Sunday, April 11, 2010

Romantic Road

I have to admit that before we decided to go to Germany, I hadn't heard of the Romantic Road but discovering it made planning our trip very easy. On the RR website you will find it described as:

A trade route during the middle ages, Germany's Romantic Road still retains much of its medieval character. The road often winds through forgotten sections of countryside, connecting walled towns and picturesque villages. Travelers may enter a town through an arched gateway complete with guard towers. Inside, you will find gothic cathedrals, half-timbered fachwerk houses, beautiful historic hotels and often a medieval festival. Fairytale castles like Neuschwanstein and the Alps complete the charm.

The highway signs both on and off the Autobahn clearly mark the Romantic Strasse as you can see below.Back in the 1950s some travel agents worked to create this scenic trail to increase tourism and obviously, it worked. There are also great travel routes such as The Fairy Tale Road and the Bavarian Porcelain Route. If you are planning a trip to Germany I would recommend taking a look at some of the towns and stops included in these well-organized travel routes.We decided to begin our trip in Wurzburg. The interesting thing about this city is that during WWII, 90% of this city was completely destroyed. It was described as an inferno. Cleanup and rebuilding of the city was almost completely done by WOMEN! Most of the men were either dead or prisoners of war. With this in mind, here are some pictures of some of the sites of the city.

This must be the German equivalent of Cadbury's Creme Eggs


I loved the way every town decorated and celebrated Easter

I loved walking down the narrow streets and always discovering something at the end of the road or around the corner.


A view of the fortress from the old bridge. I won't show you the pictures my son took of me and my husband s-l-o-w-l-y walking up the path to the fortress. Let's put it this way, we need to exercise more!

Tomorrow I'd like to share some of the examples of rococo style. There were several great examples on this trip and Wurzburg was just the beginning.

4 comments:

  1. Gorgeous pics and scenery. I looked back at your trip through Strasbourg and it reminded me of Colmar (very close to Strasbourg). Charming area of France! Linda

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am enjoying your photos from your trip. Amazing that the women did all the clean up and rebuilding in the town.
    Joyce

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful trip you had! I looked at all the photos you've posted since you've returned. The chocolate milk, the beautiful cathedral, the timber homes, the beautiful Easter decorations...what wonderful memories! The best photo of all was your sweet little grand daughters with their Mom and Dad!

    ReplyDelete