Rothenburg

The city of Rothenburg is quintessential Germany! It's a well-preserved medieval town from the 12th century. Jaren and I love Rothenburg! The city is beautiful and the area around the city is lovely as well. The leaves are changing and Autumn is definitely here! 

It's fun that our trip is ending in Germany, since it began in Germany. I'm trying not to think about going home, and enjoying all I can during this last weekend in Europe!

After we (Jaren, myself, and his parents) checked in to our hotel today, we went inside St Jakob's church. It was amazing to see the wood-carved alters and stained glass windows! I love going inside these old churches, it's amazing to think how old yet well-preserved they are! (I just can't get over it!) This church was medieval, and therefore decorated and built in the "gothic" style.

The church...

Jaren and I then climbed to the top of the bell-tower of another church. We had a good look around at the town and all the buildings. When we went back down we met up with Jaren's parents and drank fresh-pressed apple juice. I have never tasted better apple juice! It was so fresh, delicious, and the perfect Autumn drink!

Fresh apple juice!...

The shops here are so fun to browse, especially the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas shops! There is also a Christmas museum in one of the shops. This museum shows the history of Christmas trees, ornaments, and decorations. It was so fun to walk through the museum (no pictures allowed, though) and see original antique ornaments and decorations! (My Mom would LOVE it!) It's interesting how Christmas decorating has changed and evolved over the years. I'm pretty excited for Christmas now! 

At night we took the "Night Watchman" tour. Honestly, this tour was SO good! (And SO fun!) The "night watchman" of Rothenburg told us stories about life in medieval times and the history of Rothenburg! We walked around the town with him and he would stop in places to tell us stories. We learned how Rothenburg became a city in the first place and what life was like back then, it's downfall, why it was and still is so well-preserved, and how it barely escaped the bombings of WWII. The watchman was funny and stayed in character the whole time! (And he dressed like the watchman did back in the medieval times.) I loved it! I also liked that the tour was in the dark and a fun thing to do around Halloween-time.

Rothenburg at night...