Sunday, 26th May – Stuttgart to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Todays trip took us from Stuttgart to the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The town of Ludwigsburg is conveniently located on the way and has one of the best examples of extant baroque architecture and extensive gardens in the Residential Palace.

We found a parking lot that was within walking distance and wandered through the Marktplatz towards the Palace.

The Ludwigsburg Palace contains a museum but we opted to instead spend our time looking through the Blühendes Barock (Botanical Gardens). Although there is an 9 euro entry fee, the gardens on the 32 hectare estate can take all day to walk through.

After seeing as much as we could with the time we had, we grabbed a coffee and some pastries from the Backerei Konditorei Cafe and then headed off to Rothenburg.

Since we’re using the backstreets more often than highways, we get to see a lot of small random towns on the way. These are often some of our most favourite finds.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a fascinating medieval walled city – the largest in Germany. Even just getting near the city makes you want to stop and take photos.

After battling the narrow cobbled streets full of wandering tourists, we checked in to our amazing hotel.

There was an amazing view from the room – we could see the village that we had driven past earlier.

Lunch was in the Bier Garten of the Hotel Reichsküchenmeister which was so good, we vowed to return for coffee and cake later in the day.

We then set off to walk around the Marktplatz and saw sights like the Town Hall and St James Church.

The town is much bigger than it seems and every turn you discover something new – for example, the White Tower or a wishing well.

In this walled city, the fortifications all around the old town are incredibly well preserved. People are able to walk along them and Keith was keen to explore, he then convinced Bec to give it a try. The views over the city are worth the fear of heights and small spaces.

Eventually we returned to the Bier Garten for coffee and cake. Since it was already Keith’s birthday in Australia he decided to celebrate with a piece of Black Forrest Cake which had his name all over it.