on board train to rothenburg met newlyweds kara and ryan from nashville tn. they were married near traverse city michigan...land of lots of cherries...had climbed the sleeping bear sand dune...i had done that years ago
both going to grad school this fall, she for musicology, he for counseling
on honeymoon, had biked the romantic road and were en route to rome to meet both sets of parents who were each celebrating their second honeymoons...pretty cool
we exchanged lots of advice...me to them...rome and florence...sent them to see claudio at il profeta...they had been to rotenburg and told me about the nightwatchmans tour, where to eat and also about wurzburg.
arrived rotenburg at 1948...hoofed it into village, stopped to ask about a room at pension elke...told had one...dropped bag...room not seen, hoofed it to town square for night watchman tour. in medievil times, the nightwatchman went around lighting lamps and making sure doors were locked...not well thought of because of fear of darkness and the night...just slightly above executioner and gravediggers. this guy was great...has been doing it for 20 yeasrs...one hour walking tour as it got dark...probaly about 100 people in group...all ages...he kept everyones attention. city spared during ww2...first...day of bombing...was foggy...pilots couldnt see and much of the city was unharmed...plus, afterwards, general in charge...american...recalled a painting in his mothers living room from a visit she had made to rothenburg...that memory saved the city
had dinner in a bar called hell. here it is good to be told to go to hell.
skewer of filet, pork and veggies with an incredible sauce including capers. first red meat since leaving states.
yesterday morning got up early did walking tour of town, then retail therapy...great shopping...had to get out of there...after shipping a box to mary hehl for safekeeping...thanks mary...dont peek, there might be something in there for you
beautiful church there...lots of woodcarving...elizabeth in charge on sturday mornings...she recommended a cd of organ music...in box shipped home...and to go to firese for Christmas ornaments. this shop is run by an 83 year old lady, assisted by her granddaughter, they only hire family. she befriended rick steves on his first poor man trip to europe in 1973 and is recommended by him also...she said that she treated him like a mother when he had nothing....i noted that it had certainly come back to her...lots of photos of rick in the shop...she also noted that she has a disability...and that elizabeth bakes her cakes
felt in a way like interiors...jane and nancy always took care of everyone...didnt matter who you were what you were wearing...especially kids...lots of those kids i am sure wanted to go back to interiors to register for weddings...buy gifts when they could afford, etc...job at interiors was in ways best ever...jane and nancy taught me so much...how to be frugal...dont waste the ribbon rann...snap to it customer service...customer should never make it past the 3rd display before someone meets and greets them...a cup of coffee in a china cup...even chipped, makes the afternoon much better...dont judge a customer by his appearance...once sold 4 place settings of china and silver to a man who looked like he couldnt afford paper plates from the dollar store for his daughter...for years i remembered the patterns...it was a great lesson, but those names escape me now...getting old
boarded first of...heck, i cant remember, 4 or 5 trains to baden baden. stop in worzburg was for 50 minutes...grabbed a cab, went to the bridge, had a beer at alte mainmuhle as recommended by ryan and kara...cab back to station...4 minutes to spare. cab driver, nobert, rhymes with robert, spoke great english and pointed out the sites including the place where x rays were invented.
arrived baden baden about 6...spent a couple hours at the spa...skipped casino
once a year the town has a big festival in a beautiful park by the river...kind of like the nc symphony at meredith college... 80 plus piece orchestra...beautiful lighting in the trees...i walked around...thousands...thousands...thousands of people...then back towards the hotel for dinner at le bistro...lip smacking lamb chops with a great glass of wine...after dinner drink recommendation was plum water, aged 7 years. i think it was a bad bunch of junior johnsons moonshine.
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