Errol woke early this morning, and on checking the emails, found we had a message from DB, the German train company - one of our connections for today's trip had been changed. He spent some time looking at options, but could do nothing until we reached Mainz, and then we would have only a short time to get it sorted or there would be a longer delay.
I have forgotten to mention the name of our hotel, it is the Kranenturm Hotel. It is in a medieval building owned and operated by Fatima and Kurt, who have been there for more than 27 years. The rooms are not large, but they are comfortable, and Fatima certainly takes a lot of care with her guests.
This morning Fatima had breakfast ready early for us, and we were at the train station for our first leg at 8:30. Mainz was busy, but Errol knew what he needed to change, and we made it just in time to catch the next train. The trip was now up to four changes! But the super travelers made it through, and arrived at Rothenburg around 2, only 50 minutes later than we would have done originally.
Our hotel, Hotel Klosterstueble, is just past the Market Plaz, an old building that has been refurbished fairly recently inside. The room is much larger than the one in Bacharach, as is the bathroom. The floor has a definite lean on it, and the doors are only about 6 foot high. The internal courtyard where breakfast is served is covered with a glass roof some 3 stories above the paved floor - it looked lovely.
Rothenburg was not what we expected. Errol has dubbed it 'Medieval World' the theme park for adults! There are so many shops, hotels and cafes, the whole place is geared for tourism. It is not the quaint village that either Bacharach or Braubach are. Many of the buildings have been rendered and painted. There are some authentic old parts, especially the wall and gatehouses, but much just looks more modern.
I had been looking forward to visiting the world famous Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop, and it was amazing to walk through, but everything was expensive. Some ornaments were the same as you could buy anywhere, and for the special ones, the smallest started around 12 Euros, and the memorable ones could go up to several hundred.
I did buy a postcard for a friend, then thought - but how will I find a stamp. I was in luck, as the shop sold them too. Went back out to Errol, proud of myself, but he reminded me that Australia isn't a local stamp away!! Silly me!
Back to the hotel for a rest, and we found that Internet connection was impossible, so I couldn't post yesterday's blog, and started this one as a 'word' document to be fixed when we have Internet again.
After resting, we went out for dinner. We had stopped for coffee/wine in the afternoon at a little Italian restaurant - the food looked good, and smelled wonderful, so we went back there. It was lovely sitting at a table on the footpath just taking in the old buildings and the people wandering around. By tea time, the 'day trippers' have gone, most of the shops are shut, and Rothenburg is a much more pleasant place. Perhaps it was just that Bacharach had spoiled us, and this was different than what we expected.
We also joined the Night Watchman Tour just after 8. This local man has been running his tour 7 nights a week, 10 months of the year, for 22 years. He looked like the Pied Piper with a large group of tourists following him down the street. He stops at about 6 different places along the walk to explain (with great humor) what life was like at certain times, and some of the history of the town. It was very enjoyable, and a lovely way to finish the day.
We are again tired out and ready for bed, and blog writing seems to be becoming a job to finish the following morning!
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