Not The Great Wall, But A Pretty Darn Good Wall

One of the nice things about the apartment (well, everything was nice) was that breakfast was included.  The owner told me it would be a continental breakfast, but she did make scrambled eggs for us, and there was ham, cheese, fruit, croissants, German rolls, sparkling water, juices, and, of towerscourse, coffee.  It was nice not having to trek to breakfast, and honestly, I'm not sure how many restaurants in Rothenburg serve breakfast.

We loaded up the car, parked it outside the city walls, and went off to explore Rothenburg.  Our first move was to walk up the stairs to the city walls at Klingen turm and headed east.  The wall was quite easy to walk along, even though it was fairly narrow.  It was about wide enough for two hobbits to pass each other. . .which is about the size of people back in the day.  There is a sturdy wooden support fence on the side without the rock walls.  This immediately marks the wall as easier to walk than the Moorish Castle or Obidos city walls in Portugal.

View of the Cathedral from the wall walk.

Two of my favorite ladies.

This was pretty much what the

wall walked looked like, except

when turning corners or going

through the towers.

There are 42 towers in Rothenburg (I didn't count them, but it's what the Internet says, so it must be true!), so we either saw many (some are in the center of town) or passed through quite a few.  When you think about what it took to build the wall and towers, it underscores just how important defense was back in those times.

One of the many towers along the wall.  I believe

it is Galgentor, which means "Gallows Gate,"

but don't hang me if I'm wrong.  Sounds like

a location in the Hobbit.

At the upper level of one of the gates.

View of two churches and two

half-timber houses from the wall.

This half-timbered house has seen better days, but

who among us hasn't? (Editor's Note: Speak

for yourself old man.  Writer: Tough but fair.)

Anyhow, we walked about half the wall, from the north entrance tower (Klingen Turm) to the south entrance tower (Spital Bastion).  And yes, there is going to be a test.  And, no, you don't start speaking Klingon after driving through the gates, although THAT would be cool.  We had other sights to see, as well as a drive to the Stuttgart area, so we came down the stairway at the Spital Bastion.

We wandered around the Spital tower area, which was built originally in the late 1300s and then upgraded in 1586.  The bastion has two courtyards, seven gates, a dry moat, and a courtyard.  

Just outside of it is a wooden footbridge that, alas, Julia slipped on.  The slip came after the photos. . .you can tell because she's smiling in these photos and would not have been after the slip and fall.  After she bounced back, we walked through the gates back up into town. 

The footbridge.  Julia is not a fan.

How cool is this courtyard?  Only one answer: very!