Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wine Stuff:
You'll recognize local Franconian wines by the shape of the bottle—short,
stubby, and round. For characteristic wine glasses, winemaking gear, and the real thing
from the town's oldest winemakers, drop by the
Glocke Weinladen am Plönlein
(daily
10:00-18:00, Untere Schmiedgasse 27—see
here
for info on wine-tasting).
Books:
A good bookstore is
Rothenburger Büchermarkt
at Rödergasse 3, on the
corner of Alter Stadtgraben (Mon-Sat 9:00-18:30, Sun 10:30-18:00, Jan-April closed Sun).
Mailing Your Goodies Home:
You can get handy yellow €2.50 boxes at the old
town
post office
(Mon-Tue and Thu-Fri 9:00-13:00 & 14:00-17:30, Wed 9:00-13:00, Sat
9:00-12:00, closed Sun, inside photo shop at Rödergasse 11). The main post office is in the
shopping center across from the train station.
Pastries:
Those who prefer to eat their souvenirs browse the
Bäckereien
(bakeries).
Their succulent pastries, pies, and cakes are pleasantly distracting...but skip the bad-tasting
Rothenburger Schneeballen.
Unworthy of the heavy promotion they receive,
Schneeballen
are bland pie crusts crumpled into a ball and dusted with powdered sugar or frosted with
sticky-sweet glop. There's little reason to waste your appetite on a
Schneeball
when you
can enjoy a curvy
Mandelhörnchen
(almond crescent cookie), a triangular
Nussecke
(“nut
corner”), a round
Florentiner
cookie, a couple of fresh
Krapfen
(like jelly doughnuts), or
even just a soft, warm German pretzel.
Rothenburg is crowded with visitors, but most are day-trippers. Except for the rare Saturday
keeps quality high. Ifyouwant to splurge, you'll snare the best value bypaying extra forthe
biggest and best rooms at the hotels I recommend. In the off-season (Nov and Jan-March),
hoteliers may be willing to discount.
Train travelers save steps by staying in the area toward the Rödertor (east end of town).
Hotels and guest houses will sometimes pick up tired heavy-packers at the station. If you're
driving and unable to find where you're sleeping, stop and give them a call. They will likely
come rescue you.
Keepyourkeywhenoutlate.Rothenburg'shotelsaresmall,andtheyoftenlockthefront
entrance at about 22:00, asking you to let yourself in through a side door.
$$$HotelKloster-Stüble,
deepintheoldtownnearthecastlegarden,ismyclassiestlisting.
Rudolf does the cooking, while Erika—his fun and energetic first mate—welcomes guests.
Twenty-one rooms fill two medieval buildings, connected by a modern atrium. The hotel is
