The Romantic Road

The easiest way to do the Romantikstrasse (Romantic Road) is by car, as the train does not stop in the smaller villages. So we rented the cheapest one and got an upgrade to the Mercedes-Benz A150 (whatever that is!) We were hoping for the Ferrari on the Autobahn, but I guess we could make do.

The Autobahn system began in the 1930's but expansion took hold during the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler. Today the Autobahn has approximately 7625 miles, third in distance behind the USA and China in highway length; not too shabby for a country 3.6% the size of the USA. The highway does have some speed limits in areas with junctions and construction, however, most has none. The recommended speed is 130 km/h or 80 mph. We topped out at 160 km/h (100 mph) because that was the fastest our little car could go; needless to say people were still flying by us. I-95 should be converted to an Autobahn!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber - "Rothenburg above the Tauber"
This was our first stop on the Romantic Road, a small medieval village that is enclosed by a wall. During WWII most of the village was spared artillery fire by the allied forces as a result of U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, John McCloy. Stories like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Pinocchio were also based from this city.

We walked around on the city wall and found lunch in a little cafe that sold a dessert called Schneeballen (Snow Ball). We have never seen anything like it and decided to try one. The cafe owner told us that they are traditional Rothenburg dessert, made by frying egg dough and covered with sugar or chocolate.

Schwangau & Fussen
These snow towns in the Bavarian Alps are popular destinations as they are home to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein castles. This mouthful translates into "High Land of the Swans" and the later, "New Swan Stone." They have a crazy history, no pun intended, so for a quick education on Bavarian Kings:

King Ludwig II grew up in Hohenschwangau as a child and after crowned king commissioned Neuschwanstein as a tribute to friend and composer Richard Wagner. The Bavarian royal family had a genetic family history of insanity and Ludwig's younger brother, Otto, was deemed insane at the age of 24. Ludwig II was, medically, never insane but was considered eccentric. However, he lived so lavishly that he fell deep into dept and the State Commission ruled him insane. Three days later he was discovered mysteriously drowned in a lake along with the doctor who declared him insane. The castles became open to the public after his death to help repay his debt.

After visting both castles we, for some reason, thought a 3 hour hike up Tegel Mountain to the Tegelbahn (cable car) would be a good idea. The views were gorgeous but we were not quite prepared to hike to the summit at 1881 m (6172 ft).