Buoyancy » Around the World

Rothenburg ob der Tauber - the Perfect Place for a Christmas Atmosphere

Have you ever felt the spirit of Christmas on a summer's day? We visited this picturesque Bavarian town a couple of years ago, at the end of summer - late August, it seems. The Christmas spirit made itself felt everywhere, despite the facades of the old houses being richly adorned with flowering pots of plants in the most varied and cheerful colours. So what was it that created this winter solstice feeling?

Firstly, the town's own outward appearance - houses that called to mind illustrations from the fairy-tale books so beloved in childhood; flags and pennants with ancient coats of arms; finely crafted inn and shop signs in an old-world style; lanterns affixed here and there to the building facades, not a single modern electricity pole; a small cobblestoned market square with a fountain; a town hall with a clock tower that has been counting the passing moments of life for goodness knows how many centuries.

Secondly, an unusually large number of small shops with all manner of toys - from soft teddy bears to delicate porcelain rabbits crafted and painted down to the finest details, and Christmas tree decorations.

Thirdly, here is located the Deutsche Weihnachtsmuseum, where one can admire Christmas tree ornaments beyond all verbal description, decorations, various dolls, nutcrackers - large and small, smelling of wood, lacquer, and paint - little animals and complete Nativity scenes. At the entrance a special car stands on duty, Christmas red and with fir-branch motifs on its sides, its boot full of gift boxes large and small.

During city festivals the residents are happy to dress in medieval costume and take part in festive pageants. On that occasion too some kind of medieval city festival was taking place, and in the afternoon the town's little lanes filled with horse-drawn carriages, blacksmiths' and craftsmen's tents; the air smelled of smoke and straw. But all other smells were overwhelmed by the enticing assortment of sweet treat stalls. We dropped into a small restaurant that had not yet properly opened to visitors in the first part of the day, but the gracious host promised to rustle up something delicious for each of us. I must say I had never before eaten such delicious Apfelstrudel (not even in Vienna, no) - warm, freshly baked, served with a scoop of ice cream and a generous amount of whipped cream. Ēriks was once again delighted at the chance to sample one of the Bavarian beer varieties.

Fourthly, we not only looked at Christmas but also tasted it. This little town has specialist confectionery shops selling a sweet treat particular to the town and popular with locals and tourists alike - Rothenburger Schneeball, or snow balls. Substantial pastry balls made from dough with various fillings - with chocolate, with nuts, white ones with vanilla sugar, and so on. They temptingly lined the shop windows and one immediately wanted to try them all. But the size of a "snow ball" and the capacity of the stomach are what they are - we tried the classic Schneeball and the nut variety. Simply yummy! :)

We realised we could have wandered and wandered endlessly along the town's small cobblestoned lanes, but to take in the whole town in a single glance, we climbed the town hall clock tower by its long winding staircase, from where the entire town lay spread out like a map. The town itself sits on something of a hill, so the surroundings are easy to survey far and wide. In the distance the Tauber River also glimpsed into view, the one mentioned in the town's name. Wherever you look - neat, orange-red, cheerful tile roofs. It is no accident that the town's coat of arms depicts a red defensive wall - Rot (red) + Burg (fortress/wall).

Every year throughout the entire Advent season, right through to Christmas, a Weihnachtsmarkt operates in the town's central square, the Marktplatz. It is one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, having existed for a full 500 years. If anyone has the desire and the means, I definitely recommend visiting this little town and fully experiencing the Christmas atmosphere. Several years ago I visited such a market in Salzburg, Austria. It truly is an event worth seeing and savouring.

Also photos from the impressions of our August 2007 trip: