Thursday, May 25 (week 18 / day 123) Rothenburg, Germany

Romantic Rothenburg

We actually lucked out this time. Although not usually happy to benefit from someone else's tragedy, we enjoyed staying inside the old city of Rothenburg at an international youth hostel. Airbnb offered nothing in Rothenburg so we had booked a place in Wertheim, about an hour away. Our host there cancelled on us just days before our stay due to a family accident in France & he had to fly out. Somehow, Stacia found a youth hostel with a 10-bed room still available! (No, not a 10 bedroom place, but 2 rooms with 10 beds).

Staying in town gave us the advantage of joining the night-watchman tour that evening & spending the next morning there after loading up on the free breakfast buffet! This place is a major tourist attraction for a reason. Though 40% of this medieval town with walls & towers was destroyed by allied bombing on March 31, 1945, the restoration efforts brought it back so buses fill the parking lot every day. Yes, it's a super cute town with 100s of quaint shops for the ladies, but it's also a cool fortress with towers, castle walls & the remains of the perimeter moat...

Ye

the hostel's main house

checking in with the happy hostel staff

claiming beds in one of our 2 rooms in the hostel

walking into town

apple sodas with their doners (Turkish meat burritos)

Kyra & Paul back at the hostel

Kyra doodling & with audiobook going, Paul blogging away

on our way to the night-watchman tour

gathered in the main square for the tour

night watchman introducing himself (girls on the right, Avery in purple shirt)

the night watchman graciously posed for all who wanted pics

2nd stop on the tour

close up of his weapon!

gathered at one of several churches in the old town

Stacia may be listening intently, but others seem a little bored

cool old sled

showing the "man hole" used to let late-comers inside after huge doors shut for the night

back at the hostel getting ready for bed