6/12/15-6/20/15 Germany Trip Report

[TXTransplant]

Rothenburg

 

[TXTransplant]

Again, I apologize for the crummy picture quality. They are all over 1MB, so I get an error message when I try to post straight from my phone. The only way around it that I know is to email the pictures to myself (reducing the file size in the process) and resave them to my phone. Unfortunately, when I do this, I have no control over the new photo size...it ranges anywhere from about 150-899 MB. So, the picture quality is all over the place. I promise, I really did take better pictures than these!

 

[sayhello]

Again, I apologize for the crummy picture quality. They are all over 1MB, so I get an error message when I try to post straight from my phone. The only way around it that I know is to email the pictures to myself (reducing the file size in the process) and resave them to my phone. Unfortunately, when I do this, I have no control over the new photo size...it ranges anywhere from about 150-899 MB. So, the picture quality is all over the place. I promise, I really did take better pictures than these!

They look great. And if it really bothers you, you can always edit your posts when you get home, and replace them. But it's so nice to follow along like this!

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

They look great. And if it really bothers you, you can always edit your posts when you get home, and replace them. But it's so nice to follow along like this!

Sayhello

Thanks! I've only looked at my posts from my phone. I can tell a difference between the quality of the picture that posts and the original. I have my iPad with me, but I haven't connected it to the internet since Heidelberg, so I don't know how the posts look from that device. It's just easier to stay connected on my phone.

 

[sayhello]

Oh, I was going to suggest you try the Photobucket app. You can select what size to load the files as, and it allows you to copy the link to the photo to the clipboard, which you could then paste into the photo button on the DIS. Just a suggestion. I haven't tried it since we moved to the new software, but it worked fine before.

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

As another poster mentioned, Hotel Eisenhut is in a fantastic location. The main square is just a few steps away, and the Kathe Wohlfahrt mothership store is right next door. Every single building in Rothenburg looks like it is from a story book and begs to be photographed.

After arriving, we walked around a little and had some German flatbread (thin crust pizza with various toppings - it was very good). It's easy to find the wall around the city and get some pictures with the countryside scenery in the background.

At 830, we met our group for a night watchman tour. It's exactly what it sounds like - a local guide dressed as a night watchman took us on a walking tour of the city. He gave us some history, we went to one of the main gates (in the pictures I posted), and posed for a variety of photos. The kids loved this guy, in part because he had some neat props.

Rothenburg is a very walkable city and I'm pretty sure the hotel is within a few blocks of anything you might want to see. There is a church I want to try to visit tomorrow. We also have pretzel making and fairytale dress-up on the agenda.

We have been receiving pins all along the way. We received one at Schloss Waldeck and another tonight from the watchman. I thought it would be easier to post pictures of them once we've received them all.

 

[Cousin Orville]

The pictures look awesome. Thanks for posting them! I'm enjoying following along.

 

[aggiemomx3]

Really enjoying your posts and your pictures. My daughters and I are scheduled to go next year. Can't wait!!!

 

[TXTransplant]

Good Heavens!! That really *is* PINK!!!

Sayhello

I noticed this morning...even the grout is pink!

 

[TXTransplant]

Today was a pretty relaxed day with much of it spent on our own. After breakfast at the hotel, we met with half of our group to make pretzels. The bakery that hosts this activity is so cute, and it smells fantastic! This activity only takes about an hour, and the bakery has a variety of other treats to try. We sampled some schneeballen, and it reminded me of fried wontons dipped in cinnamon sugar or chocolate. I wasn't a huge fan.

We ate our pretzels, stopped for water and at an ATM (just a note, the ATMs in Rothenburg all appear to be inside of the banks), and then we went to the cathedral.

For 4 euro, we did a self-guided tour of the inside of the cathedral. It has some gorgeous carvings, a spectacular altar, and some beautiful stained glass windows. It's definitely worth the stop, and be sure to go upstairs.

After the church, we were just sort of wandering around and came upon some stairs that led up onto the wall. Rothenburg is a walled city, and you can walk most (but not all) of the perimeter on this elevated wall. The path is very narrow, and there are various staircases along the way where you can exit/enter. We also passed through several of the watchtowers. Some of the staircases are quite steep, but if you are able to make it up/down them, I highly recommend spending a few hours "walking the wall". The views from the wall are lovely, and it's great exercise! We probably walked for an hour - maybe a total distance of 3 miles. We walked until we were forced to go down a staircase, at which point we turned around be went back the other way. Had we exited, there would have been another staircase to get back on and continue, rather than turning around.

Our time slot for the medieval dress-up activity was from 2-3. We exited the wall about 1 and made our way back to the main square. There is a gelato shop that sells one scoop for one euro, so we each had that. Then we headed to the costume shop for the dress-up session.

This was a cool activity for the boys/men, as they get to try on real chain mail. I suppose a woman could do this, too, but I just put on a dress. We took some photos, and then headed out. The whole activity probably only took 20 minutes

After browsing around in a few shops, we came back to the room so JT could take a nap. We will meet up with the group at 6 for dinner in the hotel.

As a side note, I won't be posting as many pictures for the remainder of the trip. My iPhone is nearly full...I had to do a purge today to have space left for the next two days. So, I'm rationing pictures between my phone and my digital camera. I don't have a computer with me, so I don't have any way to download the pictures from my camera and post them. I'll post what I can and then follow up when we get home.

 

[carpenta]

Thanks TXTransplant for all your pictures. We walked the wall and too had a grand time with some great views. There is a restaurant if you turn left out of the hotel and cross the street and go down 3/4 with a small sign. I forgot the name BUT they have a wonderful back garden where you can dine. Beautiful flowers and the food was very good. You can go down the alley past the restaurant and see the back patio. We met the owner (probably 80's) and he was very nice to us. Great desserts. The cathedral was beautiful and I'm sure you had seen the hand carved wooden back alter in the rear of the church. Remarkable in my opinion. Love your daily reports. Have you asked your guides if Michael is your guide in Munich? And who are your guides if I may ask? thanks.

 

[TXTransplant]

Our guides are Marius and Lexie. They told us tonight that Michael will be our guide in Munich.

 

[carpenta]

Our guides are Marius and Lexie. They told us tonight that Michael will be our guide in Munich.

You better strap yourself in for you are in for a wild ride........He is like a Pied Piper for the kids. We had different guides and thanks for answering.

 

[TXTransplant]

You better strap yourself in for you are in for a wild ride........He is like a Pied Piper for the kids. We had different guides and thanks for answering.

That's what Marius told us! For the most part, we've had beautiful weather on this trip, but the forecast for the next two days calls for rain. I'm hoping it clears up before our walking tour of Munich and trip to Neuschwanstein.

To update my post for the day...we had dinner at the Eisenhut. The choices were fish, chicken, beef, and a vegetarian pasta. I had the fish and it was very good. It came with thin-cut (the menu called it wok-style) veggies and a red wine risotto (which tasted a lot better than it looked). The starter was a choice between tomato soup (I had that and it was also very good) and consommé. Dessert was apple fritters with ice cream.

Alcohol was included. Unfortunately, a good fraction of my red wine is now on my white jeans and white denim jacket . I would advise bringing stain remover...

 

[TXTransplant]

Thanks TXTransplant for all your pictures. We walked the wall and too had a grand time with some great views. There is a restaurant if you turn left out of the hotel and cross the street and go down 3/4 with a small sign. I forgot the name BUT they have a wonderful back garden where you can dine. Beautiful flowers and the food was very good. You can go down the alley past the restaurant and see the back patio. We met the owner (probably 80's) and he was very nice to us. Great desserts. The cathedral was beautiful and I'm sure you had seen the hand carved wooden back alter in the rear of the church. Remarkable in my opinion. Love your daily reports. Have you asked your guides if Michael is your guide in Munich? And who are your guides if I may ask? thanks.

Carpenta, is the restaurant right near the church? A green building with brown timbers? It is a hotel and restaurant that starts with Reich? If so, that's where we got the flatbread. I really enjoyed eating there, although we didn't eat outside.

The carvings in the cathedral are magnificent. I took photos (they are allowed, as long as you turn off the flash), but they can't really capture the intricate beauty of the altars. There were carved altars in the main part of the church as well as on the second floor, with the organ. We viewed them all.

 

[carpenta]

I too was really impressed with the carvings. I'm sorry but I went through my papers saved from the trip and can't find the name of the restaurant. It sounds like you found a nice meal anyways. Your next stop should be Steiff? It was really nice stop and hope you have a great time. When we were at Neuschwanstein it was cloudy and drizzly in the morning BUT we got great pictures from the bridge. The weather cleared up in the afternoon and everyone went swimming. We loved the castles so much we are taking a riverboat cruise down the Rhine next summer. I can relate to the wine mishap and we travel with a small stain lifter now since we had some "oops" moments.

 

[TXTransplant]

Yes, today is Steiff, and then a walking tour of Munich. It's already drizzly outside.

I'm not sure how I managed to forget stain remover. But, everything has been replaced, and the new items should be delivered not long after we get home. If I'm able to remove the stains, I'll just return the replacements.

 

[White Rose]

Yes, today is Steiff, and then a walking tour of Munich. It's already drizzly outside.

I'm not sure how I managed to forget stain remover. But, everything has been replaced, and the new items should be delivered not long after we get home. If I'm able to remove the stains, I'll just return the replacements.

I am really excited to hear about your steiff day! I collect stieffs and did a workshop in NYC to make my own...we sewed the mouth and nose, made the hand and feet marks and inserted the eyes...it was quite an experience! We had employees from steiff on hand to help, and it was amazing watching how quickly and beautifully they can make the Bears. It is a lot of work...and it was not easy!

 

[SingingMom]

Hotel Eisenhut was one of my favorite experiences because it was so " old European"! We had a pink bathroom, too! Lol

Michael is a treat. He led us on our "running tour of Munich"! Keep up or he'll leave you in the dust!! Lol

We start our Central Europe ABD tomorrow. Have enjoyed our two pre-days in Prague! Walked our feet off!!

 

[TXTransplant]

So, today was another wonderful day. We left Rothenburg and rode a little over an hour to the Steiff Museum. Our group did the tour first and then made the bear. The museum tour is very cute, as you are taken through a series of vignettes looking for some lost bears. The bear making was also fun, although all we really did was stuff the head. We were allowed to choose from a bear, cat, bunny, pig, lamb, and frog. No one in our grounp chose the bear (it is kind of funny-looking). After we stuffed it (it already had eyes), the workers at the museum sewed them up, and then another worker airbrushed the face to your specifications. Depending on what animal you selected, you could get eyelashes, rosy cheeks, whiskers, etc. They all came out very cute.

We ate an early lunch at the museum cafe. It was buffet style, with a selection of salads, chicken (grilled and something similar to a cordon blue), sausages, fried mushrooms, and cheesy noodles. It was actually very good. They had various desserts, but most of chose an ice cream from the cart. I had a chocolate/vanilla swirl soft serve that was also very good.

We got back on the bus around noon and had about a two hour drive to Munich. The Kempinski hotel is fabulous! It is by far the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed in. Marius, our guide, even spotted a German celebrity in the lobby!

We had just enough time to get to our rooms before meeting in the lobby at 3 for our walking tour with Michael. He was fantastic! The kids followed him around just like the pied piper, and he was full of energy and enthusiasm. We walked to a garden, to the Residenz, to a church, through an outdoor shopping mall, and to the Glockenspiel, just in time for the 5 pm show. Along the way, Michael told us the condensed version of Munich/Bavarian history. At the end of the tour, we received another pin.

I didn't think I was hungry, but JT insisted he was starving, so a group walked back to an Italian place that Marius pointed out and recommended during the walking tour. It is called Vapiano, and it's a semi-self serve pizza/pasta/salad cafe. The food was fantastic (always listen to Marius when he recommends or doesn't recommend certain places). The Italian fare was welcome, since we were all a little burned out on schnitzels and sausage (and will get our fill again for lunch AND dinner tomorrow).

We walked around the shops just a little on the way back to the hotel. It rained pretty much all day (the hotel provided umbrellas), and it was chilly. We also have an early morning tomorrow, as we must leave by 715 AM order to make our appointment at Neuschwanstein. Hofbräuhaus is right around the corner from our hotel, but we were all too tired to go.

As a side note, when we arrived at the hotel, I asked the front desk about where to go to find some stain remover (I wanted to make one last effort to clean my jeans and jacket). Come to find out, Lexie and Marius made arrangements for the hotel to test and see if they could get the red wine stains out and launder the items. My clothes were in my room when we got back from dinner and they are SPOTLESS! There isn't one trace of the stains, and I am so thankful that I didn't have to spend the evening in the bathroom scrubbing at them! This is just another example of how the guides go above and beyond to make sure your vacation is as relaxing and stress-free as possible - even when the stress and inconvenience is self-inflicted!

Another note about the hotel...kids are only allowed to swim in the pool between 10 am and 4 pm. We weren't planning on swimming, but there was no time today and won't be any time tomorrow, either. So, unless you stay an extra day, you likely won't be able to enjoy the pool here with kids. I believe the hotel in Heidelberg had a similar restriction.

Also, The Kempinski requires that you present a credit card upon check in. None of the other hotels on this trip required that. They will automatically charge 200 euro to your card, but if you don't charge anything back to the room, you will get a full refund at check out. The Lowe's Royal Pacific at Universal Studios in FL did this same thing when we stayed there last fall, so it wasn't a shock.

As a funny, the ABD reservation is in my name, but my son's last name is different from mine. The Kempinski seems to think he is an adult (and I guess my husband), as everything is in his name...I had to log into the Internet using his name, the in-room iPad (used for information and ordering room service) shows his name, and my laundry came back addressed to "Herr (his last name)".