Lis and Tyler in Germany

We took a little weekend trip to Rothenburg in our jazzy new BMW. It seems to be a good old car–fast and reliable. The funny thing about the autobahn is that the flow of traffic is sometimes going (Moms: close your eyes) 100 MPH, and since the cars and roads and drivers are all built for it and used to it, it doesn’t feel all that fast. Our 1991 handles it like a champ.

Rothenburg is an old, old town, with its first known dwellers dating back to 960. There is a wall and a moat surrounding the city, and tons of old buildings and interesting sites. We went into the city’s old dungeon and saw torture devices that were actually used, prison cells where people died, and the rooms that were used during WWII during the air raids. Because the city is built on a hill, water supply was a problem during the middle ages. Fountains were built all around the city to provide drinking water and water for putting out fires. There are these huge, elaborate, beautiful fountains around every corner. It’s crazy to think of people having built these fountains, some of them 8 meters deep, holding 100,000 liters (however much that is…) of water, with none of the tools and machines we would use to build such a thing these days. I continue to find myself marveling at the construction in all of these ancient towns.

Lonely Planet says, “Resist the temptation to try a Schneeball, a crumbly ball of bland dough with the taste and consistency of chalk–surely one of Europe’s worst ‘local specialties’.” Now, is there anyone reading that would be able to NOT try a Schneeball? With an introduction like that, we had to know what they were like–first hand. And thank goodness we ignored the advice of our trusty travel guide…these chalky balls (well described) are delicious! We had two. And could have more. I think I’ll write Lonely Planet.