Occtober 22 Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Aschaffenburg

October 22 Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Aschaffenburg

We awoke to the sound of rain pounding on the roof this morning. However, after breakfast the downpour turned to a few showers and so we bundled up in our raingear and headed over the Rothenburg to walk the wall and visit any sights we might have missed yesterday.

Much of the wall surrounding this medieval town was rebuilt after World War II. The names of those who supported the rebuilding are engraved at various locations around the perimeter. The view from the wall was fascinating. To our right was the medieval town with its cobblestone streets and quaint buildings. To our left was at one point, a valley and at other times pathways and trees in full autumn colour. At one point we met a man who was picking something up from amongst the fallen leaves. I watched him for a few moments and saw that he was picking up walnuts. I spotted one, picked it up and placed it in his bag. After his "danke" I looked for more, (I wanted some for myself) but found no others.

After walking the perimeter of the town we went to the main square to orient ourselves. We then headed for St. Jacob's Church, one of the first Protestent churches we have seen in weeks. This church was built in the 1300's and much of the artwork, including some of the stained glass is from that period. Of particular note is the "Helig Blut Altar" which was carved in the 1500's. The organ in the church has 5,500 pipes!

We strolled the streets until we found a wonderful bakery/coffee shop where we stopped for a break. After we were warmed by the hot treats we headed back to Gracie and decided to move on. We wanted to find a stopover where we could clean Gracie in preparation for returning her to McRent on Friday. A stellplatz in Aschaffenburg is where we stopped. Although there are few facilities here, we found a Shell station with a vaccuum and will go there tomorrow to get rid of our accumulated bread, cheese and chocolate crumbs of the last six and one half weeks.

We explored the town's historic centre, walked through a modern mall and watched boats go up and down the river. We are parked next to the Main River which is a shipping route. So far, we have seen a cruise ship and several cargo ships. The ships are very low and resemble barges more than ships. We also witnessed a rowing team practising for some upcoming event.

Tomorrow we will move closer to Frankfurt.