you still get breakfast included if you walk down to the café in the morning!

After breakfast we began our walking tour of the city, which conveniently enough starts just outside the front door of the café beneath the clock tower spanning the street.

This is the crowd at 9am

And since Halloween was the night we arrived there still some pumpkins on the street.

The first part of the walk takes you through the winding streets lined with centuries old homes and shop fronts as you approach and then wander past the city square.

I've seen this vehicle before!

and this!

Eventually you find your way to an overlook with views of the rolling countryside and winding Tauber river below.

Next up is walking the wall! One of the truly unique aspects of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is that you can walk nearly the entire length of the medieval wall that surrounds the old town. Previously Amanda and I had only walked a small portion of the wall but the girls were keen to see all of the city from the walls. So we did!

Charlotte practicing her archery from the arrow slits

Medieval construction at it's finest

Now that we'd finished the wall walk it was time for lunch. Unfortunately, my favorite Bratwurst shop with the walk-up window was no longer there!

12 years later and my favorite Bratwurst shop is no more!

So we were "forced" to settle for lunch at the year round Christmas market.

And with that it was back to the hotel to collect our bags. If we can get there!

Traffic in front of the hotel at 3pm

Our next stay for this brief weekend trip is Nuremburg but we simply can't come to this part of Germany and not see our friends Tim, Vivian and Blu! Tim and I worked together in our Plano office for a few years before he relocated to our corporate headquarters in 2021. Then a few short months later we followed him. But as so often happens in corporate life, Tim and Vivian found a new opportunity to work closer to his family in Germany so we've missed seeing our Plano friends for many months. But an evening of catching up over pizza made for a wonderful finish to our second trip to Rothenburg. And we were rewarded with a quiet drive Nuremburg!

Nuremburg is a much larger city approximately 2 hours drive east of Rothenburg ob der Tauber but like Rothenburg it has retained a large portion of it's medieval center. Perhaps most famous for the post-WWII international tribunal to convict Nazi's of war crimes, Nuremburg was also an important political and cultural site during the time of the Holy Roman Empire and was the home of Albrecht Durer who was a renowned engraver and painter during the time of the great Italian renaissance.

Durer is known to have worked with several of the Italian greats like Raphael, da Vinci and Giovanni Bellini which may have influenced his own exploits which were quite impressive in their own right. He is credited as being one of the leading figures of the Northern Renaissance and expressed a wide ranging skill set which included being a renowned engraver and painter, author of several works on subjects as varied as human proportion, medieval fortifications and fencing. The later of which was apparently used to secure patronage from the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I. Durer also worked with Johannes Stabius to create the first map that could be projected onto a solid geometric sphere along with the first printed celestial maps.

Throughout the early modern period Nuremburg's importance as a center of trade declined and it's political importance fluctuated as well until the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars when it once again became a center for trade and industrialization.

What's perhaps most amazing however is the condition and the medieval areas and the old world feel you get walking through the city even today. Nuremberg was heavily bombed throughout WWII by the allies and on Jan 2, 1945 it's said that 90% of the city center was destroyed in a single hour. To see it today you would hardly notice.