#479 Day 17 On to Germany

We were a little more than two weeks into our vacation. It was time for the next stage of our adventure. Rent a car and drive through Germany. This is the first time we would be driving. I mean literally, we would be driving. I had never driven in Europe before. My friends told me that when on the autobahn watch your rear view mirror and stay right except to pass. It was excellent advice. It is amazing how quickly a vehicle that looks like a mere speck in the mirror becomes a flash of color, usually black, as it speeeeeeds by. There was a yellow, late model Corvette that zipped by. About 5km further down the road it pulled into a gas station. btw, the gas prices were exorbitant there too.

We got an upgrade on our rental car. I had never driven an Audi before. This one had a stick shift and diesel engine. Great gas economy, I think. I only stalled it about a half dozen times. That was amazing to me since I have been driving a stick shift for most of my life.

Our first stop was Rothenburg. We had been there for a few hours many years ago. Maryann wanted to stay longer then, but I was to timid to leave our bus tour and take the train back to Munich. So, after all this time, she finally got her wish. We spent two nights at the Pension Becker.

We did have a fun time finding our way into the old town and then discovering where the hotel was located. It only took about 35 minutes. We were also lucky to get a parking place inside the walls. It was a short walk from there back to the hotel.

After we got established in our room we were of to sight see and take some photos. I couldn't resist taking that photo of the Pension's sign from our window. Although the street was quite narrow, there was a lot of traffic for a good portion of the evening.

The one thing we did that is unforgettable was to take the Night Watchman's tour of the town. The tour takes about an hour. The cost is 6∈ per adult. It is well worth. The guide has been conducting the tours for 15+ years. His use of the language, voice intonation, body language and his eyes made it the highlight of the visit for me. I was remiss and did not take my camera with me that evening. Fortunately, I was able to get the photo seen here the next night. There must have been 50+ people on the tour the evening we took it. The following evening there were easily 75 to 100. He makes a lot of money and earns every penny. It was well worth the trip just for that.

That was a fine way to end our day. We retired to our room and were only awakened a couple of times during the night. Because of the warmth, we left the window open. Most of the noise was passing traffic. Narrow streets do allow the sounds to reverberate of the buildings.

More, and I do mean more, photos tomorrow.

#479