A Medieval Gem: The Red Castle above the Tauber river

We decided on a whim to visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria. This city is indeed still very medieval due to the fact that it had been spared by heavy artillery in the second world war, in particular thanks to a secretary of war who gave order not to bomb the town, and a German commander who surrendered despite opposite orders.

After war the residents rebuilt the destroyed parts of the fortress with the help of national and international donations. Names of the donors can be found engraved in the walls.

One enters the inner city core through one of the many tower gates, and immediately gets the idea of why Rothenburg is such a tourist destination. What looks like a medieval Disney World is totally real.

We strolled around for hours, through little lanes, and along and around the city walls, and we were stunned by the beauty of this city. None of us had ever been here. How could we have missed that cultural gem all those years? It's quite embarrassing coming to think of it.

We were as much in awe as any other tourist, and couldn't get enough of the sights.

When climbing up the city walls watch out, the steps are steep and the walkways uneven, the ceilings are low, and you might hit your head. There are signs that exploring the walls might be dangerous, and you have do it on your own account. We did, and it was well worth the climb.

 Simply beautiful!

Here Roland is making acquaintance with one of the locals at a Teddy Bear Shop. So sweet, but we didn't take it home.

And here he is tasting one of the local delicacies, fresh squeezed apple juice. Yummy!

And to satisfy our morbid streak we had to visit the one and only Medieval Crime Museum in Europe, an important collection of jurisdiction and punishment.

In ancient times people seemed to spend a lot of effort in inventing effective means of punishment, much more than in (verbal) questioning and obtaining evidence before calling judgement.

There were plenty tools for punishment: The mask of shame, the neck fiddle, or the gruesome iron maiden.

And for those, judged guilty... are the executioner's tools.

 There is also a how-to guide to torture (or painful questioning). Scary!

Compared to these days today's jurisdiction and legislative framework seems pretty... tame.

Later the day we moved on to Würzburg, where we spent the night. Würzburg located along river Main has roots all the way back in the Bronze Age. Unfortunately 90% of the city had been destroyed in an air raid during 2nd World War. So most of today's buildings are merely replicas of the previous historic architecture. 

 Fortress Marienberg

A loading crane, no longer in use.

St. Mary's Chapel

 Just in time for the Wine Fest!  Who said Germans can't party and have fun?

But the flooding had reached this city as well. The lower levels of our parkade were blocked because they were under water, parking lots were barricaded due to high water levels, and the river cruise ships were moored, as long as the docks were flooded.

Every bad situation can be turned around... the river is currently being used as a beer cooler.