Day 6 of our 9 day trip to Germany in the fall
Emily and David left a bit earlier than us to catch their train to Bonn to visit a friend so we didn’t get to see them.
Train Ride to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
The rest of us checked out of the hotel at 8:30AM and walked over to Hauptbahnhof for our usual breakfast routine. We also picked up some lunch since we were slated to get into Rothenburg at 1:00PM.
Day trips to Rothenburb ob der Tauber from Frankfurt are certainly possible but we wanted the full experience by staying there overnight.
The train ride was smooth. There aren’t any direct trains to Rothenburg since its a tiny town so we had to switch trains twice. I had researched this stuff on Bahn.com and using the DB Navigator app so we were well prepared. Again, we were using the Bayern pass so we could only take the trains after 9:00AM.
When we got to Rothenburg we got a chance to walk through the walled old city which was really neat and got us excited to come back after checking into our hostel. The bad part was that everything was cobble stoned so our bags’ wheels were taking a beating. We checked in by about 2:00PM.
Picturesque Rothenburg in the Fall
For the rest of the afternoon we roamed around town. I just kept thinking how beautiful this place was and how surreal it is to have a town so well preserved in its original medieval style. It was so photogenic that I shot a full 8GB in a day. The only problem was that it was so damn cold. It felt like winter. In between we also did a bit of souvenir shopping along a few of the main streets. I picked up a bottle of wine at Glocke for 9EUR – a 2001 Silvaner wine.
One thing we knew we wanted to try was a pastry called a snowball. It’s basically something like this Chinese New Year pastry that are smashed into strips. Instead these are put into a ball and dipped into different chocolate sauces. We bought three of these balls and of chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut, the hazelnut was the best.
I switched to my 70-200mm along the way at the main square and out to the old castle area on the west entrance which produced some lovely photos even though it was cloudy but we were able to take advantage of what light we got.
Rothenburg also has this massive Christmas store that we checked out. It was interesting to see but without a Christmas tree at home there wasn’t much for me to buy. Made me feel like it was almost Christmas time though!
Edison still wasn’t feeling well towards the end because he was getting too cold so we eventually went to dinner at 6:00PM. At first we wanted to eat at Berger Keller. The doors were closed when we got there but once 6:00PM came the waiter turned on the lights as opened the door like clockwork. However when we asked for a table of 7 he said that they don’t have any tables for 7 and for large groups you’d have to make reservations. Doh! Instead we found a restaurant next door called Speifen und Getränte.
This restaurant wasn’t anything special but corkage fee was free for the wine bottle I bought. The restaurant was initially completely empty when we showed up but filled up towards the end. The cordon bleu I ordered was ok but a little tough.
The Night Watchman Tour
After dinner, we walked over to the main square for 8:00PM to do the Night Watchman Tour. A German guy dressed up as a night watchman and holding this huge metal axe/spike came in and lead us through a pretty interesting history of Rothenburg. He was really fun to listen to and his jokes were quite entertaining. Definitely worth the 4 EUR (student price).
We head back to the hostel right after. It was way too chilly to be out.
Tips & Tricks
- Download the DB Navigator app. I got it before the trip and was actually able to put all the trains we wanted to take onto my iCalendar in my phone. Sweet app.
- When taking trains in Europe always check to make sure that your car is going to your destination (ask info desk if you’re not sure) because many times the entire train will split into two at a certain stop. If you’re on the wrong car then you’ll end up in a totally different area.
- Rothenburg is a must if you’re traveling to Bavaria. Apparently “world famous” which I was skeptical of as first but I’m a believer. Simply a beautiful medieval town that is perfectly preserved and picturesque all around.
- Night Watchman tour is a must in Rothenburg. 1 hour in length, 7 EUR adult and 4 EUR student. Fun and interesting.
- There really is only one hostel in Rothenburg so you don’t have much of a choice but the youth hostel was pretty good for a small town like this. You get free water and breakfast too so it’s a pretty good deal!
- 8:30AM meet up and check out
- Breakfast at Munich Hauptbahnhof
- 9:35AM train to Treuchtlingen to Steinach to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
- Check into and drop off bags at Jugendherberge “Youth Hostel” Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber
- Roam around town
- Dinner at Burgerkeller’s replacement – Speifen und Getränte
- Night Watchman Tour at 8:00PM
Check out the Next Day
To read about my adventures heading to Nuremberg and being caught by surprise with snow, check out Day 7 – Rothenburg to Nuremberg – It’s Snowing.