Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We were going to go to the Plamobile FunPark today, since the weather has been bad - but when we noticed that the sun was out after breakfast, we decided to go to Rothenburg. Rothenburg is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Germany, and it is only 45 minutes away. It dates back to 1142. It's old city walls are still completely intact, which is pretty unusual.

Of course once we got there, the clouds came back and we were freezing the whole time we were walking around, but Luna was bundled up, so we had lunch at and then climbed the 50 meters to the top of the tower in the old Rathaus, where we got some great pictures. And since it's the middle of winter, there were no crowds - making the pictures even better! After that we walked around the city walls before heading back home.
These are "Schneeballen" - a local pastry. We didn't try one, but we definitely will next time!

This is the inner courtyard of the restauraunt we ate in.

It was built in 1596, and was originally a local patrician's house, just off the marktplatz.

Also in the restaurant...

Look who else I found!

Luna loves trying things on! Must be just like her Mom... more on this later...

This is the Rathaus, on the marktplatz. That's the tower in the background on the left. It was SO cold up there!! The tower is rather unique, because it has no foundation built uniquely to support it. It's weight rests solely on the roof gables!

These are the steps that go up to the top of the Baroque (front) portion of the Rathaus.

Pretty cool...

This is the ceiling...

A view from on top of the tower...

Idyllic, no?

These are the buildings facing the square. This is one of my favorites.

Still getting better...

The bell in the tower... During the middle ages, fire was very dangerous in a town like this, because building materials were extremely combustible, and the streets of these towns are so narrow and tightly packed that fire could quickly and easily destroy a city. The night watchmen would stand guard in this tower to look for intruders against the city walls, as well as to spot any signs of fire. They rang the bell every 15 minutes to prove that they had not fallen asleep.

I like the color in this one...

But this is my absolute favorite of the day!

This is where we had lunch.

I guess the bakery is decorating for Carnival!

This is the most famous, and probably most photographed (painted, etc.) spot in Rothenburg.

This is where we carried Luna up in her stroller, before walking the wall back to where we parked. The stairs were treacherous, and we were probably crazy to carry her up there like that! (Oh and going down was even worse... didn't think about that one!)

All along the wall are stones with people's names, who have helped restore the wall over the years. No McKoys, but the Hatfields donated!!

Car driving through one of the tower gates. It is very cool to drive around the old town and through the gates in the towers. They must have filmed that scene in European Vacation here - where Chevy Chase gets the car stuck between the walls? It doesn't look too tight in this shot, but some of them were worse - and just pray there's not another car coming in the other direction!

That's Bas there on the wall below... look hard, he's waving!

First Toddler's Group Meeting

We had our first toddler's group meeting at our house today. I say group, but it was really just one other woman and her 2 1/2 YO son. But it was great. Her name is Lisa, and she just moved here this past summer as well. She's originally from Berlin, but was most recently in OH! Can you believe that? She speaks English really well, and likes the idea of continuing exposure to English for her son. She has a couple other women in mind who might be interested as well, so hopefully we'll continue to grow.

Next week we're going to meet at her house, and she mentioned that she was interested in also taking walks and going for bike rides!

Surprise Trip to London!

Bas surprised me on Monday by telling me that he had booked a trip to London for us in April! We were talking abou going to Egypt for some sun, but he was looking at prices and was able to get us both airfare for a combined total of 375 Euros! We booked the hotel today - the K&K Hotel George for a very good rate (for London standards.) We will be there for 5 nights... I'm too excited! I've driven through London, but never really been there, so I have a lot of research to do!

I'm advertising!!

It's a small ad - in an obscure spot, but it's only $10 for 3 months. I'll place an ad on this network's start pages once I get the blog reorganized and the Spring backgrounds loaded. But I still think it is very cool!

Click here to check it out! Scroll down to the Blog section.
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Oops!

Some of you may know the children's book by Sandra Boynton - Blue Hat, Green Hat, where the poor turkey keeps on getting it wrong... well, I guess Luna thought it was instructional on how to dress! Oops!