Rothenburg ob der Tauber

My favorite place that I visited while in Germany was definitely Rothenburg ob der Tauber. (Or just Rothenburg  (pronounced Roe-ten-berg) for short) It translates as Red Fortress above the Tauber. (As in the Tauber River. ) This is a pretty famous city, because it is one of the only Medieval cities still around today.

I loved the town because it is very fairy tale-esque! Think thatched roofs, typical German design work on the buildings, tall clock towers, and a city wall and gates surrounding everything. One of my favorite views was where you could look out over the city wall and glimpse the other side. (See below)

View of Rothenburg


You can see how tall the city wall was!

On the second night we did the Night Watchman's tour, despite the rain. This guy was awesome! And it was a fun little tour to do just before nightfall. He talked about what life in the city would have been like back in the medieval times, and the role that the night watchman would play for the citizens. If you are ever in Rothenburg I highly recommend this quick, factual, and hilarious tour.

The Night watchman tour, plus the back of my Mom and I's heads. :)

Another great thing about Rothenburg is that it's all about the shopping! Any German souvenir you want, you can find it here! Almost every building is a shop or restaurant. My mom and I were in heaven! There is also a great year round Christmas store, with a quaint little Christmas museum on top. This is where my enthusiasm started to drain. It was two buildings with mazes to all kind of Christmas ornaments and decor. My mom was on cloud nine, my dad and I were begging to go somewhere else! :)

One great spot we found courtesy of my Rick Steve's Germany guide. It's a little shop called Anneliese Friese. They had the best prices on everything! And the woman who owns the shop, Anneliese herself, befriended Rick Steves long before he had his fame as a traveling guru. Throughout the shop there are pictures of her and her family with Rick Steves. It was pretty cool! Plus the prices were great, she was happy to share her stories, and threw in a bunch of free stuff with every purchase! 

My parents and Anneliese Friese in her shop. The shop is highly recommended by Rick Steves.

Rothenburg is such a beautiful city. Admittedly it can be a bit of a tourist trap, but we were lucky enough to find some great prices, and really enjoyed our time in the city. It was such a treat to go shopping with my Mom, it's probably one of the things I miss the most now that she lives in Germany, and I live in Utah.  If I ever return, I think I will try to plan the trip for Christmastime when they have their annual Christmas markets.