Grand Circle River Tour 9: Rothenburg ob der Tauber [Sky Watch Friday]

The ship stopped the next morning in Gerlachshausen. Here a group of buses was waiting to transport those who wanted to visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of the most picturesque old towns in Germany. Originally, this was supposed to be an optional tour, which would cost each participant $90 to go. However, due to the low water that kept us off the ship for two days in Amsterdam, Grand Circle made the tour gratis for all. I thought that was pretty cool. Even more so than Wertheim, there were Fachwerkhäuser everywhere. And, the town still had its original medieval wall, entrance gates and cobblestone streets. Hence, it is not surprising that it is one of the most visited places in Germany. Here are several samples of this charming town.

Just by chance, I came across this butcher shop sign [Metzgerei]…now we know the real source of the Trump family wealth.

Saving the best for last, I headed for the iconic Plönlein, basicallyca fork in the road. On the left is  late 14th century Siebers Tower, part of the second fortification of the expanding city.The road down to the right passes through the Kobolzeller Gate leading to down to the Tauber Valley. Just in front of the central orange Fachwerkhaus is a large wooden box. This was where fisherman stored their catch until market day. I was quite lucky to get this shot since the area had been overrun with tourists.  I remained patient and bade my time until the crowd thinned out, though it looked for a while that it wasn't going to happen. [BTW, this was taken with my cell phone; it turned out better than my Canon DSLR shots.]

                                  Join me next week for our visit to Bamberg.