Of course, we wanted to take advantage of Germany's bordering areas as well so we began our trip in Brussels. It was an interesting, Flemish town with the Grand Place as the main attraction. Yes, we had Belgian chocolate and Belgian waffles, which I still say taste just like my Great-grandmother's Good Friday doughnuts. But I think the best bit of Brussels was the Belgian beers (see 'Delirium' pics)... you just need be careful because some are much stronger than they look! A nice place to visit, but I didn't feel cheated only being there one night.
The next stop was to pick up the rental car and drive over to Wiesbaden, Germany to see our friends Marissa and Dan Rock. The Rock's were very hospitable, allowing us to stay with them and showed us around. We had a lovely time floating down the Rhine, looking at castle ruins, and eating some very yummy cheese and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I would go back to Wiesbaden just to stay with them again! You can tell they've been in Germany a while since they seemed like locals. It was great to see them and catch up because the last time we saw them was at their wedding.
From Wiesbaden, we started off on our 5-day driving tour of the Romantic Road beginning with the city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. On our way over, we stopped in the town of Darmstadt where my Great-grandmother's mother apparently lived. We briefly visited the town of Wurzburg and the Marienburg Fortress. The fortress was fairly deserted since we were there just before the start of the tourist season. It was an imposing feature. In Wurzburg, we had some very yummy cheese pretzel thing. They're not big on vegetables, but their breads and meats are very yum! Wurzburg was great and it already felt like we've seen a lot but Rothenburg was yet to come.
We arrived in Rothenburg around 4:30pm. After spending some time walking around and looking in shops and shop windows, we found a lovely place for dinner (yummy stuffed cabbage and dumplings!) and came back to the square for the Night Watchman Tour. It was one of those town tours with a guide dressed in period clothing, but this man was fantastic! He put on such an interesting accent (a bit like a German Snagglepuss)that Matt and I both bring into conversation now and then. He was very informative, speaking of the origination of the town, it's growth and lack of growth, and it's role in WWII. In the Medieval era the town was extremely wealthy and therefore a frequent site for kings to visit and live off their hosts. Their wealth was also their downfall since many armies wintered in the city and depleted their resources. The Nazis occupied the town towards the end of the war and the U.S. planned to bomb the town. However, the Secretary of State knew of Rothenburg and didn't want to bomb it so he instructed the Army to give the Nazis a chance to vacate. The Nazis took that offer and turned the city over. There is a picture of the arched bridge where the town was handed over,
The next day, we spent as much time as we could walking around the city atop the wall, searching for a cuckoo clock, and eating schneeballen ('snow balls' which were made of twisted strips of dough formed into a ball and lightly fried; coatings optional). Rothenburg o.d.T. was a very difficult place to leave! But in the afternoon, it was off to Nordlingen to continue our trip.
We drove through the town of Dinkelsbuhl on our way. Another fabulous example of Bavarian architecture and painting. We saw what we thought were Panzer speed limit signs along the drive. Nordlingen didn't have too much to offer, but it was a nice Bavarian style town. Around 11pm, the town crier was actually heard to cry out, 'All is well.' Whew! I was getting worried! Although, the city came alive in the morning when the central market stalls went up. Breakfast was served!
The third day's destination was Fussen and the Neuschwanstein Schloss (Castle). Even people who don't know this castle by name, know it by sight since it was the inspiration for Cinderella's castle in the Disney film. Frankly, this whole trip felt like a living Disney film, but in a good way... not in the 'small, small world way.' This castle was the brainchild of Ludwig II who went a bit mad in the end. It was certainly a dreamworld, even then, full of gold, gems, indoor plumbing, and tapestries depicting scenes from Wagner's operas. Fussen itself is a desirable location because of its charm and proximity to Austria (apparently the place to go for cheaper petrol - which we took advantage of). The hills were most definitely alive and beautiful and welcoming. Fussen was also special to us because it was the town where we finally found our cuckoo clock! Of course, we didn't buy it right away and it would be over a month until we made that decision, but we absolutely love it (don't worry, it has a night switch)!
The fourth day of driving was to take us to Munich. The Bavarian Alps are simply stunning and pictures can never do them justice. Their majesty was hard to say goodbye to as we made our way to Munich but we hope to be back. This is obviously a bigger city and not as quintessentially Bavarian, but interesting for its own reasons including the unfortunate beginnings of the Nazi party. The Hofbrauhaus was fun and must have been the inspiration for the German area of Busch Gardens. We enjoyed the band, pretzels, dumplings, and the biggest glass of dunkel (dark beer) I've ever seen! We walked around Munich also seeing the Glockenspiel (original 'small, small world?), the victorian market, Nymphenburg Palace, and surfing in the English garden.
The next morning, it was more pretzels and a go at the weisswurst (I was sceptical, but not too bad with mustard!), a walk around the town again and back to the airport to return the car and be on our way back to London. It wasn't a 'longed for' experience, but certainly one that we will remember fondly and never forget. We need to get back to Bavaria and the Alps.
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| Brussels and Bavaria |
