German Road Trip Part 2: History, Castles, and Corn

Leaving Rothenburg ob der Tauber behind us, we headed east to Nuremburg to get a history lesson into our trip. We drove to the center of town, parked the car, then walked to the main square, Hauptmarkt, to get a glimpse of the Schoner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain) and the Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church), two popular structures in Nuremburg. The Schoner Brunnen was very beautiful and ornate looking, but the Frauenkirche just towered over the square and really took all our attention. 

With a quick visit to the tourist office, we discovered that the Dokuzentrum (Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds) was only open for a few more hours, so we hustled over to the museum, which was our main reason for coming to Nuremburg. We spent the next few hours learning more about the Nazis and Germany than we had ever expected. While it was a lot of information and a long time to be in a museum, we really found it interesting and laid out really well to give people a great explanation of this time period.  At the end of the self-guided tour, we were able to step out onto a platform that overlooked the unfinished structure that would have been housed 50,000 spectators if it had been finished. Even now, you can see that it was going to be a magnificent architectural structure.

From there, we drove past Zeppelinfeld, where Hitler held many rallies and gatherings while he was in command. We didn't walk the grounds here as the weather was turning bad, but we were able to see the "Fuhrer's Rostrum" where Hitler would stand to speak.





From there, we drove back west towards our "hotel" for the night, the Colmburg Castle! It is a 13th century castle that in 1964 was converted into a hotel, while still keeping the castle facade as well as many aspects inside.  We arrived at dusk, and had a few hours to relax in our room before heading down to the dining room for dinner.  Our room was large but cozy at the same time, with wood furnishings and a fantastic view into the valley below.

Dinner was delicious as most everything else we had eaten on this trip was. It was hearty and filling and just what we needed after a long day driving and walking around.  We had the dining room to ourselves so were able to enjoy a quiet evening,and caught a last glimpse of the town and valley below just as it was getting dark.

The next morning, we were blessed with sunshine and blue skies.  We got up, had a hearty breakfast, then walked through the house and the grounds, taking it all in since we hadn't been able to do it the night before. The castle had lots of rooms, filled with old furniture and decorations. And the castle grounds were filled with flowers and trees, and even more spectacular views.

Sadly leaving Colmburg, we hopped back in the car and headed south towards Irsee, our next destination. Taking the German Romantic Road, we stopped at a few different towns, taking in the German culture, architecture and countryside. Our first stop was in Dinkelsbuhl, not far from Colmburg.  This town is surrounded by castle walls and has a lot of great looking buildings that are filled with restaurants and shops. We got a map from the tourist office and made our way through the town, seeing as much as we could see, walking outside the castle walls at times, and hoping we could find another way back in.  After a few hours, we ended our visit with a light lunch, sitting outside in the sun, and plotting our next destination.
































From there, we passed through Wallerstein, Nordlingen, Harburg, and Augsburg seeing a few more castles and lots of German countryside. Often we found ourselves having to take detours due to road construction and ended up on extremely narrow roads through random corn fields. But it just added to the adventure and allowed us to see some tiny towns and lots and lots of fields.

Arriving at our final destination, Irsee, we headed to Irseer Klosterbrau, a hotel and brewery! We checked into our room and before heading up, we ordered two beers and sat at the outdoor tables set up so we could catch the last few rays of sunshine!





















We took a self-guided tour of the brewery museum....





















...then explored the rest of the grounds which housed several other buildings, two of which were part of the hotel and one was a church.























The rest of the night was spent drinking their beers, eating another hearty meal and getting a good night's rest as we still had two more days to go of our German holiday.

German Road Trip Part 1: Wines, Castles, and LARPers

The next few weeks were spent in Geneva, celebrating my birthday, attending a friend's End of Summer party, and preparing for a week long trip to Germany!  Travers planned, as usual, an amazing itinerary that led us from Frankfurt to Munich over 6 days. We went wine tasting, saw several castles, and learned a lot of history. 

We flew into Frankfurt airport, and drove an hour south to a small town called Speyer and checked into the Hotel Am Wartturm. It was late by the time we arrived, and we had a lot of driving to do the next day so we went to bed early and decided to explore the town the next day. The town of Speyer was fairly small and driving through it didn't take much time. We passed by several churches with tall spires reaching up into the sky, and headed to the Speyer Cathedral, one of the largest in the area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We went inside, taking in the beauty of the architecture, and also headed downstairs to see some tombs in the catacombs.





















We strolled through the town a bit after that, but with lots to see and do that day, we decided to hit the road and head to our next destination, Bad Durkheim. Along the way, we traveled down the Deutsche Weinstrasse (German Wine Road). This small road took us through tons of towns and wineries and some beautiful German countryside. We eventually stopped in a small town called Frankweiler, where we found a restaurant/winery called Weinstube Brand with a beautiful quiet garden terrace that served some of the most delicious food we have had and wonderful wines to match.

With our bellies full and our palates tested, we continued our drive up the wine road towards Bad Durkheim, enjoying the fabulous views of vineyards and rolling hills, and the small towns we drove through with the stone architecture, narrow roads, and winery after winery.We stopped one more time for some additional wine tasting, then finally arrived in Bad Durkheim at the Hotel Sinneo Am Park, where we quickly checked into our hotel and then headed to the park next door for the world's largest wine festival, the Wurstmarkt!

We immediately bought two Rieslingschorle drinks, which is Riesling wine (which the region is known for) and carbonated water. It is the local thing to drink in this region to water down the sweet wines and add a bit of bubbliness to it. The festival was already very crowded, but we wove our way through the people, taking in the fun, the culture and the excitement.  The festival had tons of carnival rides, tents to sit and have some drinks, and tons of restaurants for some good German food. We spent the rest of the evening there, drinking wine, eating sausages and potatoes, and meeting some fun people!

The next day, we left Bad Durkheim behind and headed East on the German Romantic Road to Heidelberg, where the Heidelberg castle sits atop the hill overlooking the town below.  We parked the car in the center of town and after gazing at the castle above us, we strolled through town first, making our way through tons of tourists and headed to the main bridge in town that gave us some spectacular views of the river and the surrounding mountains.





















We then made our way up the hill to the castle. The walk was nice and not too difficult and the views from up there were well worth the effort. We walked all around the castle grounds, making sure to see the Grossess Fass (Big Barrel), which is the largest wooden barrel ever to have been filled with wine. And we took in the wonderful architecture, the castle ruins in some areas, and the grassy grounds surrounding the castle.

After our walk around the castle, we headed back into town and had some more delicious German food at Vetter, a local brauhaus (beer hall) and some local beers before heading back to the car to continue our trip down the Romantic Road. We saw several more vineyards and castles, stopping at a few to briefly check them out.  There were some spectacular views that we were able to capture, and we climbed one town's tower to get an even better view of the surrounding area.

Our final destination for the day was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the most picturesque European town you could imagine. And we happened to be there during their annual Imperial city festival, where the entire town gets into character, and re-enacts life as it was in olden days. We were staying in the heart of town at the historic Hotel Goldener Hirsch Rothenburg. We settled into our room and got ready for the evening, then headed out to explore the town before the evening festivities began.  The cobblestone streets were lined with shops and restaurants, and every so often we'd come across some LARPers (live action role players) going about their reenactment for the festival.





























As the night went on, we saw the town come to life, with marching bands, folk singing, and lots of people enjoying the local beers and food all while staying in character for the Imperial festival. The night ended with a large fireworks display over the town.









The next morning we walked the city walls, giving us an even better perspective of the city, stopped by the Christmas store, which is one of the largest I've ever been to, and enjoyed more of the festival.

Leaving Rotheberg ob der Tauber, we continued our trip by heading further east to Nuremberg to get some history mixed into our trip.  To Be Continued....