Christine in Rothenburg, Germany

You should not buy a sword Christine-you don't need one.  But I really, really want one.  No, it is not necessary to own a sword.  That is what I told myself as I visited Rothenburg, Germany.  It is a medieval town, with a wall that runs around it.  I visited multiple medieval stores with swords.  I really wanted one.  But not for 500 euros.  Maybe next trip, er something.  I did, however, walk much of the wall.  It is fascinating to think that you are standing on stones that have been there for centuries.

The wall up close

Wall around the city

Based on my research, the U.S. military did not use much artillery during WWII, because of the historical significance of the town.  And the German commander gave up the town.

The Rathaus (town hall) has a tower you can climb to see the whole city.  You have to walk up narrow, wooden steps.  I'm not kidding.  You would not have this in America.  One, it is not ADA compliant and two, they would be way to afraid of lawsuits.  The sign says to only spend 5 minutes outside, so everyone has a chance.  I knew that was 4 minutes, no 4 1/2 minutes, more than I needed.  I was right.  To get to the tower outside, you have to climb a ladder, and kinda climb out.  And then there is an iron railing.  The nice German guy said it was very safe.  I just held on for dear life.  For about a minute.  Because there was a line getting down the stairs.  Yeah, nice German guy and his tourists not letting me go first.  Then I went back down the ladder.

This is how high it is up that tower:

Rathaus

Walking down one of the streets:

Some buildings:

A Church:

This is another great German city, high on my list of favorites.
Christine