This will be our last day in Germany, since we're taking the train to France in the morning. Mona and I have mixed feelings, since we've had such a good time here. The Mayer's are great hosts, and our niece Wendy has been a wonderful tour guide..

Uwe arranged to have today off from the horse farm, and left everything on the shoulders of the hired man and his mother and sister. So....off we go to Rothenburg ob der Tauber!

Here's Wikipedia's comments on Rothenburg:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City. A significant fraction of Rothenburg is carfree.

The name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" is actually a shortened version of "Rothenburg oberhalb der Tauber", which in German means "Rothenburg over the Tauber". This is so because the town is located on top of a mount overlooking the Tauber river. As to the name "Rothenburg", some say it comes from the German words Rot (Red) and Burg (burg, medieval fortified town), referring to the red colour of the roofs of the houses which overlook the river.

Since German does not have the th-sound (as in thin), the proper pronunciation of the first syllable of the name is more or less like English wrote, while -burg is similar to "buak." In IPA: [ro:tənbʊak ɔp dєr taʊba

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the cities on the Romantische Straße (Romantic Road) that has preserved vestiges of their medieval importance into the 21st century. A series of walls and towers defended the city over the ages, the most recent still stands and surrounds most of the older part of the city. The inner wall (built prior 13th century) also still remains. Stairwells ascend to the top of the wall at intervals, and the entire wall can be walked. In addition, the Roedertor tower at the east end of the city is opened daily to allow a climb up stairs to the vista atop it.