5th February.
The brown Romantische Strasse direction signs by the Wurzburg Royal Palace led us a merry dance and we ended up going round in circles. In
fact we needed to cross the river. Down on the waterfront road in front
of a very low 3.1 metre arched-bridge we broke out in a little cold sweat
(we are 2.9 metre) as we
stopped the on-coming traffic – hogging the middle of the road in the hope of getting through without shaving some GRP from our roof!
The intended route of the Romantic Road out of Wurzburg is the B8. Sadly, neither the hand-out map from the tourist office – with its big-bold-blue route marker that cleverly obliterates the road numbers – nor the website, are a great deal of help when trying to program your sat-nav; you really do have to read between the lines and keep your eyes peeled for those little brown signs – and they have a habit of doing strange things at times, as well as disappearing tricks. I suppose that’s part of the fun!!!
www.romantischestrasse.de
We ticked off the towns of Tauberbischofsheim, Lauda-Königshofen and Bad Mergentheim and called it a day at Röttingen, which seemed a nice, quiet place to stop. The large stellplatz (which doubles as a festival ground) is by the river Tauber and equipped with a drive-over waste water dump, electric supply and even a small shower cabin.
The intended route of the Romantic Road out of Wurzburg is the B8. Sadly, neither the hand-out map from the tourist office – with its big-bold-blue route marker that cleverly obliterates the road numbers – nor the website, are a great deal of help when trying to program your sat-nav; you really do have to read between the lines and keep your eyes peeled for those little brown signs – and they have a habit of doing strange things at times, as well as disappearing tricks. I suppose that’s part of the fun!!!
www.romantischestrasse.de
We ticked off the towns of Tauberbischofsheim, Lauda-Königshofen and Bad Mergentheim and called it a day at Röttingen, which seemed a nice, quiet place to stop. The large stellplatz (which doubles as a festival ground) is by the river Tauber and equipped with a drive-over waste water dump, electric supply and even a small shower cabin.
Parking is free,
Electricity €2 for 24 hrs, Water €1 for 70 litres.
GPS: 49.5074 N, 09.9699 E
GPS: 49.5074 N, 09.9699 E
www.roettingen.de
It was now well dark, but the village centre is a few minutes walk away over the river and, sure enough, they were busy rebuilding it! Most of the square and surrounding roads were dug up for new drains, or awaiting their new covering of impeccable cobblestones. The street lights were few and far between, and we were beginning to wish we had brought a torch as we picked our way over the road works. Despite numerous tourist signs indicating houses of refreshment, it was all as dead as a doornail – a ghost town!
Then we heard the sound of laughter around the corner and hey presto: there was Ali Saskara's Kebab and Pizza house! In the front window a dozen or so men were boisterously slapping the table as they played cards: Schafkopf (literally, Sheep-head) is a 32 card-pack game for 3-4 players.
It was now well dark, but the village centre is a few minutes walk away over the river and, sure enough, they were busy rebuilding it! Most of the square and surrounding roads were dug up for new drains, or awaiting their new covering of impeccable cobblestones. The street lights were few and far between, and we were beginning to wish we had brought a torch as we picked our way over the road works. Despite numerous tourist signs indicating houses of refreshment, it was all as dead as a doornail – a ghost town!
Then we heard the sound of laughter around the corner and hey presto: there was Ali Saskara's Kebab and Pizza house! In the front window a dozen or so men were boisterously slapping the table as they played cards: Schafkopf (literally, Sheep-head) is a 32 card-pack game for 3-4 players.
As it turned out, Ali was from Kurdistan: escaping 15 years ago with his family, and after a spell in Switzerland and elsewhere, finally settling in Röttingen to open up his kebab house; and it would seem, providing a huge asset for the local community in the process.
Our two pizzas and four bottles of a very smooth pilsner came to €21.30. Great value; including a temporary transport to another, warmer, culture!
6th February
The engine of the heavy truck that had joined us late at night roused us again at 0600. A little light snow had fallen during the night and we surfaced to a much whiter landscape and frozen puddles.
One of Röttingen's tourist pieces is a two-kilometre long trail of 25 different sundials. I only only followed a few on the way into town, but they are certainly inventive and beautifully made – shame the sun wasn't shining so I could check my watch! Rottingen would also seem to be a mecca for model plane enthusiasts as it has its own designated airfield; a little synergy there I think, when it comes to precision model engineering skills.
We returned to the Romantishe Strasse with a plan to visit Rothenburg, one of the most famous walled medieval towns in Europe.
Passing through Creglingen we soon became aware of preparations for a festival or carnival: every forecourt seemed to be backed up with new agricultural tractors; a herd of horses was being reluctantly led onto the old town; food stalls were being set up. We hesitated – tempted to stay and get involved in the fun, but traffic marshals were already on the street and we soon realised finding somewhere safe to park would be difficult, and once ensconced we would probably have to commit the whole day to the fair. Reluctantly, we carried on through frosted countryside, and very pretty it looked too!
The first stellplatz we checked out in Rothenburg was by the fire-station. It was lightly covered in snow and more or less deserted, but a fair walk from the old town. There was waste and water services, but no electric supply.
We moved on to the next park, this is literally across the road from the southern entrance to the old town. Just one Dutch van was in the motorhome area – a sheltered section hidden by trees from the road. There is waste and water service, electric supply and a heated toilet block. €10 for 24 hrs, otherwise €2 per hour. Electricity €0.5 per kW hr.
GPS: 3701 N, 10.1834 E
By now the snow was falling quite heavily and was wonderfully squeaky underfoot – very romantische! With our full winter kit on, we entered the town by a stone bridge over the moat and through the thick outer wall.
If it is possible to find complaint with these fantastically preserved old towns, it is that the inevitable cars and vans destroy any "16th Century vision" you might have as you feast your eyes on the ancient buildings – especially when it comes to taking photos! To be fair though, Rothernburg ob der Tauber, or Red Fort on the Tauber, must be one of the most beautiful and complete examples we have come across.
The streets undulate, rising and falling due to their foundation on the rocky crag overlooking the river. The Market Square itself slopes gently upwards to the mechanical clock, which has moving figures either side of the face. This is where one of oldest Christmas markets in Germany is held, established 500 years ago.
The shops around the town really represent a perennial Christmas market: several still with full “festive” window displays; in fact there is a “Christmas Museum” tracing the history of Xmas traditions. There is more than one shop selling nothing but Teddy Bears, and shop windows full of toys, models and decorative objects abound.
To our amusement there was even a shop selling Scottish wares: clothing and foodstuffs, Walkers Shortbread, Dundee marmalade, etc. and – even funnier – Yorkshire Tea! Good as it is, I suppose there might be a few visiting Scotsmen aggrieved to discover that Yorkshire has moved to Scotland!
There is a walkway on the West side, down below the walls, where you can get a good view of the town without the clutter of modern life, and perhaps a glimpse of what it looked like centuries ago.
We had lunch in the Reichs Kuechenmeister Hotel, just above St Jakob’s Church. The more interesting items on the menu seemed a bit pricey, so we settled on the good old pork schnitzel, chips and salad – hard to beat when you want to stoke up to keep out the cold. With two 1/2 litre beers, the bill came to €39, the salads jacking the main course up to €15.60. A bit steep perhaps in comparison to elsewhere, but par for the course for such a tourist town – and each schnitzel was big enough to feed two people!
www.reichskuechenmeister.com/index.php?id=36&L=1
After lunch we paid our €2 to see the famous alterpiece and carvings by Tilman Riemen-Schneider in St Jakobs. Later in the day, the falling snow began to melt away, so we consoled ourselves with a hot chocolate in the Baumeisterhaus café, a very atmospheric place with cracked old beams on stone pillars, and guns and antlers on the walls – some Korean business people next to us were very impressed, snapping away with phones the size of postcards!
After lunch we paid our €2 to see the famous alterpiece and carvings by Tilman Riemen-Schneider in St Jakobs. Later in the day, the falling snow began to melt away, so we consoled ourselves with a hot chocolate in the Baumeisterhaus café, a very atmospheric place with cracked old beams on stone pillars, and guns and antlers on the walls – some Korean business people next to us were very impressed, snapping away with phones the size of postcards!
It snowed gently during the night – that hushed silence giving the game away
before we opened the blinds to reveal a smooth even layer. We watched a few
bullfinches flitting from branch to branch, their bright peach coloured breasts
marking them out from the black and white tree branches even from 50 metres away.
It soon began to thaw, and by the time we turned onto the main road the tarmac had all but reclaimed its surface. Nevertheless, the countryside was still white over and made for pleasant scenic driving.
Passing through Schillingsfürst and Feuchtwangen, our next stop was Dinkelsbül, a medieval town dating back 400 years. We parked on P2, a free bus, car and motorhome park next to the fire station and just yards from the old town gate. The snow-come-slush started to fall with a vengeance: if you will go sightseeing in the winter..!
It soon began to thaw, and by the time we turned onto the main road the tarmac had all but reclaimed its surface. Nevertheless, the countryside was still white over and made for pleasant scenic driving.
Passing through Schillingsfürst and Feuchtwangen, our next stop was Dinkelsbül, a medieval town dating back 400 years. We parked on P2, a free bus, car and motorhome park next to the fire station and just yards from the old town gate. The snow-come-slush started to fall with a vengeance: if you will go sightseeing in the winter..!
GPS: 49.0646 N, 10.3250 E
Dinkelsbül is a different kettle of fish to Rothernburg: not perched on a hill, it lacks the rise and fall of Rothernburg’s narrow streets, and a lot of its buildings – mostly fully rendered and immaculately presented – could have been built yesterday. The gothic church of St George, with its high vaulted roof, is impressive; but even snow covered, the town just didn’t have anything like the same charm.
Giving Wallerstein a miss, we moved on to Nördlingen, an almost complete medieval town situated in the flat centre of a huge meteorite crater some 15 million years old. There is a kostenloss (free) stellplatz at the back of a large car park, sandwiched between a railway line and the northwest gate of the old town, but with electricity supplies and a working water and waste point. Electricity €2 per 2kWhr. Water €1 for 100 litre.
GPS: 48.8553 N,10.4841 E
8th February
There was another dump of snow during the night – this time, around 15 cm; the snowploughs were out and motorhomers sweeping off their roofs and bonnets. By mid-morning the sun had come out and we walked into the old town. You have to get up bright and early to get nice “snowy” pictures though – in the middle of the night preferably – the roads were already turned to slush and the streets littered with cars.
On arrival at St George’s Church, we gave each other a long hard look; then decision made, moved inside to climb the endless stairs, 90 metres up, to the top of the tower they call “Daniel”. After the spiral stone staircase comes a rickety wooden one that wraps itself around the inner walls of the tower, finally a small set of stairs with a barrier, that as you lift it, rings an old brass bell by means of piece of string! Then an old guy appears, takes your €2.50 and escorts you up the last stone stairs to the narrow balcony that surrounds the tower. Squeezing room only, but the views are pretty good!
www.noerdlingen.de
We pressed on, through a lovely white landscape and Harburg, Donauwörth, Rain (town of), and down to the city of Augsburg. Here we stopped on what we thought was the better of two Stellplatz: the one by a sports stadium and restaurant, and on the bus route into town. The bays are backed up against a wall on part of a larger car park, electricity is provided and a working water supply.
€5 per night, Water: €1 for 80 litre, Electricity: €1 per 2kWhr. Showers available in the sports facilities: € 2.50
GPS: 48.3894 N, 10.9035 E
The restaurant was booked to a private party for the evening and our slumbers were slightly disturbed by the thumping bass of a live band entertaining a huge crowd until 3 in the morning – 60's and 70's music hits I seem to remember!
9th February
Augsburg is the third largest city in Bavaria, and the
third oldest in Germany. It is a university town and an industrial centre: one of the world’s largest manufacturers of marine and commercial diesel
engines, MAN, has its headquarters there.
It also has a wealth of historical interest: it was home to two dynasties, the patrician Fugger and Welser families that ousted the Medicis as Europe’s leading bankers. They have left their mark on the city: the Fugger City Palace and the “Fuggeri” – the world’s oldest social housing project, are just two.
www.augsburg-tourismus.de
www.augsburg.de
www.fugger.de
The No 22 bus from the stellplatz into Augsburg runs every 20 mins or so, and with the usual German efficiency we were able to buy a day-ticket from the driver, which was also valid on any of the city’s trams. Augsburg is an easy city to get your head around; the “imperial mile” with its three large fountains is the centrepiece, and most of the main sites are within easy walking distance, though we did resort to using the frequent trams to save time and give us respite from the bitter cold.
The trams run almost continuously
At another time of year, there is a vast botanical garden to visit, but for the winter months, the planetarium – as well as all the usual star and planet stuff – was advertising 3D tribute shows of Pink Floyd’s Dark side of the Moon and The Wall, with “bombastic sound” and “360 degree multimedia choreography”!
www.s-planetarium.de
10th February
It dawned a beautifully crisp, clear day for the drive down the last of the Romantische Strasse. Sunday is the day for winter festivals and we passed a few in preparation; again the temptation to stop and get involved was countered by the desire to get south to warmer weather.
The remaining towns: Freidberg, Landsberg am Lech, Hohenfurch, Schongau, Peiting, Rottenbuch and Wildstieg all slipped by (or nearby) our window but it was such lovely winter scenery, we didn’t care. Steingaden (the unsurpassable Wieskirche), Halblech and Schwangau (Ludwig’s Bavarian castles) we had already visited on our 2009 Deutsche Alpenstrasse run, so it wasn’t such a cop out.
At another time of year, there is a vast botanical garden to visit, but for the winter months, the planetarium – as well as all the usual star and planet stuff – was advertising 3D tribute shows of Pink Floyd’s Dark side of the Moon and The Wall, with “bombastic sound” and “360 degree multimedia choreography”!
www.s-planetarium.de
10th February
It dawned a beautifully crisp, clear day for the drive down the last of the Romantische Strasse. Sunday is the day for winter festivals and we passed a few in preparation; again the temptation to stop and get involved was countered by the desire to get south to warmer weather.
The remaining towns: Freidberg, Landsberg am Lech, Hohenfurch, Schongau, Peiting, Rottenbuch and Wildstieg all slipped by (or nearby) our window but it was such lovely winter scenery, we didn’t care. Steingaden (the unsurpassable Wieskirche), Halblech and Schwangau (Ludwig’s Bavarian castles) we had already visited on our 2009 Deutsche Alpenstrasse run, so it wasn’t such a cop out.
We got to the stellplatz at Fussen just as the last of the daylight disappeared. This is a very useful spot: within walking distance of the town, but on a commercial estate, sandwiched between Lidls and Aldi and a huge hardware store whose name escapes me. The wi-fi is free and there is a washing machine and tumble dryer, also a small bar/restaurant.
€12 a night, electricity is on a coin meter, showers and water on 50 cent coin boxes.
GPS: 47.5814 N, 10.7010 E
There was a bit more snow than last time we visited and our new tyres got another successful workout. We settled ourselves in for a couple of days to plan our trip (not a word we take too seriously) into Italy.
Next: Over the Austrian alps to Italy
