Day 38 Ochsenfurt to Rothenburg ob der Tauber - by train

We're very confident walkers. Happy to mix things up and change the route to suit ourselves - either to shorten the official route or to take a more scenic path.

We're not at all confident when using public transport though. Thanks to several people who helped us, we trained from Ochsenfurt to Rothenburg ob der Tauber without problem: the women at the Information Centre in Ochsenfurt who wrote out the train times, and explained that we had to change trains, the woman at the train station who helped us buy our tickets using the ticket machine, and the young guy who showed us how to validate our tickets. 

Leaving our accommodation in Ochsenfurt this morning. 

The Rathaus in Ochsenfurt. 

We walked past the pharmacy where we asked about seeing a doctor & later had my prescription made up.

...and we walked past the doctors' rooms where I was given so much help. The entrance was through the arched doorway. 

...and past the town gate, on our way to the Railway Station. 

The Ochsenfurt Station. 

Everything went well and we, along with many cyclists and their bikes, were in Rothenburg ob der Tauber 50 minutes later. 

Our train at the Rothenburg ob der Tauber Station. 

A few photos taken when walking into Rothenburg:
 

Two things struck us as soon as we arrived. One was that it was very hot - it got to 29°C today - the second one was that Rothenburg ob der Tauber is full of tourists. People of all nationalities everywhere, stopping every few steps to take photos or trying to find somewhere shaded - us included. All shaded outdoor seating at the cafes, eiscafes, bakeries and restaurant and bars were taken. 

We went straight to our accommodation where we were fortunate to be able to leave our packs until check-in time which meant we didn't have to carry them around, in the heat, for nearly 4 hours.

We were also fortunate, a little while later, in finding a seat in the shade at a small café where we enjoyed refreshing cold drinks - an eiskaffee, ice coffee, for Jeff, and a refreshing lime and mint drink for me. 

Eventually we were able to check-in, shower, do a massive hand-wash - which is now strung up around our room - and put our feet up and relax.

Later we found a bar/restaurant/café which wouldn't be out of place in Raglan. Comfortably low key and relaxed with a very simple but tasty menu, away from the extremely busy Marktplatz. 

Our great find where we had a tasty early dinner. 

I liked the wall art.

Some photos taken from our window tonight:

And some very poor photos of a band dressed in period costume that marched past below our window - the photos are blurred due to my hurry to capture them before they marched past.

Rothenburg is one of only three German towns which are still completely encircled by medieval walls - the other two are Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town located in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. It is part of the popular Romantic Road through southern Germany. Today it is one of only four towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls, the other three being Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Berching, all in Bavaria.

Population 11,335

Source: Wikipedia