After lunch, we departed for the second of the two extra excursions we had purchased (the other being Cesky Krumlov). I'd heard of Rothenburg for years and seen pictures of it. It seemed like this would be as good an opportunity to see it for myself as was likely to come along. So off we went.
It was about an hour's drive from Wurzburg. When we arrived, we set off on a guided tour, but the bulk of our time in this picture-postcard town was on our own. Rothenburg has an intact city wall, and dates back to the 12th to 14th centuries. You have to work a bit to see beyond all the tourists, but it is quite chock-a-block full of fabulous timbered houses and quaint lanes.
Many people like to shop in Rothenburg. It is considered a premier Christmas market site, and has Christmas-themed shops in the multiples. We decided to dip our toes into the largest of these shops. It turns out there is no way to dip one's toes. You are in for the full experience once you step into the door. For one thing, a walkway is roped off so that you can't just back up or turn around, or even turn left or right. You are essentially on a conveyor belt of people. Then it descends one floor, and you continue on in the single-file stream of people. It keeps going deeper and deeper into the store. It is utterly cavernous. And there is no way out. There are dozens of posted shop people, because there are many, many very small items to be picked up, and they are watched like hawks. I finally asked one of the dirndl-clad ladies how I could escape (though I think I asked it in a way that didn't reflect my increasing panic). After many turns and climbing stairs back to daylight, I managed to come back out into the street. Fresh air!
Another must-do in Rothenburg is the Schneeballen (snowball), a local pastry treat. Our guide had warned us that it was dry, but many people in our group tried it. One of them was Chuck. He pronounced it to be very dry. So did the others.
While we had been in Rothenburg, our ship had gone through a couple more locks and moved to a new location, so our return trip took about half an hour longer. Knowing how much our captain wanted us to return on time and not mess with the lock timing, our bus driver made the best time he could. We assumed that, with two bus loads of us off on this excursion, they would wait for us, but who wanted to tempt fate.
We arrived about 15 minutes late and sailed quite quickly. A full night of sailing was ahead of us, but only nine locks this time.
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