John Wall - On our own in Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber - http://www.rothenburg.de
History:

960 First settlements in the Tauber Valley

1142 The Imperial Castle is built by King Konrad III

1274 Rothenburg becomes a free Imperial city and independent state within the German Empire.

1400 Rothenburg becomes one of the biggest and most powerful cities within the German Empire.

Click on any photogragh to see an enlargment

Various gates in/out of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Various gates in/out of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Fortified areas of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg ob der Tauber town center

Night Watchman tour

Gasthof Goldner Greifen – www.gasthof-greifen-rothenburg.de - This is the hotel where
we stayed. About 600 years ago Rothenburg’s mayor lived here. It is located a half block from the town center.

Gasthof Goldner Greifen entrance View from our room Our room is the open window.
The Rothenburg ob der Tauber tourist information center assisted with finding and booking a hotel
to fit our wants without us having to walk all over town. It was great!

St. Jakobs Lutheran church in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

St. Jakobs Lutheran church was built from 1311 to1471.

The Criminal Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

They used this dunk tank for bakers who sold underweight loafs of bread.

Executioner’s blades

Executioner’srobe and blade

Head block and Axe

This shame mask was used for so-called “blabbermouth” women. The long ears meant they heard everything, the glasses meant they saw everything, and the long tongue meant they told everything as soon as it happened.

It’s the spikes that
make it uncomfortable.

Rhine River

Rhine River - Standing in Germany with France on the other side.

Freiburg is the home town of our friend Dieter.

Crypt dating to 1330

Switzerland

It was amazing how quickly the landscape changed once we entered Switzerland. It abruptly became incredibly green and mountainous.

Lake Lucerne a.k.a. Vierwaldstättersee

Lucerne

France

After many failed attempts to find a hotel for the night we finally found a truck stop along the autobahn where we spent the night. The restaurant was a simple cafeteria style. We were disappointed not to be spending the night in a more fun location and dinning in a more typical restaurant. However we were pleasantly surprised to find the food very good and we bought a bottle of wine for only 15€ that was perhaps the best wine of the trip.

"French Truck Stop Wine

The castle of Haut-Kœnigsbourg

This door was kept open most of the daylight hours for common folk to come and go tending to farming, hunting, and other duties. An hour before sunset a bell was rung letting everyone know it was time to come inside before the door was locked for the night. Once the door was locked it would not be opened again until morning. If a person returned late they could still gain entrance to the castle through the keyhole door (the small door inside the larger door) for a fee.

Mosel River Valley

Remarkable long barge-like boats navigate the Mosel River.

These are views from our room in Cochem on the Mosel River - http://cochem.de/tourism/

Burg Eltz - http://www.burg-eltz.de
Construction began between the 9th and 10th centuries but most of the construction was completed between the 11th and 13th centuries. The castle has remained in the same family for the last 800 years!

Den Bed chambers Dining area Kitchen