Tag: Rothenburg

The Perfect Home Base – Bad Windsheim, Germany

The type of houses that can be found in Bad Windsheim

When we were looking at visiting this part of Germany, we originally thought of staying in Rothenburg because it was the inspiration for coming out here in the first place. The last time we stayed there twelve years ago, the prices were reasonable, and we expected them to be the same this time around, but Christmas happens to be the big time of the year for Rothenburg and the prices jumped up quite considerably. So we started to look for other towns in the area that would be more affordable and came across the sleepy little town of Bad Windsheim. It is on the rail line, and only a forty minute train ride to Rothenburg, and an hour train ride to Nuremberg, so as long as the place was comfortable, it seemed like the perfect place to stay.

An impressive statue outside of a church on the main street through town

What we found was a hidden gem that many people outside of Germany do not know about. It has the same quaint houses that Rothenburg has, and the same cobblestone streets. It even has a Christmas market, just not as big as the other places, but they still sell mulled wine, and have people come to sing and play songs for the people who attend. It even has its own sites with some pretty impressive statues, fountains, and a living museum.

A depiction of the Rapunzel story

They even have a sense of humor that goes along with the traditions and heritage that comes from this part of the world. There were many references to Grimm’s Fairy Tales popping up all over the place, but my favorite had to be the Rapunzel hanging out the window of one of the stores on the main street. They even used Christmas lights to make her hair be seen for miles around at night.

The tree lines walking paths through the park on the northern end of town

On the northern part of town there was a huge walking park with a beautiful green landscape. It was the perfect place to take a walk with huge old trees that were kind of sad to look at in the winter, but I could imagine that it would be a spectacular display of color during the fall. It was even close to some natural baths that were encased in dome, but I never made it all the way over to that place.

A random statue made of wood found in one of the parks in the older part of town

There were a lot of hidden corners in this idyllic small town, and even though it did not boast a medieval well like Rothenburg or the huge Christmas market that Numerberg has, it was still a pleasant place to stay with enough to see to keep us entertained during our time there. Because it was a sleepy little town, most of the sights are restaurants had closed down on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but I think that would be found no matter where you went in Europe on these days. The place we stayed had a nice small kitchen, so were still able to have a nice Christmas dinner even though we were still on the road.

I found it to be the perfect home base for this area. It was close to everything that I wanted to see, and it was not overrun with tourists. Granted, I was there in the winter which was probably a downtime for them, and they could easily see more people during the summer months. Still, it was great for the holiday season, and I am glad that we landed here at the start of our bigger vacation through this part of the world.

Inspiration – Rothenburg, Germany

Way back in 2007, a very broke couple decided to take a fifty backpacking trip throughout Europe. They went to eleven different countries, had many strange and eventful adventures, and saw many amazing sights along the way. At every stop they would ask themselves if they could live in each of the spots they stopped at. It became the seed that eventually led to them seeking jobs as teachers overseas, and transplanting in Asia. But there was one town that they came to that captured their hearts. It was a medieval city preserved over the ages, and ever since the couple of nights that they has spent there, they always want to go back.

Why would anybody who saw this place, not want to come back? The people were cheerful, the food was amazing, and the atmosphere transported them back into time. There was a wall surrounding the city that overlooked a moat that was originally used to keep invaders out. Though people still lived in these walls, they had retained the original buildings and the markets still had that medieval feel of large tables and fireplaces to keep them warm.

There was one store that really captured the heart of this city though. It was so popular that it had three different locations within the small confines of the wall, Kathe Wohlfahrt. It specialized in Christmas. It sold ornaments, cuckoo clocks, and various forms of decorations. Even though it was the middle of summer, the couple could feel the warmth of the holiday season just by being in this store, and they knew that one day they would have to return to this place when the weather was cold and snowy so they could experience it as it was meant to be, a holiday wonderland.

This was the seed that was planted in my mind twelve years ago, and ever since then I always wanted to return to Germany for Christmas. When we got the jobs in Thailand, it seemed like the perfect place to go to get away from the heat and really get to feel what it should feel like to experience Christmas. More specifically, I wanted to return back to this specific medieval town, Rothenburg, and see how they celebrated this holiday. I knew that they held one of the more popular of the Christmas markets, but I had no idea what that meant. This town packs to bursting with the people coming here to drink mulled wine, eat German sausage and spaetzle.

I was not disappointed either. It was exactly the way I envisioned it. Children were running all over the place as there parents gathered around tables to talk about the events of the season as they sipped their hot spicy drinks. The only thing that was missing was the snow. I found out later that this was not really a part of how the market has ever worked. This part of Germany is more inclined to have misty rain this time of the year rather than snow. It does come from time to time, but those moments are very rare.

It did not stop me from coming out and to enjoy this little corner of the world. The place was even more magical than it was when we were out here twelve years ago. The smells of roasted nuts, and fresh chocolate just added to the excitement of the day. I do have to say that a lot of the Christmas items were way overpriced, but that is due to the fact that it is only a couple of days until Christmas, and people travel from all over the world to spend there money here. But as long as you resist the temptation to buy any of these trinkets, the food and the drink is reasonably priced, and it just adds to the flavor of the day.

And when the lights came on, it made the picture complete. I was transported to those small little ceramic towns that people put up during this time of the year, and Rothenburg had to be the inspiration behind them.

I am glad that I have been able to come back here during this time of the year after that trip so long ago. It should be the goal of every Christmas enthusiast out there because they will get to experience Christmas the way they see it as they decorate their house. And if you are one of those enthusiasts, I hope that this post has inspired you to one day try to make it out here one cold wintery day in the future.