Day 13 - Fri 12 Jun 15: Nuremburg to Rothenburg ob de Tauber

June 11, 2015

Estimated km: 77; Actual km: 88; Total km: 550; Ride time: 5h22m; Start time: 8am; End time: 3:05pm; Av speed: 16.3 kph

16-34 deg C, (still pleasant though) fine and sunny.

We awoke to bright sunshine streaming into our motel window; a cycle tourer's dream. After another lovely Holiday Inn brekkie we headed out into an already warm day. It took 13km to clear the city traffic and noise, and what a relief that was!

If there's any such thing as a perfect touring day this goes close. Apart from a dodgy downhill gravel section (which was a mistaken shortcut) it was smooth cycle paths or back roads all day. There were a few "lumps" in the journey which got the heart going and blood flowing, but in the main the hills were kind and gentle. The ride was predominantly through farming country, mostly grain, sugar beet and canola, with some nice sections of forests and quaint villages. Our morning tea stop at Dietenhofen appeared precisely on time and had a great little bakery with nice coffee. That was fairly lucky as there wasn't much else all day.

We arrived at Rothenberg ob de Tauber just after 3pm and after some confusion (we didn't expect to be entering via what looked like a castle entry) we made our way to the hotel (Boutiquehotel Goldene Rose) through narrow cobbled streets. Yep castles are normally built on top of hills so it was a bit of a climb, but not too strenuous. Today it's hats off to Yvonne who only yesterday was limping badly due to a sore knee, but today rode like a true Trojan; very brave. We are hoping it gets better overnight with some rest and TLC.

The normal post-ride ritual of shower, wash, wander and ice-cream then followed.

What a gem Rothenberg o.b.T is. A well preserved medieval town which oozes 10-13th century architecture at every turn of its cobbled streets. The town/market square is nothing short of spectacular with the Town Hall towering over everything. To top it all off, just as we were walking back to our hotel, there was a parade of about 20 horse-drawn covered wagons, a band and military escort with everyone dressed in the appropriate medieval costume. The wagons were really solid and the horses had to work hard on the hills and cobbles to avoid slipping. We found out that the parade is only done once every few years to celebrate/commemorate a medieval event which was lost in translation. It starts about 200km away and traces the Romantic Route. The locals didn’t even know it was happening, so it was a surprise for all.

We had dinner at a very stylish Italian Restaurant where the food and drink was excellent. We'll all sleep well tonight.