Rothenburg - Ornbau: It Happened Overnight - Spring Tour in Bavaria 2009

April 6, 2009

Rothenburg - Ornbau: It Happened Overnight

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, (ob der Tauber meaning over the Tauber River), is certainly on most foreign tourists' agenda when they visit Germany. However, today, a sunny Monday morning in early April, we see few camera-toting visitors (like us) which is a pleasant surprise. However, the souvenier stores are open and waiting.

Medieval atmosphere of Rothenburg - it's easy to see what attracts so many visitors

Passing beneath one of Rothenburg's lovely clock towers

The main square with impressive half-timbered buildings

Mortar and pestle: Traditional hanging sign for a pharmacy

Rothenburg caters to tourists year round - here a giant nutcracker guards the door of the shop selling Christmas decorations

Kitsch of all kinds for all kinds of tourists

A highlight of Rothenburg is the Late Gothic altar of the Last Supper by Tillmann Riemenschneider, one the leading sculptors north of the Alps, working at a time when Michelangelo, sculpting in Rome and Florence, was already departing from the Gothic tradition with his Renaissance ideals. Riemenschneider's altar is unique in that it was not in polychrome as was the custom. He left the beauty of the natural wood unpainted.

Riemenschneider's interesting life is well documented. He was a successful artist, wealthy citizen and prominent in city government. In 1525 he supported the rebels in the Peasants' War, for which he was subsequently tortured and briefly imprisoned. At this time both his hands were broken and he could never resume his work as a sculptor. When he was freed, his extensive properties had been confiscated and he was never again active in city government.

A Late Gothic masterpiece: the Tilmann Riemenschneider altar, The Last Supper (1501-02), in the Church of Sankt Jakob.

View of the walls surrounding Rothenburg as we leave

Rothenburg is located on a plateau and we sail down the hill into the valley. The climb out is a little steep, 16% which is not even easy to push. Sometimes we follow bicycle route signs, sometimes we ignore them and rely on our maps. Sometimes that's a good idea, sometimes not. This time we ignored the signs and aside from the initial climb it was a lovely ride in early spring countryside.

The sun is hesitant to come out, the graceful branches of the bare trees form a delicate contrast against the faint blue of the sky. This is the time of year when winter turns to spring over night. Yesterday the countryside was barren and brown, today everything is tinged with green. This is the magic moment when longing is on the verge of being fulfilled. But there is nothing here you can savor. The fleeting instant of change will rush on into full-blown spring and then summer before you know it.

The forest still grey and somber after the winter

When we reach Ornbau we decide we've had enough. Of the three hotels in town, one is open and it has a restaurant. There is no need for a menu. They only serve fränkische Bratwürste, sausages known throughout Germany, with potato salad, and it all tastes excellent. In the evening the social life of Ornbau takes place in its small restaurant. Our meal is accompanied by the sound of the card players slamming their cards on the table in animated rounds of the German card game Schafkopf.

Ornbau's bridge over the Altmühl in the evening

In picturesque Ornbau we find a hotel and have time to take some pictures before the sun sets.

At the next table: Card players in Ornbau's "Gasthaus zur Krone"

Today's ride: 56 km (35 miles)
Total: 140 km (87 miles)

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