Picture perfect

Arrived at Rothenburg and the satnav directed us under the gateway arch and onto narrow cobblestone streets of the walled old town.  Navigating past hordes of keen christmas shoppers we arrived at our hotel which dates back to around 1400.  Nanna's room is the one at the top and Aunty Jan's just below it to the left.

 Our room (or penthouse as Aunty Jan calls it).  Takes the "exposed beams" concept to a whole new level!!

The Christmas markets are in the town square which is about 100m from our hotel....very convenient after a hard day on the gluhwein.

I took a walk outside the town wall while the snow was still on the ground.  The ladies were in one of the Kathe Wohlfahrt stores (for those unfamiliar, these are the pre-eminent christmas shops in Germany...if not anywhere...and people come for miles around - even Australia - to check them out).  She has 5 stores, each slightly different, in Rothenburg where the whole phenomenon started back in 1964.

 On the way to dinner by way of, you guessed it, some christmas shopping.

Inside one of the Kathe Wohlfarht stores.  

People are queuing up to 20 deep outside waiting for the chance to be channeled through the many store levels and perhaps buy some of the items.  One shop assistants said they get at least 1000 people through per day.  Here are two of them....

Nanna found a new friend outside Kathe's store.

and so did Aunty Jan

Credit card exhausted, it was back to the regular xmas market where you can still use whatever cash you have left....

 Meanwhile I took another walk and found you could get up onto the town walls which are really thick, have the usual slots for weapons and a roof for further protection.  They extend the full length of the perimeter of the old town, interspersed by towers or gateways and are in extraordinary condition.

 So many new friends to meet in Rothenburg.

Kathe has here own truck parked outside her shop.  Probably used to transport the daily profits to the bank.

Bit worried about the menu entry on one of the local restaurants which offers "roasted fillet of rockhound".  Still not sure what that is about.

the view from the rear balcony of our room.  Absolutely stunning scenery.

So Rothenburg met or exceeded Nanna's expectations and we all found it a fascinating and dare I say a magical place.  The hotel was awesome and the entire downtown was kept in the style of a 1400's village.  The town walls and towers were in excellent condition and quite amazing.  Nanna says she will be back but with more suitcase room next time.

Frankfurt next and then off to UK. At least we can then relax a bit and not be constantly moving on.  Nanna has managed to get all her newly acquired trinkets into the suitcases we came with which is a remarkable effort.

I should just finish with my observations of the autobahn.  Yes you can do stupid speeds on it but a lot is speed restricted and heavy fines apply. On the no limit bits we were restricted by some poor weather and in many cases some heavy traffic.  We did manage a stretch at 150 kph but the old hyundai loaded down with xmas trinkets didn't feel too stable so I backed off to 135.  We could learn a lot in Australia from these roads as the focus required to manage your vehicle in an environment where some vehicles were doing 80 and others 180+ was significant..... however it forced you to focus.  By comparison you travel on similar quality roads in Australia where the speed limit is 110kph people don't focus but just cruise along.  Unlike Australia most of the drivers here seem very aware of what is going on, not just in front of their noses, but in front and behind for some distance.  They will speed up or slow down or change lanes to facilitate a passing manouevre by another vehicle and execute lane changes and merge precisely and competently.  Those that don't are probably tourists.    I don't see much of that in Australia where people just look at what is immediately infront of their vehicles.  It is probably the environment in which you are trained to drive that makes the difference.

That the autobahn system is one of the safest road systems in the world says something.

I think a rental Lambo is the first order of business next time I come back!!!