Munich, Rothenburg, Rhineland
The out-of-tune, yet delightful glockenspiel stands in the
Marienplatz. Munich is a unique blend
of old and new, one of the liveliest cities I have visited. Here, we walked along the pedestrian
shopping streets, surprised to find a few bargains.
But the majority of the impulse buying was reserved for
Rothenburg. This town along the Rhine
had the greatest little shops, perfect for unique yet totally unnecessary
items. We bought figurines of
mischievous woodland dryads and a couple of adorable German teddy bears.
The views from the Rothenburg town walls were simply
breath-taking. This was fairy-tale land
– enchanting and magical. The cobbled
lanes, the red rooftops, all nestled on the side of a hill, transport us to a
different time altogether.
After spending a lovely day at Rothenburg, we retired to our
hotel in Bingen. Hildegard, the famous
medieval composer and prophet, founded her monastery nearby in the early
twelfth century. Train tracks run
through this little town, creating a sense of disjointed modernity in this
otherwise old-world atmosphere.
A Rhine cruise took us past several tiny towns, as well as the
Lorelei rock, the equivalent of the little mermaid in Copenhagen.
We finally alighted in Boppard, one of the several Bavarian
towns along the Rhine. From here, we
made our way toward Brussels.
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