The Medieval City Of Rothenburg

At the beginning of October Ryan’s parents spent two weeks exploring Germany with us. We enjoyed beautiful castles, Berlin, and a couple of festivals. My next 3 or 4 blogs will highlight our adventures. One of our first day trips was to the medieval city of Rothenburg. 

Houses in Rothenburg

 Around 970, the Eastern Franconian nobleman Reinger founded the Parish of Detwang in a location, which is just below the eventual site of the town of Rothenburg. The Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul was the parent church of the later town church of St. Jacob. During the 12^th century city growth lead to the building of the first fortified ring, with a market square, town church, the headquarters of two orders of knights, and two monasteries. In 1544, Rothenburg broke its old church ties by embracing the Lutheran Protestant Reformation. The two convents were dissolved. The town lost much of its political significance but, thanks to its rich agricultural hinterland, remained an important economic factor in the region.

Shops Along Rothenburg Street

 The economic status was drastically altered by the Thirty Years’ War. As a Protestant town, Rothenburg not only suffered from a permanent conflict of loyalties with the Catholic Lord of the town, but was also condemned to economic ruin by passing armies. The city was captured by the military and the population was devastated by plague. Rothenburg only started to recover when, in 1873, it was connected to the German railway network. Prior to this, the city had been “rediscovered” by artists, writers and academics and was presented to a broader national and international public as the essence of “old German” urban architecture. Tourism began to play a key role in the town’s economic life. Industrialization also made its mark and the population increased and the town prospered. Another dark day came during the last weeks of World War II, when around 45% of the old walled town was destroyed by an American air raid. The successful rebuilding of the town in the post-war period is the most significant achievement in Rothenburg’s recent history. 

City Wall of Rothenburg

Outside St. Jacob's Church

 While wandering around Rothenburg we visited several churches and took some time to go in several of the shops. The largest church we visited was St. Jacob’s church, which contains a 500-year-old altarpiece named “Holy Blood”. The church was built between 1311 and 1484.

Plönlein or “Little Square”

 

One of the most famous images from Rothenburg is the Plönlein or “Little Square”. Here stands a narrow half-timbered building with a small fountain in front. The Kobolzeller tower and the higher Siebers Tower frame the view. Both of the gate towers were built as part of the first expansion of the town in 1204. At sunset we climbed to the top of Roeder towerr to get some amazing views of the walled city.  

View of City Wall From Roeder Tower

A View Of The City From Above

The Rooftops of Rothenburg

 After warming up and having a little something to eat we joined the night watchman tour. This tour took us through the now dark streets of Rothenburg. As we walked alongside the night watchman he told us stories of the towns history and the purpose of the night watchman. The job of the night watchman was to wonder the streets of Rothenburg making sure the people were safe and warning the townspeople of invasion or fire. 

Posing With The Night Watchman

Walking Tour of Rüdesheim Vineyards

Rüdesheim

On September 25 my friend Marlena and I joined the spouses club on a journey through beautiful Rüdesheim. The town of Rüdesheim was first settled by the Celts and received its town rights in 1818. Its livelihood came primarily from winegrowing, shipping, and timber rafting. Our first stop was the Niederwalddenkmal monument. The monument was finished in 1883 and was constructed to commemorate the foundation of the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War. The 125 feet tall monument represents the union of all Germans. After learning about Niederwalddenkmal we took a beautiful hike through a vineyard toward Ehrenfels Castle.

Niederwalddenkmal Monument

Niederwalddenkmal Monument

 Ehrenfels is a ruined castle able the Rhine Gorge. The castle is located on a steep eastern back of the river amid extended vineyards. The grape variety Ehrenfelser is named after the castle. The castle was re-built in 1212 as a customs post controlling the shipping on the Rhine. The castle was heavily damaged in the course of the Thirty Years War and finally devastated by French troops in 1689.

Ehrenfels Castle

Ehrenfels Castle

During our hike we were also able to catch several views of the “Mouse Tower” or Mäuseturm. This is a stone tower on a small island in the Rhine. The Romans were the first to build a structure on this site. It later became part of Franconia, and it fell and had to be rebuilt many timies. Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, restored the tower in 968.

A View of Mouse Tower

 The story of how it came to be called the “Mouse Tower" comes from a folk tale. This popular legend goes as follows: Hatto II was a cruel ruler who oppressed and exploited the peasants in his domain. He used the tower as a platform for crossbowmen and demanded tribute from passing ships, shooting their crews if they did not comply. During a famine in 974 the poor people were without food, and Hatto, having all the grain stored up in his barns, used his monopoly to sell it at such a high price that most could not afford any.

Mouse Tower

The peasants were getting angry and organizing to rebel, so Hatto devised a cruel trick. He promised to feed the hungry people and told them to go to an empty barn and wait for him to come with food. 
The peasants were overjoyed and praised Hatto heartily, and all of them traveled to the barn to await his coming. When he arrived with his servants, he ordered the barn's doors shut and locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants to death, derisively commenting on their death cries with the words "Hear the mice squeak!" When Hatto retired to his castle an army of mice attacked him. He fled the swarm and took a boat across the river to his tower, hoping that the mice could not swim. The mice followed him and rushed into the river by the thousands. Many of them drowned, but even more crawled onto the island. There, they ate through the tower's doors and crawled up to the top floor, where they found Hatto and ate him alive.

Gondola Lift

 In 1298 the Mouse Tower became an official customs collection tower. It was destroyed by a French army in 1689, and then rebuilt in 1855 as a Prussian signal tower. After hearing the story of the “Mouse Tower” we continued on to the gondola lift, which took us back up toward the monument. We then concluded our morning with lunch at a local restaurant and spectacular views of the Rhine.  

Gondola Lift Over Vineyard

Our View From Our Table At Lunch

Our View From Our Table At Lunch

"London Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down, Falling Down"....

While Ashley was here we spent 4 days in London. Unfortunately our flight was delayed by 7 hours turning our Friday morning flight into an afternoon flight. We made the most of our time even though we lost half our day waiting in the airport. After checking into our hotel we set out for a little sightseeing and to orient ourselves to the area. On Friday night we saw the Lion King at Lyceum Theatre. It was awesome to see how each character was portrayed. We loved the unique costumes and amazing sets. Following the show we took some time to wander by the Thames River to see the London skyline at night. We captured some great views of the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. 

One of the costumes from the "Lion King"

London Eye, Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben

On Saturday morning we made our way to the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral. This cathedral sits on top of Ludgate Hill, which is the highest point in London. St. Paul’s stands 365 feet high and was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962. The dome of the cathedral is among the highest in the world. The dedication of the cathedral to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church founded in 604 AD. The present cathedral dates back to the late 17^th century. St. Paul’s Cathedral has been the site for the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher; the Jubilee celebration for Queen Victoria; and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. During our visit we took an audio tour of the cathedral, crypt, and galleries. We climbed the 528 steps to the Whispering gallery, stone gallery, and golden gallery. The stone and golden galleries gave us spectacular views of London. After leaving St. Paul’s Cathedral we made our way across Millennium Bridge toward the reproduction Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and Tooley Street.

St. Paul's Cathedral

 

View From St. Paul's Cathedral

Veiw From St. Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge Lifting

 Since there were no tours of the Theater taking place over the weekend we headed toward Tower Bridge. In route to the bridge we stumbled across a London Bridge museum and haunted house. We took a creepy tour through the history of the London Bridge. Our guides taught us the London Bridge refers to several historical bridges that have spanned the Thames River between the City of London and Southwark. The current bridge opened to traffic in 1973 and replaced the 19^th century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old medieval structure. Interestingly enough, before the building of the current bridge the old bridge was auctioned off and sold to an American bidder for 2 million dollars. The bridge was then taken apart and shipped to Lake Havasu, Arizona where it was re-dedicated in 1971. The original bridge was commissioned in 1176 and took 33 years to finish.  Upon completion the bridge was over 900 feet long and supported on 20 gothic arches. The bridge featured a central chapel, shops, houses, gates, a mill, and a drawbridge. Many of the houses were up to seven storey’s high and jutted over the river by as much as 6 feet on either side. Our guides informed us the heads of traitors, such as William Wallace, were hung on spikes above the bridge’s stone gatehouse. 

Tower Bridge

 Our next London attraction to visit was the infamous Tower Bridge. In the second half of the 19^th century, increased commercial development in the East end of London led to need for a new river crossing downstream of the London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off access to tall-mast ships. The bridge was built between 1886 and 1894. Tower Bridge is 800 feet in length with two towers each 213 feet high, built on piers. The central span of 200 feet between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 86 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. The bascules are counterbalanced to minimize the force required and allow rising in five minutes. Today, approximately 40,000 people cross Tower Bridge every day and the bascules are raised around 1000 times a year. The Tower Bridge exhibit allowed us to wander across the walkways and take in spectacular panoramic views of both East and West London. We were also able to visit the engine rooms where we could see the huge and beautifully maintained steam engines that were once used to power the bridge lifts. We were fortunate enough to catch the bridge in action during our stay in London.

View From Tower Bridge. London Bridge is Closest Bridge.

Engine Room of Tower Bridge

Tower of London

 Sunday afternoon we decided to explore the Tower of London. The Tower of London has been a tourist attraction since the Victorian era. Historically it has served as a fortress, a royal residence, a home for the Royal Mint and the Crown Jewels, a storehouse for military weapons, a royal menagerie, and a notorious prison. The Tower was designed to invoke fear and awe. It stands over 88 feet tall and was built from luminous Caen stone, William the Conqueror’s White Tower was built in the 1070’s. William’s successors (Henry III and his son Edward) extended and strengthened the fortress throughout the medieval period. By 1350 the Tower had taken on the impressive form we know today, complete with daunting defenses, royal accommodation, a major branch of the Royal Mint and even an exotic menagerie with lions. The fortress was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952. In 1941 the last prisoner, a German spy, was executed within the Tower’s walls. During our visit we wandered around the Tower grounds, gazed upon the Crown Jewels, toured the White Tower, and joined the Beefeater tour. We finished our Sunday by enjoying a delicious meal of fish and chips and seeing more of London from an infamous red double decker bus. 

Ryan enjoying his Fish and Chips

Our View from the Double Decker Bus

 Monday was our last day in London and we started out our day with a short stop at Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch. The Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 Staterooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The Palace houses the offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their immediate family. Since there were no changing of the guard ceremonies taking place and we did not have time to take the tour we posed for photographs and moved on to our next point of interest.

Buckingham Palace

 

Gold State Carriage at Royal Mews

On our way to the nearest subway stop we stumbled upon the Royal Mews Museum. The Royal Mews is the combined stables, carriage house, and garage of the British Royal Family. The state coaches and other carriages are housed here, with approximately 30 horses and the state motorcars. Many of the carriages and state coaches were on display for the public to see along with several horses.

Kensington Palace was the next stop on our itinerary. Kensington Palace has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 1689. During our visit the palace was under renovation. This Royal residence was the home of Princess Diana from 1981 until her death in 1997. The Palace originates as the Jacobean mansion built in 1605. Shortly after William and Mary assumed the throne as joint monarchs in 1689, they began searching for a residence better suited to their comforts. In the summer of 1689 William and Mary bought the residence and began immediate expansion of the house. Today the palace is divided into two, a private wing where members of the wider royal family have their homes and the historic state apartments. We were able to tour the State Rooms once occupied by William and Mary, the floor where Queen Victoria lived as a little girl, and dresses worn by the Queen, Princess Margaret, and Princess Diana. 

Kensington Palace

Princes Diana's Dresses

 Our final historical landmark we were able to visit prior to leaving London was the iconic Westminster Abbey, which was founded in the 10^th century. Abbey has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other royal occasions, including 16 royal weddings. Today it is still a church dedicated to regular worship and to the celebration of great events in the life of the nation. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a “Royal Peculiar” under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter. Westminster contains over 600 monuments and wall tablets; the most important collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the country; and is the burial place for over three thousand kings, statesmen, poets, scientists, warriors and musicians. Westminster was the principal royal burial place for 500 years and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. 

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben and the London Eye

Brussels & Another Day in Paris

We are very excited to announce we had our first visitor since our move to Deutschland last December. Ashley arrived on August 22 and spent 2 weeks with us. During her stay we made a day trip to Brussels, a day trip to Paris, and we spent 4 days in London. This blog entry will highlight our trips to Brussels and Paris. I will cover our long weekend in London in a future blog.

Brussels

On a cloudy Saturday, August 24 we hopped in the car and made a day trip to Brussels, Belgium. On our way to Belgium we took a route, which took us through the Southern tip of The Netherlands. By afternoon we had arrived in Brussels and were eager to explore. What is Belgium known for? If you answered chocolate, waffles, or beer you were correct. While we were in Brussels we went to several chocolate shops and of course had to sample a Belgium waffle. 

Enjoying our Belgium Waffle

 After our delicious waffle we found our way to the Grand Place or Grote Markt. The guildhalls, the city’s Town Hall, and the King’s House surround the central square of Brussels. At the south end of the square sits an impressive Town Hall. The oldest part of the Town hall was built between 1401 and 1455. The tower stands 310 feet tall and is capped with a 12 feet statue of Saint Michael slaying a demon. The building façade is decorated with numerous statues representing nobles, saints, and allegorical figures. To counter the Town Hall’s symbol of municipal power the Duke of Brabant had a large building constructed across from city hall as a symbol of ducal power. This building became known as the King’s House and was built between 1504 and 1536. 

Grote Markt & King's House on the Left

City Hall

  We took time to visit the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral.  The Brussels Cathedral was founded during the middle of the 11^th century and is the site where royal weddings and funerals take place. Next we walked around The Royal Palace of Brussels. This is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians, but it is not used as a royal residence. The King uses the Palace to deal with affairs of state. The Palace also houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, King’s Head of Cabinet, and the Head of the King’s Military Household. 

St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral

 

Royal Palace of Brussels

Our final stop in Brussels was to the Parc du Cinquantenaire or Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary. This is large urban park with a U-shaped complex at one end. The oldest buildings of the complex were commissioned in 1880 for the National Exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence.  The centerpiece of the complex is a triumphal arch, which was constructed in 1905 replacing a previous temporary version of the arcade. 

Parc du Cinquantenaire

A Day In Paris

Inside Notre Dame Cathedral

On Wednesday, August 28^th Ashley and I took the high-speed train to Paris. After a two-hour train ride, we arrived in Paris around 10:00 am and began our “Sister” day in Paris. Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral. In my “French Exploration” blog I described the architecture of the cathedral. On this trip to Paris Ashley and I took the time to wander around in the Cathedral. We were in awe of the height of the ceiling, elaborate carvings of the quire, and stained glass windows. 

Notre Dame Cathedral

Ashley at the Eiffel Tower

   
Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower where we stopped for lunch and some fun pictures using the Tower as a backdrop. After admiring the Eiffel Tower we took the subway to the Arch de Triumph. The Louvre was where we spent the rest of our day. I know I could spend several days walking around looking at all of the artifacts in the Louvre. On my first visit to the museum we headed straight for the Mona Lisa. Although, it was amazing to see the most visited, most written about, and most sung about work of art in the world the painting was much smaller than I had envisioned. We spent the rest of our visit to the Louvre exploring the Egyptian antiquities department. This department has over 50,000 pieces and includes artifacts from the Nile civilizations dating from 4,000 BC to the 4^th century.  

Mona Lisa at the Louvre

Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre

King Louie Room at the Louvre