I am traveling to Germany June 07 with my wife and kids 11/14/17. We lean to off the beaten track experiences. I am looking for a base city in the Romantic Road region to visit and explore from for 3/4 days as part of a 12 day Bavarian trip. I%26#39;ve read a lot about Rothenburg mainly pro but some con. Some have described it as %26quot;touristy%26quot; I am looking for input and suggestions on Rothenburg vs Dinkelsbulh or Nordlingen or some other small town in this area. We are looking for the medieval town experience. Most likely we will have a car but that%26#39;s not decided yet either. Feel free to comment on the same issues for the Berchtegaden area.
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This is a source of some conflict. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the most heavily visited locations in Deutschland. If you can not stand the sight of another American tourist, do not stay there.
On the other hand, R. had the misfortune and good fortune to be financial poor at the time when many cities were tearing down their medieval walls and converting their gothic cathedrals to baroque. Rothenburg was stuck with its looks of the middle ages.
It sustained damage over about 30-40% of its area in WWII. That means that 60-70% of it remained intact, not bad compared to many locations. Thankfully, medieval plumbing (chamber pot out the window) has been universally replaced. So, I think of Rothenburg as suitably authentic.
The advantage of all those tourists seems to be a lot of rooming options and a lot of fairly good restaurants. Rothenburg is also near some wine regions, making a nice glass of white wine easy to find with your meal.
I like the city, but understand why others may not.
It is easily approachable by road, a bit more cumbersome but still doable by train.
Regards, Gary
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Much better to hire a car and have the freedom of travel with a family.
Personally I prefer Dinkelsbuhl to Rothenburg, Both are nice, but Rothenburg gets in undated with Americans and Japanese tourists. Also Dinklesbuhl is cheaper on accommodation. Having said that it is still worth visiting both. Dinklesbuhl you can cover in half a day or less, and in Rothenburg there is more to see, walk the ramparts, criminal museum, horse and cart ride and Christmas shop. I would give Rothenburg one day and half a day to Dinklesbuhl and then use the extra time else where.
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Rothenburg would probably be the best place to base if you are doing the central Romantic Road area. You are less than an hour from places like Nuremberg or Dinkelsbuhl. Rothenburg and Dinkelsbuhl are both attractive, old German walled towns, with the walls and towers pretty much intact as they were 500 years ago. Dinkelsbuhl is a much smaller town and it indeed has much fewer tourists. It also has a lot fewer restaurants, attractions and places to stay. Rothenburg , while a lot bigger, is still a fairly compact town. It%26#39;s attractions include the Criminal Museum, a fine arms collection at the State Museum, a Doll museum, several great churches, lots of shopping and of course the atmosphere of the old wall and narrow cobbled streets. There is also a fascinating Freiland Museum a few miles away at Bad Windsheim. It%26#39;s a collection of farmhouses, mills, workshops , barns dating bach hundreds of years etc that have been relocated to the museum.
A very good list of accomodations can be found at their town website at
www.rothenburg.de/d/ISY/index.php?get=121 .
I can personally recommend the Hotel Garni-Hornburg or the Klosterstubel. The Hornburg is just outside the walss (about a 30 second walk) and parking is much easier than most anyplace in town. The hotel has only ten rooms and there is an apartment upstairs for larger families. The Klosterstubel is located not far from the middle of town, on a side street. It has an older building were the rooms are a little more compact, and a newer (IE built in 1700%26#39;s versus 1500s) adjacent building with larger rooms. Parking is on street and a little more difficult but probably won%26#39;t be much problem in November. Both have excellent breakfasts, and the Klosterstubel has a great restaurant. Both Martin and Gabrille ath the Hornburg and Erica at the Klosterstubel speak excellent english and are very friendly.
If you are driving from Rothenburg to Berthesgarten, you may want to consider stopping at Prien, on the Chiemsee. From there you can take a ferry over to hereninsel and tour the Herrenchiemsee palace of King Ludwig. It%26#39;s interesting, but personally I have always found the Kings castles/lodges at Neuschwanstein or Linderhof to be more interesting but they may be a little out of the way of a direct drive to Berthesgarten.
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If you want Rothenburg without the Rothneburg prices, try Bad Windsheim, a little German spa town about 30minutes drive from R.
Dinkelsbuehl is less overrun by tourists, but has much of the same charm and architecture.
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We just got back and loved Rothenburg. My 3 sons as well. We wish we had stayed longer, to relax. We stayed at the BurgHotel on the bottom floor for 205E for 2 rooms. A DB and TB.You are on the wall and it%26#39;s a good location and inside parking. It%26#39;s own lovely court yard as well. Have fun!! Oh...one thing I found to keep the kids, mine almost same age is each one have a digital camera. Broke up the road travel for them. ps NC is sure beautiful now isn%26#39;t it.
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I was weary about the %26quot;touristy%26quot; nature of Rothenburg, but stayed one night there last year and really loved it. We were there in the middle of May and all of the tourists disappeared around 4:00 (seemed they were mostly on bus tours) and we had the town to ourselves. It is really pretty, great shopping, and the walk around the town walls and up the towers is a lot of fun.
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Nordlingen is interesting not only for its wall, but the fact that it%26#39;s in the Ries Crater, which was formed 15 million years ago after an asteroid impact. The terrain, for an area of Bavaria which is otherwise relatively flat, is fascinating. The Apollo astronauts trained here.
There is a Ries Crater Museum in Nordlingen, very interesting, and St. George%26#39;s Church in the town itself is made from the material formed at impact. There is a great view of the crater from the top of the church. If you like science, you would probably find Nordlingen a worthwhile trip.
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I agree with others, it is more touristy, but there is a reason for that. It%26#39;s a quaint little town with lots of restaurants, inns, B%26amp;Bs and very important, activities for everyone of all ages. If you stay here, make sure you get off the %26quot;main%26quot; street and get lost. Lost is relative since it%26#39;s a walled city.
I took our 2 teenage children there several years ago and it was small enough that I didn%26#39;t worry about them doing some things on their own like walking the wall in different directions. It%26#39;s hard to imagine, but teens don%26#39;t always want to be attached to your side!
We traveled late May/early June and it was one of their favorite places to stay - especially on a first trip to the area and both have gone back on their own during and after college.
I%26#39;ve also taken a small group of college kids and it was their favorite place as well.
If you%26#39;re there, be sure to go on the Night Watchman%26#39;s Tour. It%26#39;s entertaining and informative. (8:00 English tour) My kids also loved the Kriminal Museum and walking the wall.
We%26#39;ve stayed at Hotel Raidel (www.romanticroad.com/raidel/default.htm) and Klosterstuble. (http://www.klosterstueble.de/ISY/) Raidel is a little less expensive but charming, and Klosterstuble a little more upscale and charming with a restaurant. We saw families at both establishments and both are close to everything.
When I took college students, we stayed at Hotel Hornburg just outside the wall and they loved it. (romanticroad.com/hotel-hornburg/default.htm)
You can%26#39;t go wrong with any of these hotels. It just depends on availability and price. There are lots of reviews about these excellent hotels on this site.
We just got back from a trip to Germany, Switzerland and Italy this week (empty-nesters) and on our last night in Rothenburg, we went to dinner at Altfraenkische-weinstube restaurant. (romanticroad.com/altfraenkische-weinstube/en…) The only table left on a Wednesday night was the ECC table. (English Conversation Club)
Turned out to be a riot.
There were Germans there from 17 to 83 and English speaking travelers and college students from all over the US. We talked about some German history with the %26quot;old guys%26quot; and some town gossip with the younger people who worked in the hotels and were practicing their English. We had a party of 4 and interspersed ourselves between %26quot;locals%26quot;. The group at the table rotated as people got off work, went to work or had other plans.
Is it kind of touristy? Yes. More so during the day. Is it worth it? Yes.
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