Tengo la Gripe

Que bonito es no hacer nada y después descansar.
-Spanish saying
“How lovely is it to do nothing and rest afterward.”

In my real-world life, early January typically involves a long flight home, painfully early mornings at work under harsh florescent lighting, hurriedly buying my textbooks for the impending semester, restocking the fridge and paying all the bills that arrived while we were away for the holidays. Often Brad and I have a cold from all the traveling.

This year, I got a cold from traveling. But, it didn’t really hit me until we were leaving Prague to come home. And, I was able to simply descansar (rest) at home while getting well – for the first time since my childhood. A gift from God.

Even better, mis suegros (my in-laws) are arriving at Madrid Barajas airport on Sunday! I get to be with them when they experience Europe for this first time.

I hope all of you are enjoying the fresh start of the New Year. If you’re like me, you’ve taken this time to “revise” those resolutions that were a bit too lofty. As the Spaniards say, Feliz Año! (“Happy year!”)

Šťastný nový rok

Train travel in Europe is usually quite pleasant and functional; this was how we traveled throughout central Europe. We would often pass a small town nestled in a valley, with a prominent church steeple in the middle of dozens of red roofs. We saw frozen ponds with people ice skating on them. We saw forests of perfectly proportioned evergreens with a dusting of snow on all their branches. The most snow we saw was probably in Moravia, the area east of Bohemia in the Czech Republic.

At a train station

On New Years Eve. These peaceful and scenic train rides were one of my favorite parts of our trip

Praha

Eastern Europe is a very different, albeit rapidly changing, world. The Czech Republic has undergone dramatic changes since the USSR finally broke up not too long ago. Prague has become a tourism capital in recent years and I imagine this city constantly is finding new ways to get your tourism dollars. Prague’s “old world charm” is what you always read about in travel magazines. It’s hard to articulate what makes Prague so captivating. That’s why I love it.

You know you’re in Prague when . . . you get hassled for money before you’ve even left the train station. Not surprisingly, this happened to Brad and me. Any travel book, seasoned traveler or sign in the subway and on the street in Prague will tell you, “Beware of pickpockets. Guard your belongings.” Luckily our wallets were under so many layers of clothing that a pickpocket would have to be making out with one of us to steal our money.

We arrived in Prague on New Year’s Eve. The party had already started. After dropping off our bags at our fantastic “boutique hostel,” we headed downtown. The Prague equivalent to Times Square is Wenceslas Square. Yes, it’s named for “Good King Wenceslas.” You’ll hear more about him later. The Square is more like a 5-block rectangle, so there’s room for everyone. Live music acts were already performing on the stage in the afternoon. Jumbotrons and cameras were set up as well – to broadcast the action to the rest of the Czech Republic of course. Wenceslas Square

Brad and I continued through Wenceslas Square and made our way to Old Town Square. The famous astronomical clock was chiming, so we watched as the 12 apostles glided by inside the clock. The Christmas market in the square was still humming with activity. We bought some snacks and took photos. We walked to Charles Bridge to see the castle, lit up and magnificent, across the river.

The Astronomical Clock
Old Town Square
Prague Castle

We booked our New Year’s Eve dinner online before we came to Prague because we didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know if every restaurant would be reserved and every bar would be packed. Having dinner at McDonalds and standing in the freezing streets waiting on midnight did not sound fun. So, I booked a dinner with entertainment package at some traditional Czech place.

It turned out to be a bust. We were seated in a back room, so we had no chance of seeing the transvestite cabaret show with live music. (When I did go into the main room, all I saw was some overweight queen in a flowing blue gown doing an interpretive dance to a Tina Turner song.) We did enjoy the couple who was seated at our table. Ray and Linda are from outside London and they are our parents’ ages. They clarified, at one point, that they are not married. They divorced their respective spouses not too long ago and now they’re happy together. Thanks for letting us know.

The four of us paid our drink bills before midnight, and left the restaurant to find some fireworks. We got a spot right at the river, with a great view of Charles Bridge and the castle and many fireworks shows. I heard that the Czech love their fireworks and I now know that’s true. There were fireworks going off in every direction. Fireworks over the castle, a professional fireworks show at the Charles Bridge, and people in the crowd lighting alarmingly big fireworks just behind us. At midnight, everyone in the crowd hugged their companions and yelled, “Happy New Year!” in a million different languages.

We chose the dangerous route to get back to our room; we went through Wenceslas Square. Prague party-goers like to set off deafening fireworks into the crowd. At one point, sparks from a roman candle almost grazed Brad’s head. We were ducking for fireworks, pushing through strings of drunken kids hanging on to one another for support, and trying not to step on the hazardous shards of champagne bottles. Meanwhile, the music is going strong. I thought it was a tiny bit thrilling; Brad, a 57-year-old man trapped in a 27-year-old body, hated every second of it.

On New Year’s Day, we slept in. When I opened the curtains, huge snowflakes were falling outside. Nothing was sticking, but it was beautiful. When we finally set out, it was almost lunchtime, but the cafe we found was still serving yummy breakfasts. Interestingly, the cafe we chose was once frequented by Einstein and Kafka. No earth-shattering scientific or philosophical ideas dawned on Brad and me. Brad ordered the “Cowboy Breakfast” – fried eggs, bacon, coffee and apple pie.

A message from Miss Slouchy

In the afternoon, we crossed Charles Bridge and walked around the Mala Strana area. We slowly climbed up to the castle. Once inside the old palace, we learned that the Defenestration of Prague occurred there. This is what happened: In 1618, at the onset of the Thirty Years War (essentially a war of Protestants vs. Catholics), a group of Protestants took a court scribe and went to Prague castle to have a rough and dirty “trial” of two Imperial governors/Catholic counselors. The governors were essentially found guilty of being Catholic. They were then thrown out of the castle window. Then, the Protestants threw their scribe (who knew too much) out the window as well. All three survived the fall because they landed on manure or something soft. But then, the Protestants started shooting at them. They survived the bullets too. The scribe was later given a title by the emperor: “von Hohenfall,” meaning “of Highfall.”

View from the castle

While on the castle grounds, we also explored St. Georges Basilica, Golden Lane and St. Vitol’s cathedral. St. Wenceslas is buried at St. Vitols. The crown made for Wenceslas after his death is also kept under 7 locks there. The 7 keys to the locks are in the possession of 7 different important people in the Czech Republic. Even though the Czech Republic no longer has a monarchy, the crown is sometimes brought out for official state ceremonies; that’s how important Wenceslas is to the Czech.

The rest of our time in Prague was spent shopping, exploring the Jewish neighborhood, eating at a medieval tavern, finding a Thai place and bagel place. And more shopping. I mentioned that Prague loves to take your tourist dollars (although technically the currency is the Corona.)

On our last night in Prague, we went to a performance of the comic opera Don Giovanni in Prague. Mozart premiered this opera in 1787 at the Theatre of the Estates (Stavovské divadlo) in Prague, and the Theatre of the Estates is where we went! Our seats would have been great in a normal theater, but this one is quite antique. The seats are in a U shape, so we had to bend over the balcony and look right to really see the stage. But, it was neat to pretend we were concert-goers in Mozart’s time – think of the colorful famous and infamous characters who must have been in his audiences.

Theatre of the Estates

An evening at the opera was a nice shift from the rest of our time beating the streets in Prague. Having Prague as our last stop was apropos because it’s a little grungy and our clothes, by then, were a little grungy too. It was time to go “home” to Spain.

Haben Sie dunkel Bier?

In the time between Christmas and New Years, Brad and I visited München (Munich) and Wien (Vienna). Both cities are world famous for many reasons. I enjoyed simply being in these cities – strolling past glamorous buildings in Vienna and listening in on conversations in Munich. Brad enjoyed the history and cultural influence of the two important cities. We both relished the food and drink; the freezing temperatures gave us a good reason to stay inside pubs, cafes and coffee shops and linger over the yummy items on our table.

Let’s take this opportunity to view a photo journal entitled: Ich spreche kein Deutsch, aber ich doch spreche Bier ("I don't speak German, but I definitely speak beer"), featuring Brad.

He drank it dark
He drank it light
He drank it with a pretzel this one night

München

Our lodging in Munich was a popular and packed hostel that caters to English speakers, specifically English speakers between the ages of 18 and 22. We had a private room, but we couldn’t completely escape the college party feel of this place. However, Munich is a fun city – I can understand why college students want to spend some time here.

In the city famous for beer, we headed to the Hofbrauhaus on our first night in Munich. The Hofbrauhaus historically was home to Hitler’s “Beer Hall Putsch,” a political rally to gain support for his side before World War II. Today, you would never know that such a serious historical event had taken place at this raucous beer hall.

Once inside, you search the expansive beer hall for a couple of free seats at one of the large communal tables. Brad and I found seats next to an American couple from New Jersey. They are world travelers and we enjoyed talking to them for I don’t know how long. The soundtrack of the Hofbrauhaus is a traditional brass band that plays upbeat tunes all night. The traditional drink is a liter of beer. I’m not a beer drinker, so I quietly ordered a glass of white wine. I may have imagined it, but I think a silence suddenly overtook the entire Hofbrauhaus and everyone looked at me with horrified stares. Brad made up for my blunder by drinking 2 liters of beer.

This was his 2nd liter

Our next day in Munich was a bit more erudite and thoughtful. In the morning, we watched the bizarre 15-minute clock tower show at the “New” Rathaus (city hall) downtown. We strolled through Viktualenmarkt, an upscale open-air market. After a brief walk through the Residenz, we headed to the Alte Pinakotek, a spot where the kids staying at our hostel are rarely seen I’m sure.

The Alte Pinakotek is an art museum in Munich with an incredible collection of pieces (14th -18th painting) from past rulers of Bavaria. The museum has been accumulating these works of art for centuries and I was delighted to see the collection. An exceptionally good audioguide took us through Van Dyke, loads of Rubens pieces, Rembrandt, German painter Albrecht Durer, Spanish masters Velazquez, El Greco and Murillo (from Sevilla) and even Da Vinci. I especially enjoyed the medieval works at the museum. In some incredibly old religious paintings, the angels are tiny creatures with blue wings and tails, and each saint or member of the Holy Family has a stunning gold halo surrounding their heads. Some interesting images from the collection are below.

Adoration of the Christ Child by the Virgin, by Stephan Lochner
The Flight into Egypt, by Adam Elsheimer

Wien

Ah, Vienna . . . continental, posh, elegant, self-assured, full of Italians there for New Years. Yes, getting a room in Vienna just before Silvester (New Year’s Eve) was no easy task. Rumor had it that every hotel room in the city was booked. Having countless European and Asian tourists in Vienna just intensified the international vibe of the city.

Since Vienna is so international, Brad and I gave ourselves permission to indulge in some of the international cuisine we’ve been deprived of for months (living in Spain). Our first meal there was sushi. Our last meal there was Greek – best baklava I’ve ever eaten and the waiter gave us a glass of ouzo on the house before we left.

I remember being freezing the whole time we were in Vienna. We essentially went from restaurant to coffee shop to restaurant. We squeezed in a few tourist attractions along the way, but old castles and stone cathedrals are not heated! The time we spent outside was great even though our noses were numb. The street performers in Vienna are no joke. One trained pianist played bombastic classics on a real piano sitting in the middle of the busy pedestrian street. We also heard a trio of blind singers singing beautiful harmonies in Russian. The city’s festive decorations also made the outdoors delightful.

Street decorations – how glamorous!
Even horses look extra classy here

One night, Brad and I ducked into a cozy little bar for a warm snack and some drinks. Just as we were paying the check, I struck up a conversation with two middle-aged Austrian guys sitting behind us. They noted that not many Americans know German. This is true. I took years of German in high school and college, and it was so nice to use it again. Being able to compose past tense sentences on the fly was such a pleasure after my months of struggling with Spanish. When you know more than “please” and “thank you” in a foreign language, it can be so rewarding. Brad even picked up a good bit of German on our trip. He also just started saying English words with a German accent, because many of our words are similar.

We ended up chatting (in English) with the Austrian guys for quite a while and they even bought us two more rounds of drinks! We talked about Wyoming, Schwarzenegger, what to do in Prague (our next stop), all the Italians in Vienna and 80s music. The bar was playing really cheesy 80s songs from the US, Germany and Austria. One of the guys got the waitress to play Amadeus, a song by an Austrian band that was apparently number one in the US in 1984. The four of us laughed and sang along because we all knew it.

While in Vienna, we visited Hofburg Palace, home of the Hapsburgs. We marveled at the opulence of the Silver Collection museum, we saw the “Sissi” (a famous and strange queen) museum and the Imperial apartments. The Hapsburgs, like most royals, lived in splendor.

Outside Hofburg Palace

We went back to the chapel at Hofburg Palace on Sunday to hear Schubert’s mass performed by the Vienna’s Boys Choir. The mass was lovely, but those in attendance had deplorable concert/religious ceremony manners. Brad and I were so shocked and distracted by those sitting around us that we could hardly enjoy being there. Most of the crowd around us was Spanish and I think Brad wanted to yell, “¿Por qué no te calles?”

Since we were in Vienna just before New Year’s Eve, the city was preparing for a big celebration. Good luck items were sold everywhere – most notably: pigs, four-leaf clovers, mushrooms and pennies. Also popular were petitfours glazed with pink icing, with little pink marzipan pigs on top. Inside, was a layer of “punsch,” some type of sweet liqueur. Brad and I decided that if we ate one of these confections each day we were in Vienna, we would surely have good luck in the New Year.

A “Punsch Schnitte”

The most famous confection in Vienna is, of course, Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher. Brad and I dutifully went to the packed Cafe Sacher for a slice of the world famous chocolate cake. It wasn’t the first time I’d been to Cafe Sacher. A lifetime ago, I went for Sachertorte with 3 friends and I remember that night as one of the best nights of my life. Going back with my husband was a treat. Brad enjoyed his Sachertorte immensely and the baker in him immediately started decoding the secret to making this cake. He thinks it may be a thin layer of apple jelly just under the icing. Who knows?

Austria is famous for Schubert, Schumann, Mozart and the Waltz. A trip to Vienna would be incomplete without attending a classical music performance. Brad and I went to the stunning Musikverein for a “New Years Concert.” This was one of the many spots that Mommy Jo, my grandmother/former tourguide, suggested we go. It was fantastic. Gazing at the interior of the Musikverein is a feast for the eyes, and the orchestra played an ebullient concert of Viennese music. The performance was thrilling for me. I didn’t know many of the songs, but the conductor had obviously chosen festive, fun pieces for this special concert. An added bonus, our fellow concert-goers were Viennese little old ladies in long fur coats, instead of noisy tourists.

Interior of the Musikverein; on the night of our concert, there were pink flowers on the balconies and red poinsettias at the front

To round out our time in Vienna, we saw the Blue Danube (river), Nachtmarkt (colorful outdoor market), the Rathaus, the Austrian parliament, and we ate Wienerschnitzel. Coffee houses are also famous in Vienna, so we found a funky, mellow one on our last afternoon in Vienna. We were enjoying our cozy couch and warm drinks when I saw snow falling outside. Did I mention that one of the waltzes we heard at the Musikverein was Schneeflocken Waltz? That means "Watlz of the Snowflakes."

This was the first, not the last, time we saw snow on our trip.

Fröhliche Weihnachten

Look who we found in Heidelberg! Our Norwegian-Mexican singing Santa!

We choose to spend Christmas day in Heidelberg, a city not far from Frankfurt. Heidelberg is small enough to get around on foot and big enough to have at least one or two restaurants open on Christmas Eve and day. Before we could get to Heidelberg (and attend the afternoon concert there for which we already had tickets), we had to leave Rothenburg. Getting to Heidelberg proved easier said than done . . .

Rothenburg is so small that it’s at the end of a solitary little train line. We were leaving on a Sunday, just days before Christmas, so I wasn’t sure trains would be running regularly. However, we already had our tickets and we got on the train in plenty of time that morning. Since we would need to change trains a few times in order to get to Heidelberg, Brad suggested I go to the computerized ticket machine and print out an itinerary of our train connections.

I waited in line for others to print out tickets, etc. and I finally got to the machine. Just as I was typing in “HEI” for “Heidelberg,” I heard the train leaving. Brad was on the train with all of our luggage and no grasp of German. I was on the platform with our train tickets. I started to run and desperately search for a handle I could grab on the train. Then I could just cling to the rapidly moving train and force a door open. Brad ran to a window and looked out at me in bewilderment. He considered telling the conductor to stop the train, but then he realized they only stop the train in movies. At the same time, I realized that people only jump on a moving train in movies – and those people are always really fit. And they’re running away from the police or something.

Our mistake cost us 88 Euros (since we missed our scheduled connections), but we got to Heidelberg in time for the concert. We gained a new appreciation of the German train system and I gained some knowledge about Taiwanese government. (A Taiwanese student studying in Germany was on the platform in Rothenburg when the train left me – she comforted me and assured me that another train would come soon. We chatted about the differences between Taiwan and China at the tiny coffee shop that was open near the station.)

Heidelberg

Attending a glorious performance of the Bach Christmas Oratorio was the first thing we did in Heidelberg. The oratorio was performed inside the grand Heiligeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church) in the center of the old city. The soloists were professional singers and the choir and orchestra were excellent as well. I had never heard the Bach Oratorio performed before and it was heavenly. The Christmas texts were all so familiar, even though everything was in German.

Inside the Heiligeistkirche

We stayed at Vier Jahreszeiten (ironically translates to “Four Seasons”) in Heidelberg. Supposedly, Goethe once stayed there! Our hotel room was the perfect place to wake up on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The room was a huge, corner room and we had incredible views of the famous Alte Brücke (Old Bridge) and the Neckar River.

View of the Alte Brücke from our room
Another view from our room
Our hotel is just over Brad’s left shoulder in this photo

On Christmas Eve, Brad and I strolled through the old part of the city and we climbed up to the Schloss (castle).

Heidelberg Schloss is on the left on the hill. Isn’t that frost on the trees beautiful?
View from the Schloss; the big church is Heiligeistkirche

Later in the afternoon, we went to a vespers service at Heiligeistkirche. The enormous church was filled with people. At the front of the church was a 25 foot tree, decorated with traditional straw ornaments in various star shapes, and sparkling with hundreds of tiny white lights. Suspended just above the top of the tree was a glowing Moravian star. Brad and I both tried to permanently memorize the image of this beautiful church interior. The vespers service was lovely. The Lutheran minister read those amazing verses from Matthew and Luke, and she gave a homily about Jesus bringing light to the world. The children’s choir sang about die stern uber Betlehem (the star over Bethlehem.) We sang the magical German carols Es Ist ein Ros Entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming) and Stille Nacht (Silent Night).

We had dinner reservations at a hotel just across the street from our hotel. While planning our trip, I had asked our hotel for restaurant ideas on the 24th and 25th. Our Christmas Eve dinner was superb and we felt like we were truly celebrating. The food was gourmet and the 4-course meal went on for hours. We also enjoyed being inside the coziest of dining rooms. The room was decorated with Christmas trees, candles and large gingerbread cookies tied with ribbons hanging in the windows. Many of the guests there obviously celebrated Christmas Eve at that restaurant every year because they knew the owner and chef, and, as they left, they said, “Bis nächstes Jahr!” (Until next year!)

When we went to bed on Christmas Eve I heard bells ringing all over the city. When I awoke on Christmas morning, I heard bells ringing.

Brad and I discovered a little Anglican church in Heidelberg that had an English-language Christmas morning service. What a joy! The church was small and the 30-person congregation was mostly made up of church members – Brits who live in Heidelberg. As we walked in, everyone said, “Happy Christmas!” in English. The service started with a Carol Medley; we sang at least 10 celebratory carols. By the end of the service, we had sung every carol we know – with the exception of Here We Come A’ Wassailing and Jingle Bells, but those are secular. I also loved singing the English melodies for some of my favorite carols.

After the service, everyone was invited to stay for coffee and cake. Brad and I hung around for a bit. The two older ladies who had been sitting our pew stopped to chat with us on their way out. Margaret, who lives in Heidelberg, brought her friend Teresa (pronounced “Tressa”) to the service because Teresa is visiting from Ireland and doesn’t know any German. Margaret is hilarious and she was poking fun at the proper English congregants there. She found out that we were American tourists, and she invited us over to her house for “a cup of Christmas cheer after dinner.”

Our Christmas dinner reservations were at an old hotel in the center of town. We enjoyed our meal and we were so excited to know we had after-dinner plans at someone’s home! Before going to Margaret’s, we had time to stroll over to the other side of the river and take some photos.

Margaret lives in a building right on Karlsplatz, one of the main squares in town. We showed up right at 5 p.m. and didn’t leave until 8:30 that night. From Margaret’s big apartment windows, you could see the Christmas market outside, with vendors selling Glühwein and snacks, and a busy little skating rink adorned with evergreens. Inside, Margaret had a beautiful tree decorated with items she picked up across the world no doubt. We learned that she’s lived in Greece, Ireland, the U.S., Poland, etc. and she speaks all of those languages.

Margaret and Teresa had cooked Christmas dinner for three new friends of Margaret’s: an American, Canadian and a German. All three were all connected in some way with the university in Heidelberg and Margaret had met them at the German-American forum there. Margaret introduced Brad and me to everyone as her “old friends.” She kept the five of us in stitches telling us stories from her life and joking about various cultural curiosities. Apparently Margaret did graduate work at Columbia in American Studies, so she knew quite a bit about our culture.

The afternoon was a cultural experience in and of itself. Margaret gave us small glasses of German honey wine when we arrived. Later, Teresa served the special Irish Christmas pudding she had brought for Christmas. “Pudding” in the British Isles is a moist cake. The one we ate had five different kinds of raisins, brandy and Guinness beer among the ingredients. Later we had “Greek coffee” prepared by the Canadian girl whose parents are Greek. Then we ate some German Stollen (similar to nut raisin cake) that Margaret’s baker had given her as a Christmas gift. Meanwhile Margaret played a CD of an Irish folksinger – to make Teresa feel at home. Overall, we had a blast. The famed German hospitality made our Christmas in Heidelberg truly unforgettable.

Our new favorite brewery/restaurant gave out little chocolate Santas with the check. We ate there on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.

Zwei Glühwein, bitte

Drinking Glühwein (mulled wine) at the Christmas Market in Würzburg

Taxi from our apartment to the Sevilla train station
High speed train from Sevilla to Madrid
Taxi from Madrid train station to Madrid Barajas airport
Flight from Madrid to Frankfurt am Main
Taxi from airport to Frankfurt main train station
[Drink 2 glasses of Apfelwein – traditional Frankfurt drink]
Train from Frankfurt to Würzburg
Walk from train station to hotel in Würzburg (almost freeze to death during 5-minute walk)

Brad and Neely’s holiday adventure can now begin.

We never imagined we’d be eating roast goose, walking through snowflakes in Prague, buying beer shampoo, chatting with a Czech man who learned English from the Mormons, sprinting to catch trains or drinking honey wine in a German’s home on Christmas day . . . but our recent travels through central Europe gave us some incredible surprises.

Würzburg

We began in Bavaria, a state in southern Germany that is home to good beer, uber-friendly natives and idyllic towns. Würzburg was our first stop. Neither of us was completely prepared for the temperatures, but Glühwein – served everywhere we went on our trip – helped us face the cold.

Yes, that’s Celsius, but this was at midday! Amazing that we survived.

Würzburg has a cathedral quarter, old castle, spectacular residence and vineyards on the banks of the Main river, which runs through the city. The city is quite lovely. Brad’s first meal in Germany was obviously in Würzburg, and his deliciously heavy Sauerbraten, Knödeln, Rotkohl and huge beer were a sign that we’d arrived in a yummy food mecca. The expansive Residenz in Würzburg was home to the Würzburg “prince bishops” in the 1700s. We saw many rooms here decorated in Neo Over-the-top style and we spent time gazing at the largest ceiling fresco in the world – it’s over a staircase at the residence.

Inside a cathedral named St. Kilian's Dom; almost every church we visited in Germany had one of these beautiful advent wreaths hanging -- and healthy Christmas trees near the altar of course
Marienkirche (Our Lady's Church) in Würzburg

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, population 12,000, was our next destination, and we were charmed instantly. As our guidebook says, “the medieval walled hamlet of Rothenburg just can’t help being so cute.” It really can’t help itself. As you pass through a lovely gate in the town wall, you see happy little buildings, with steep red roofs, lining the small street that leads to the main square. Since it was Christmastime, most businesses had a mini evergreen trees perched on a little iron stand where a flag might normally go.

Street in Rothenburg

The main square has a beautiful clock tower of course – a clock tower or a church with a prominent clock is at the center of every Bavarian village. In Rothenburg, at the stroke of 2 p.m., doors next to the clock open and a very anticlimactic performance occurs. Supposedly, centuries ago, invaders told the mayor of Rothenburg that the town would be spared only if he could drink an entire draft (keg) of beer in one swig. The mayor achieved the impossible feat and this story is “dramatized” when the hour chimes 2 p.m. every day.

City Hall on the left; clock tower on the right

The Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in Rothenburg is wonderful. Every town and city in Germany has a Weihnachtsmarkt in the weeks leading up to Dec. 25. You can buy handmade Christmas ornaments, caramelized nuts, huge gingerbread cookies in the shape of hearts, various local crafts and, of course, food. Brad and I had a “Grillwurst” sandwich on our first night in Rothenburg. The sandwich consist of a brötchen (little bun of bread) and two fat sausages covered in mustard. Brad heard that the two sausages are representative of the two towers of St. Jacobs’s church – the largest church in town.

Items for sale at the Weihnachtsmarkt

Rothenburg is good at celebrating Christmas because it has a famous local chain of stores that sell Christmas stuff year-round. You can’t help but be lured into several of these stores because almost everything is high-quality, handmade and so German. Brad and I bought a special Christmas gift for each other in Rothenburg – a pyramid. It’s an ingenious wooden decoration with fans that turn the center when candles are lit.

Example of a Christmas pyramid

Rothenburg was running over with American and Asian tourists, and I really can’t blame them. At Christmastime, it’s a magical place. One night, Brad and I went on the highly recommended “Night Watchman’s Tour.” Historically the Night Watchman enforced the town curfew, kept watch for potentially destructive fires and apprehended criminals. Today, the Night Watchman rakes in 100s of Euros on busy nights – because he gives his tour in English and German. Even though we were with a massive crowd of Americans, the tour was pretty fascinating and informative. He gave us a little history about Rothenburg from medieval times to today.

Allegedly, just as World War II was nearing its end, the Allied forces had bombed part of Rothenburg and planned to destroy the rest (including the historic center of the town.) The U.S. Undersecretary of State got wind of this plan and went into action. This man had never been to Rothenburg, but his mother had vacationed there once and she had a treasured picture of the walled city hanging in his childhood home; she had always told her son how beautiful it was. The Undersecretary contacted the officer who was waiting with troops just outside Rothenburg; he told the officer to offer the town a deal. The officer told Rothenburg’s mayor that the Allied forces would spare the old town if the mayor would immediately hand over the Rothenburg to the U.S. troops. The mayor complied.

Brad on the town wall, with the spires of St. Jacob's Church in the background. If you’ve seen the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you remember the scene at the end of the movie when Charlie and Willy Wonka are flying over a town in a glass elevator . . . the town filmed for that scene was Rothenburg

While in Rothenburg, Brad and I went to a stirring organ concert in St. Jacob’s Kirche (church). We also walked around part of the town wall, heard a brass band play at the Weihnachtsmarkt, tried schneeballen (“snowballs” – a crunchy pastry shaped like a snowball) and marveled at the Christmas decorations everywhere. Our time there was especially enjoyable because we stayed at a guesthouse recommended by my “Aunt” Peggy who stays there often. The hosts at this little guesthouse were truly welcoming.

A gate in the medieval town wall
Schneeballen sold here . . . Someone looks hungry!

They may not be wearing lederhosen, but they're still a German brass band!