This morning, after breakfast at the hostel, we walked around the town of Rothenburg again and explored the city wall a bit. Before heading out of town, we had to try the traditional Schneeballen. Schneeballen are a Rothenburgian specialty: a round pastry, original made by loosely rolling up the trimmings of pie crust, deep frying the ball, and then dusting with cinnamon and sugar. Now every bakery in Rothenburg sells them, and there is a bakery about every 3 buildings, so we couldn't leave without trying them! I really enjoyed the little pastry!
From Rothenburg we drove to Frankfurt to pick my mom up at the airport! Then continued our adventure in a generally north direction once we reached the Rhein River. We were all surprised how much this valley looks like the Columbia River Gorge, it's no wonder they named Bingen, White Salmon after their home town of Bingen am Rhein.
The highlight of the drive was the numerous castles. Castles were built along the Rhein to protect toll booths, and appear around every bend! They are all large and grand and sticking out from the hillside. Some are privately owned still, some have gone to ruins, and others have new purposes, such as a hostel we explored this evening here in Bacharach (which included a short hike and a pasture of goats!).
Tonight we walked through Bacharach and enjoyed the old town. It constantly amazes me how kid some of these buildings and walls are. I can't begin to comprehend how old many of these structures are! Incredible!
The land is also fascinating. The farmers have built terraces into the hillsides for planting, but there are also vineyards that go down a hill so steep, I'm not sure how one would go about harvesting. It also amazes me that a region on the opposite side of the world could look so similar to my home region.
Anyway, enough rambling! Servus!
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