March 18

 Day 8:  The Romantic Road To Rothenburg

Today Kim and I set out on our own (though we thought everyone had the same excursion, wrong!) to drive along the "Romantic Road" through the German countryside before arriving at the medieval town of Rothenburg.  The weather was chilly in the early part of the day but bright sunshine and blue skies had it quite comfortable for the majority of the day.  We began with a two and a half hour ride, the last 90 minutes or so along the very scenic "Romantic Road" which weaves through more than two dozen small towns that makes you feel like you are traveling along in medieval times.  Once we arrived we walked through the city gate and were suddenly transported - or so it seemed - back to the Middle Ages (except for the cars driving over the cobblestone roads).  Our guide Anna gave us about an hour plus walking tour of all the highlights and then we had lunch provided by Viking.  We were then set loose for about 90 minutes on our own.  We took advantage of the time to first climb the medieval stone steps to the ramparts over the city walls and explore.  We COULD have walked the entire two miles around the city atop the ancient walls but opted not to.  Did some shopping and explored around the town from one end to the other before meeting up with the group and heading back to Frankfurt where the ship is docked.

Tomorrow we disembark the ship a day early - because the locks on the Main River are under repair work.  We will travel by bus to Bamberg for an excursion and then on to Nuremburg to spend the night.

The scenic "Country Road"

The Romantic Road

Throwback to Viking Egypt trip

When we began the excursion our guide Anna introduced us to a guest along for the day, Steven who is a Hotel Manager on the Viking Osiris in Egypt.  So once we arrived in Rothenburg I went over to him and explained we had been on the Osiris in 2023.  He thought that was cool and then I asked, "Do you know Petra?"  When we sailed on the Osiris she was our favorite staff member and we have kept in touch ever since.  He broke out into a big grin and said, "Petra!  I work with Petra - she's a wonderful girl and was recently promoted to Director of Guest Services."  I knew this :)  He said, "We should take a picture she would think that's so awesome!"  So we did and we'll send it to her!

The medieval streets of Rothenburg

One of the many watchtowers and steps to the ramparts

The ancient steps and the rampart walkway

Photo-op of the day atop the medieval rampart walkway

The medieval city map - look closely....the red line is the city wall and with a little imagination you can be led to believe it is somewhat like the head of Pinocchio. It was IN THIS TOWN that Walt Disney was inspired to make the movie.  AND much of the Disney film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was filmed here!

Disney Display in a souvenir shop (many of these are figurines I've given Kim on various anniversaries!)

THE photograph to take in Rothenburg

We stopped close to the restaurant and I thought this was a cool shot with two towers/archways in one shot.  Then our guide told us a story.  In the early 1900's an American woman was here and fell in love with the town.  She bought a painting and took it home.  As her children grew up they heard many stories about this amazing small town in Germany.  The son grew up to be the Undersecretary of War during World War II.  The Allies were bombing all towns & cities which were under Nazi control and the plans to bomb this town came across his desk.  Remembering how important this place had been to his mother he reached out to the American general and asked them to negotiate.  Three US soldiers bravely rode into town on horseback with a white flag.  The commanding Nazi officer was out of the area and his second in command accepted the terms - and so Rothenburg was preserved from being bombed because of a woman's love for the town from many years ago!

The painting

The original tower (one lower right in painting/photo) - my souvenir