From old to older

We packed up the car and headed out of Ghent. It didn't take us long to get across Belgium and cross into Germany. Once we got on the Autobahn we started to make some serious time. In case my mom is watching, I won't say how fast we went. We had programmed a route into the GPS that allowed us to get within an hour of our final destination rather quickly, then we turned off and drove the last hour through the rolling hills and forests of the German countryside along part of the Romantic Road....the Romantische Strasse.

It is so different than cities/towns in North America. Especially in Germany you will be driving along and then suddenly you are in a town....a sign announces your entry, and another you exit. The whole town is grouped together and once you leave the town you don't see anything until the next town. It makes the driving fun, slow down in town, then speed up when you leave.

We arrived at our destination for the night....Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The name means red fortress over the Tauber. The Tauber is a river which runs through the valley below. It is a medieval city contained inside a stone wall. It is remarkably intact and original and it's an amazing look into the past. The first thing we did was check into our hotel, which was an amazing find! Pretty awesome for 600 years old!

Then we went for a very short walk in search of food. We ended up in a restaurant whose name translates to "Hell." It was originally built around 900 AD and it apparently got its name because a large Franciscan Monestary had been built nearby that was so big that it blocked out all the light and that part of the town became known as Hell. We picked this up from the Night Watchman while he was doing his tour.

We started with a few German beers.....yes I know you're all shocked. Then we decided to share a cheese plate that we thought would be small. Followed up by "meat on a spit?" They bring out 3 different pieces of meat on a metal skewer and serve it to you with potatoes, salad and a peppercorn sauce. It was hands down the best meat that either of us had ever tasted in our lives.....in an 1100 year old restaurant!

Jo was only able to eat two of her pieces, so I had to manage four of them. We needed to go for an after dinner stroll through the gardens to work it off. We explored the gardens outside one of the cities gates, and looked down into the river valley below where the serfs tended the crops.

We also came across the resident storks....Jo didn't know they were real LOL

And guess what else we found

Then it was off for a well earned sleep! We got up the next morning and were treated to a fantastic breakfast that was included with our room.

A few more pics of the place we stayed, and then some random shots while wandering around

Far too many pics to post them all here....one final one of the local treat called sneeballen....or snowball. They come in all sorts of flavours

Then it was time to hop on the Autobahn again and head south.....for Switzerland!

As I write the Rothenburg blog I am sitting on the patio outside our hotel room in Lauterbrunnen Switzerland watching the Swiss National Day fireworks light up the entire valley. The sound of the explosions echoing up, down and off the walls of the valley over and over again. But more on that tomorrow.

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