July 8, 2013 – After we left Hohenschwangau, we drove to Rothenburg (Road n burg) ob der Tauber and enjoyed the quaintest medieval town still on the planet earth!  It is a beautiful little town on the Romantic Road and the epitome of German cities. The “Old Town” is a patchwork of winding cobblestone streets lined with picturesque half-timbered houses that appear crooked, some actually are crooked. There are 40 massive towers that connect the intact walls that form a ring around the Old Town and you can walk on top of it to get great views over the city and the Tauber valley.  We took a tour of the city from the “night watchman” that was fabulous as the tour guide dressed in character and told stories that engaged the children and could bring tears to the eyes of the adults. 

We did find out that if not for an American soldier  this city would not exist. The Americans’ ordered the city bombed and destroyed.  A general in the american army gave the Germans an option to surrender the city because he remembered his mother’s picture of this beautiful place hanging on his wall at home from her vacation she took to Rothenburg.  The Germans decided to take the option and they surrendered the city.  We waited around for about two hours to get a picture of the most photographed place in Rothenburg without any people in the way, but today we were not the “top” photographers we thought we were.  But still, we did get some great pics.  We visited the “Criminal Museaum” which was especially interesting, found out about the medieval laws and how they punished people back in the early days.  Here’s one of the funnier punishments.

From Rothenburg, we drove to Bingen and took a Rhine River cruise.  It was spectacular and the weather was perfect.  We couldn’t have asked for a better day.  Now on to Strasbourg to meet my Aunt Anne…

July 9, 2013 – Strasbourg, France

OK, so we came to Strasbourg to visit with my Aunt Anne…… another Aunt that I have not met.  OMG… she is a hoot.  Let me tell you, she will be 90 in August and she has more energy than Norm and I together!!  She played the harmonica for us, and danced whilst playing…about 4 songs, (we were winded after the first one) and played the piano for us too.  When she and my mom were little, there was only enough money for one of them to go to music lessons, and her dad sent my mom instead of her, which she was always a little peeved about, but her father said it was because she would never sit still long enough to get anything out of them.  So she took music lessons as an adult when she could pay her own way and now she listens to music on the TV and plays along with them.  She rides her bike with the basket on the back of it for her shopping, skis, swims and loves the 93 meter high water slide although she told us she will not be doing that again, b/c every time she gets to the top of the ladder, everyone starts clapping, then she goes down the slide and everyone cheers for her.  She doesn’t like the attention for that, b/c she doesn’t think it’s any big deal.  She tried to join several ski clubs but they wouldn’t let her join because they didn’t want the liability. She said she could ski better than most of the younger ones.  She reminds me a lot of my mom… she will say anything regardless of what anyone else thinks and on any topic imaginable!  She baked us a cake that we had to eat with our hands.  No forks.  That’s the kind of cake it was.  Damm good to, I might add.  It was a great visit and she told us next time we visit, we HAVE to stay with her and that she will be around for quite some time as we have a cousin that just passed away at the age of 102, so there are good genes in the family.  Hope I get just an ounce of those genes.

We’re heading south tomorrow to Interlaken and will post additional pictures of these last couple stops upon arrival.  Miss you all.

Rita & Norm