Just Another Brick in the Wall

What do you get when you cross a medieval town with thousands of American tourists armed with the exact same Rick Steves guidebook that you have?   You get the most touristy experience we’ve had on our trip so far.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of Rick’s favorite places.  He sends Christmas cards to Frau Freise every year.  She has them up on the wall in her shop.  And every loud, dorky American was carrying Rick’s book wide-open, sometimes forgetting to look up to actually see what he was describing.

It is an amazing town.  Surrounded by a wall, Rothenburg has been largely undisturbed since the 1400s. 

View of the wall, mostly built in the 1400s

Wood carved altar in St. Jakob's Church - 35 feet high, it only took 5 years to carve.  He started in 1499

St. Jakob's church, proudly Lutheran since 1544.  The stained glass is original from 1330.  

When we were in Dublin, Jess noticed the Jack Wolfskin gear – think Columbia or North Face, but not worn by every other person in Colorado.  Overpriced without considering the weak dollar, it really didn’t seem worth it.  We’ve been in three stores in two countries to check, and her thriftiness simply would not allow anyone to make any purchases on her behalf.  The clearance sign on the outside of the store lured me in, and very cool, overpriced, on-sale outerwear was finally successfully purchased.

At lunch, we sat next to some loud Americans with kids.  What might have been a communal moment in a foreign country just left us embarrassed.  Not even trying to speak German, they loudly argued with the waiter to bring them the beer from last night….obviously from some other place entirely, which helped the waiter ever so much.  “WHAT WAS THAT BEER I HAD LAST NIGHT?  IS THAT THE BEER I HAD LAST NIGHT?”  After the drink order, they spent an eternity looking for food.  “THIS SOUNDS GOOD BUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT COMES WITH IT.  WHAT COMES WITH THIS?  I DON’T KNOW WHAT COMES WITH THIS!  LOOK AT THAT PIZZA THEY’RE HAVING – THAT LOOKS GOOD.  YOU WANT SOME OF THAT PIZZA?  THAT PIZZA LOOKS GOOD!”  Knowing full well that Rick Steves has forever cursed Rothenburg with nice, friendly folks such as these, the menu was also in English.  “I’LL JUST HAVE THE MUSHROOM SOUP I GUESS.”

Daniel also had a chance to exercise his ever-expanding German knowledge.  Rothenburg is known for Schneeballen, which is dried dough rolled into a ball and sprinkled with powdered suger or drizzled in frosting.  When I gave him a piece, he gratefully answered with “Danke!”  Then, the silence that followed was a slight.  “You Bitteschön me!”  You’re welcome, Daniel.