We awoke this morning to a light snowfall beginning to dust the streets and sidewalks. It completed the one missing element from the stereotypical perfect old country Christmas.
After a hearty breakfast, we took the train to Rothenberg ob der Tauber, the best preserved German medieval walled city. We had to change trains twice (with one 6 minute connection that was a little exciting), and the last train to Rothenberg only had three small cars. The trains were very clean, efficient and inexpensive, truly a model for at least California and the Eastern seaboard of the US with their high population densities.
When we got to Rothenberg, it was about 1 pm and we realized that most restaurants closed from 2 pm until at least 5:30 if not later. Since we wanted to start the 2 hour train ride back to Nuremberg by then, we decided to have a late lunch before we began exploring. The boys tried and loved schnitzel, and I got to have some spatzle, and Heather just loves all German food, so pretty much everyone was in heaven.
After lunch, we headed into the old town as the snowfall continued to get heavier. The boys were very interested in the walls and fortifications, and how they worked and why they were built. Heather loved the ornament and decoration shops.
The Christmas Market was laid out in three or four different platzs or squares, connected by alleyways. Each square held 8 to 12 stalls. When I stopped to count, one square had 11 stalls, 3 of which sold gluhwein and 2 of which sold grilled sausages. I like the priorities.
We actually got to tour the Kathe Wolfhart (pronounced "will fart") museum and shop in a three story Kathe Wolfhart store. I was thankful for the two gluhwein I had already had after my beer with lunch, and afterward, quickly searched out another gluhwein. Heather got to buy a few more ornaments and gifts.
We also found a store with personalized mugs that actually had "Erich" spelled correctly, so we got mugs for the family.
On the way back to the train station, the boys realized that the snow was perfect packing snow, so we had a snowball fight for about three blocks down the hill from the old town.
It goes without saying that the boys chased pigeons at each of the train stations and at the Christmas Market.
Tomorrow, we are planning to hike all the way up to the castle at the other end of old town Nuremberg, and spent a little more time at the Christmas Market before we pack everything carefully for the journey home.
After such an amazing trip with so many different experiences, it seems strange to be heading home at last, although we are excited to get our Christmas tree and decorate our house for Christmas, and we are looking forward to seeing our friends and family again.
Froehliche Weihnachten!
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