After about a 3-hour drive from Ramstein, we reached the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which means “red fortress above the Tauber (river). We literally have to pass through a fortress to get into this well-preserved walled town in Germany. The town walls include gate houses and towers. The half-timbered houses and other building structures that line the cobblestone lanes of its old town will make you feel that you’re stepping into a real-life storybook or movie.
No wonder Rothenburg has served as an inspiration and actual location for some movies. The now iconic Ploenlein intersection (you must definitely have a photo taken here), with its unique half-timbered house located between two towers, was the inspiration to create the backdrop for Geppetto’s village in Pinocchio. The town was also the location for 1968 film Chittty Chitty Bang Bang and filming was also done here for Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows—both Part 1 and 2. It’s surreal to be actually walking on the same streets and alleys we used to see only in the movies.
The whole town exudes that Christmas ambience all year round. Just imagine how Christmassy it was during our visit. The shapes and designs of the colorful houses remind me so much of the miniature houses in our Christmas village. It felt we were in a life-sized Christmas Village. Their Christmas market boasts of more than 100 stalls selling all those Christmas decors, trinkets, ornaments, food and drinks. A must visit to the Kathe Wohlfahrt, a shop that sells Christmas all kinds of decorations 365 days of the year, is highly recommended. They also house a Christmas Museum, which everyone, holiday lovers or not, will truly enjoy.
Completing our Christmas experience in Rothenburg is a taste of their Schneebal, a popular German pastry in this town. It means “snowball” in English because of its ball-like shape, decorated with powder sugar, chocolate and nuts. There’s also their Gluhwein, roughly translated “glowing wine”, as it is heated and served hot. We were not able to drink it but the smell of it was telling us to try it the next time.
Rothenburg was an entirely different Christmassy experience to our senses…and we just love it!
Merry Christmas to everyone!
