Friday, October 16, 2015

The Old Towns of Germany

Dinkelsbuhl, Germany
Rothenburg City Wall Framing the Village
Germany. We loved our time traveling in this lovely country. Especially once off the autobahn. Just South of Frankfurt is the old road that weaves its way through the countryside going from one old medieval town to the next (28 towns in total). 

I can see why it is called the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) as the towns are ridiculously cute. All I wanted to do was park the car and stroll from shop window to shop window. 


Rothenburg City Gate
The towns are of course full of history. The concept of the Romantic Road was actually coined in the 1950s as a public-relations piece to encourage a return to tourism after WWII. But the history of the area dates way, way back to a road built by the Romans some 2,000 years ago. The road crosses centuries-old battlefields. In fact, the 30-years' War in the 17th Century destroyed the economic base and depleted the resources of the people in the area. As devastating as that is, today it gives us a look into medieval German. That is because the people lacked the economic means to modernize the area. Lucky us that we can now take a beautiful walk through history as you explore these time-capsule towns. They are a living museum. People still live in the houses, run local shops and the restaurants serve classic German dishes.

By far my favorite town was Rothenburg. It is full of history and charm and surrounded by the original city wall. You still need to enter the city through one of the original stone gates complete with a look out tower. Seriously cool. We spent 2 nights here, and could easily have spent a week getting lost along the side streets, little shops and beer houses in every direction. We took lots of pictures of the Romantic Road, so if you want to see more just click over to our collection of photos over on Pinterest.

13 comments:

  1. Oh how beautiful, and all the colour is a feast for the eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful pictures! The further south you go, the cuter the houses get! That's what I've always thought :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wish I had gone to Germany. Now I just don't see myself going overseas. My ex-h was stationed in Weisbaden when he was in the army in the late 70s. Said it was gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the stone "frame"...what a great shot!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The photos are so charming! I would love to stroll through these little medieval gems. I imagine the residents have stories of their families living there for many generations.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a quaint place! I'd be so chicken to visit a country where I don't know the language but you're making me want to throw caution to the wind and just do it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just beautiful! Could have spent all day staring at your Pinterest Board! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. More great photos from your trip!!! These are so pretty and romantic, indeed! I love the photo of the stone window framing the house in the distance!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The architecture -- the doors -- the fountains and statues, great photos. You really captured the feel!

    ReplyDelete
  10. sounds just wonderful ... romantic road full of history.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Those top two photos are my favorite ones from your trip!

    ReplyDelete

AntiquityTravelers on Etsy