July 18 - Going Cuckoo in Rothenburg

(John) Today, Gene went completely Cuckoo - as in clock. Yes, he bought a hand carved traditional Bavarian style cuckoo clock. Rothenburg is definitely a shopping town - with a heavy emphasis on art galleries, porcelain, cutlery, and baked goods. Yes Mom, I have surprises for you too - from the HUGE Christmas store. We also went to the Reichstadt (Imperial City) Museum and the Town Hall exhibit.

After an evening thunderstorm, we ambled along the top of the city ramparts. Gazing across the red tile rooftops, we listened to the echo of church bells marking the close of day. The street lanterns came to life as the sun set, and the laughter of diners served as counterpoint to the clang and tinkling of the kuchen staff. Experince has given us a glimpse into the thoughts of the 19th century artists and poets who made Rothenberg a part of the Grand Tour.
I must say I agree, Rothenberg must be seen to be appreciated.

Tomorrow, for the first time we will learn more about recent German history - the Nazi era. We will stop in Nuremberg on our way to the see the castles of Bavaria.

By the way - an interesting note: in Europe, beer and wine are served in glasses that have a line marking exactly how full they should be and the percentage of a liter you are purchasing.

(Gene) Rothenburg is known for a baked specialty called Schneeballen. I just had to try them. They look like a giant donut hole. Well, the similarity ends there. They are very, very dry and quite tasteless. But, I had to try them at least once.

As John mentioned, this is a shopping town and I was looking for quality items. Besides the cuckoo clock, I also bought a green felt Bavarian style hat.

Rothenberg has a giant Christmas store. It is so huge that it takes up both sides of the strasse. I have never seen so many Christmas decorations all at once. I knew the Germans were famous for their glass ornaments. What I did not know were all the wooden ornaments that are available too.

It's Montag (Monday) and that's when we typically have Mexican for dinner at home. John was out earlier tonight and found Pacifico Café. We just returned from dinner there. John had Fajitas de pollo and I had Burritos de pollo. The food was great. I had to remind myself that I was in Germany. It was humorous to read the German translation of the Mexican dishes. I especially enjoyed the Grrman to English translation of "flower tortillas".