Spend some time in a real-life fairy tale setting with good food and beautiful sites in Medieval-style Germany.
We leave Nuremberg after lunch and arrived by train in Rothenburg ob de Tauber. Rothenburg is located in the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is famous for the most well-preserved medieval walled towns. It seems like a photographer’s wonderland to capture the setting to what a German fairytale might look like.
What to see…
Medieval Town Walls
We wander along the border walls up the stairs to come across a beautiful view of the cliff and the rest of the town. Climbing and following the walls is a great way to do a free and self-guided Tower Trail tour to see its landmarks.
At night, it is a completely different sight and experience. After dinner, we decide to climb it again since it is a quick way towards our hotel. It is a bit dark and creepy at times, but certainly an interesting and memorable experience–climbing the medieval city walls at night is not something I do very often. Thankful we make it back safely without tripping on the uneven stones scaling the walls.
German Christmas Museum
Since it is Sunday, some shops are closed and we wander throughout the cobblestone ground, browsing through the cute shops that were open with trinkets, wood carvings, teddy bears, and more. There are many Christmas shops and trinkets that give its nod to how important Christmas is, even in the summer! Rothenburg is also home to the German Christmas Museum. It looks so inviting with the lighted Christmas window displays. We walk by many stores that sell the Schneeball-a Rothenburg tradition. It looks like a snowball cookie dusted with powder sugar. They are like biscuit shortbread cookies that are wrapped around in a ball and you peel away the layers to eat it. You can also crush it if you don’t want to peel it for quicker eating.
Famous Night Watchman Tour
Hundreds of people seem to show up out of nowhere to hear this famous Night Watchman Tour. It is about an hour long and we follow him throughout the village to all the famous and gorgeous sites. We listen to stories such as how Rothenburg was saved during WWII because a woman brought home a painting of Rothenburg to her home. Her son fell in love with the painting. And because of this painting, this son grew up and had the opportunity to give the town an option to surrender, when he heard that it was to be bombed next. Of course, Rothenburg is now restored. I love the impact of how art and painting can do wonders to make positive change and influence in unimaginable and unpredictable ways. This is one of the many stories told during the tour that shares how we still can enjoy precious Rothenburg to this day.
Where to eat…
Alter Keller Restaurant
We wander along the border walls up the stairs to come across a beautiful view of the cliff and the rest of the town. We make it in time for dinner at Alter Keller before the Night Watchmen tour. I wonder why there are so many tourists here and we later find out that Rick Steves recommends this restaurant. We sit on the outside patio since it is full indoors. It is beginning to drizzle a bit but the patio umbrellas shield us from most of it.
I have a schnitzel with potato salad that is refreshing and delicious! It is not heavy as one would imagine with fried meat and potato salad. Definitely one of the best schnitzel and potato salad dish I’ve ever had. I still think and crave that dish from time to time while I am back in America.
Liv orders a smoked pork shoulder that is so aromatic that a bunch of flies take to her plate. It is so much work trying to eat and combat the flies, while we fight to eat our food. A cute cat happens to linger and walk by our feet multiple times as if we are friends. We quickly finish dinner and make our way to the market center and wait for our tour to begin.
Michaelangelo Cafe
For a memorable and delicious Italian dinner, there is a restaurant near our hotel called Michaelangelo Cafe. It is SO delicious! We ask for recommendations, and our server is extremely helpful. For our appetizer, we order the octopus carpaccio that is so crunchy, refreshing, and lightly flavored with pink peppercorn and vinegar. In contrast, my entree is the truffles pasta that came with fresh shaved truffles and mushrooms. They shave the truffle in front of you and you can tell them when to stop shaving. The entree seems small, but it is filling! The flavor is strong, on-point, and savory with a prominent truffle profile. Liv, who is also difficult to impress, also agrees that it is a star dish.
For dessert, we order a tiramisu that is light, fluffy, and not too sweet. During dessert, another black and white cat decides to join us and grooms itself next to us. This seems to be a common occurrence in restaurants in Rothenburg for us to have friendly feline visitors while we dine! I immensely enjoy this place and is definitely one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve had in a long time, if not ever! It is helpful to ask what are the restaurant’s star dishes to help increase your chances of ordering a stellar dish that has ingredients you enjoy.
Eiscafe D’isep Gelato
Eiscafe D’isep is a charming gelato shop with indoor and patio seats outdoors, and a to-go line that was swarming full of people. We saw a constant line of people waiting for gelato when we passed by earlier and realized that this place is recommended by Rick Steves. There is a golden plaque that is on its storefront that beams this fact proudly. We figured that coming back at the end of the day in hopes that the lines have slowed down–and it certainly has.
We walk in and sit down in a red booth that resembles a cute Italian soda shop. I ask for a recommendation and after some confusing pointing and exchange of words, we agree on the mixed berry sundae, which had all sorts of berries in season. It comes with three flavors of gelato: blueberry, strawberry, and vanilla. Not only is the presentation absolutely adorable and delectable, dare I say that it is THE best gelato I’ve ever had in my life! The berries and gelato all taste so refreshing. The sauce that is drizzled on top has a nice fragrance to it, also tasting fresh and not overly sweet. I can see why they display that gold plaque proudly and hope that many more will discover just how amazing gelato should taste. Apparently, they close pretty early we quickly pay for our experience and leave. I am so thankful we snuck in just in time to try this magnificent gelato. We take a few more night photos along the way back to our hotel, and retreat for the night.
Where we stayed…
Prinzhotel Rothenburg
We arrived around 3 pm and check in to Prinzhotel Rothenburg. We want a hotel that is reasonably priced, but still within the walls of the medieval old town. Our hotel does not have AC in our rooms, but it is clean and well-kept for how old all the buildings are over here. We quickly drop off our baggage, grab a map from the front desk, and set forth!
In conclusion…
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a worthwhile and memorable visit, even if you don’t have that much time. Spend a day here and take away a lifetime memory of charming medieval German folk experience.