Landkreis Schwäbisch Hall

We hopped on a bus and drove about a half hour along an idyllic route to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a medieval town that still has a large number of its old buildings intact. Mary, our guide, is originally from Oregon, so English was no problem for her. In fact she is extremely articulate and clear. I suspect that she has had some graduate education. When we got off the bus we were met with a complete medieval wall, including its turrets and towers. We went on a walking tour of the streets, shops and warehouses and ended the morning with a lunch of bratwurst, kraut, and potatoes. Local high school bands were in the town plaza offering their music. There is a band competition in town now. We also enjoyed a delicious locally produced dry white wine. Glenda and I skipped dessert so that we could get an early start photographing the Jakobskirche. We stopped in at the local Catholic Church and took a few shots. Then we found the Jakobskirche. Since the Protestant Reformation this church has been Lutheran. In some ways it is more beautiful than the cathedral at Cologne, which has so many beautiful sights that they detract from one another. The walls of this church are simple and white so that all of one's attention is focused on the extravagantly lovely stained glass. One of the specialties here is a beer that has an undertone of bacon. Once in medieval times all of the town's barley was stored in a certain warehouse. It caught fire and much of the harvest was destroyed. However, some of the barley that was not completely burned was toasted, and brewers decided to try to use it. The result was a smoky beer, "Rauschbeer," which is delicious. Now the brewers of Rothenburg are deliberately toasted for making rauschbeer. Walking to the old town walls gave us other opportunities to photograph the city. We got some pastry and coffee as we waited by the town fountain for our group to gather for the walk back to the bus.Les mer