Travelling Back In Time (Part 3): Medieval Towns in Germany

The Romantic Road is a marketing nomenclature for 350 km of medieval towns and countryside in Bavaria, southern Germany, and we spent 3 days exploring different towns in our journey from Frankfurt to Munich. For Hubby and me, these 3 days were the best and most enjoyable part of our holiday. We immersed deep into the small, unknown towns of medieval Germany, and revelled in the fact that we were lost in time.

I find the history of Germany fascinating. Do you know Germany only became a unified country back in the late 19th century? Before that, Germany was rarely united, and hundreds of independent states and rulers existed. I think this is part of the reason why the residents of Germany are full of pride and self-initiation in whatever they do – and it is very apparent in the excellent condition of their buildings, their processes, their work, etc – because they had never needed to rely on a central authoritative government or ruler in the past.

Solar-powered wind energy is very common in green Germany

Anyway, back to the trip. Here are some highlights of the Romantic Road trip!

Wurzburg

As we departed from urban Frankfurt, we were captivated by the gradual transition from a big, commercial city to the rolling meadows of the countryside, seeing charming villages set at the foot of little hills, and an expansive horizon of meadows and farms. 



We started off the Romantic Road trip with a brief stop in Wurzburg, a bustling town from the 4th to 5th century. The imposing Fortress Marienberg set on a hilltop, with views of a monumental bridge hailing from the Middle Ages across a broad, serene river, as well as myriad spires from the majestic architecture of the town, were most memorable for me.

Shortly after Wurzburg, we visited a historic manor house owned by a Count, with gardens resembling that of Versailles Palace's in France. It was liberating just to stroll in the gorgeous gardens, and the rich Baroque interiors of the dancing hall made a deep impression on us.

 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We spent a night in Rothenburg - and oh, what a fabulous 24 hours that was! Rotherburg is the epitome of German romance and chivalry, and the moment we entered the walled medieval town, I could immediately tell why.

Nestled in resplendent, exquisite, rolling countryside, with majestic guard towers, lordly gateways and magnificant historical city walls, the antiquated town is the most well preserved of all the small towns in southern Germany. The ubiquitous half-timbled fachwerk cottages and houses dot the entire cobblestoned, walled town which is redolent of gallant knights and regal ladies.

We wandered in the dreamy countryside with little vineyards, aqueducts and manor houses.

We explored country lanes in the surrounding woods, blowing gigantic dandelions, peering up at ancient trees that the girls claimed were Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree, peered into an empty but pretty bird's nest, daydreamed at miniature, growing grapes in the vineyard. What a heavenly afternoon!

 

We browsed in quaint, dark little shops that sell the most amazing merchandise, from a whole shop full of the most beautiful Christmas accessories to resplendent chess sets with fantastical pieces (which Hubby could not resist buying!).

 

 

One of the chess sets that we bought, and the Bees with their father had been busy playing with them since then!

 

A multitude of exquisite Christmas decor items!

 

 

Sausages and frankfurters galore!

Schneeballen, a Bavarian delicacy that is very sweet and crunchy!

We dined alfresco under the ambrosial sunlight and ambled along cobblestoned streets in the tangerine golden rays of a 8pm sun.

In the evening, we set out to join the historic Night Watchman's Tour, where a night watchman related tales of this medieval town from eons back.

Unfortunately, jetlagged Little Bee fell asleep in our arms midway through the tour, and we had to return to the hotel.

Our hotel was an absolute charmer - it was a lovely guesthouse run by a very friendly woman called Marian, whom we had many amiable conversations with.

The Bees love her big French sheepdog, and breakfast was spent playing incessantly with it.

We stayed in a spacious room with 2 queen-sized beds up on the highest floor (3rd floor!) of her guesthouse, and loved the quaintness of it all. We had to lug our heavy luggages up all 3 levels of her spiral staircase, and we slept without air-conditioning, with the windows opened to the fresh, beautiful air of the Rothenburg countryside - and we revelled in this country living! I remember waking up in the middle of the night to absolute silence...no sound of moving cars or late-night party-goers. This is truly the sound of the real planet earth - the sweet silence of nature in slumber.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early for breakfast. The breakfast was the best we had in this whole trip! It was a homely breakfast set in the cosy and heartwarming dining room of her beautiful guesthouse, and we loved all the personal touches of her country-styled breakfast! It was a truly memorable stay here.

 

What I love about German breakfasts - an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits!

We then spent more time exploring the rest of Rothenburg - once again, we wandered into quiet historical courtyards, and eventually ambled to the ancient walls of the town, much to our delight. The scenery around us was so picturesque that everything was heartachingly beautiful - the charming outline of the town from outside the walls, alluring courtyards with little flowers blooming, an archaic dark brown bridge spanning the inner and outer city walls on which I could just visualise ancient knights galloping into town.

We even had the amazing opportunity to stroll on the grassy patch of the now-defunct moat and chanced upon a big, dark loft with a huge cannon room within the walls. It was somewhat creepy and the Bees were a little spooked, but Hubby and I were thrilled with our discovery!

We also spent some time wandering about the surrounding woods that resembled something straight out of the Lord of the Rings - damp forest grounds full of busy ants, emerald-green foliage and dim surroundings. We strolled for a while in the outer areas of the woods but did not venture deeper because the Bees felt pretty uneasy in the dark, lonely woods where not a soul was to be found!

After a sumptuous lunch set in the most picture-perfect restaurant where we had a bird's eye view of the surrounding countryside and the beautiful outline of the town's buildings, we set off finally from this gorgeous little town, much to our melancholy.

On that day alone, we stopped by several thousands-year-old medieval towns like Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen and Ausburg, where each town has its own distinctive flavour and specialty.

Dinkelsbühl

Dinkelsbühl is somewhat similar to Rothenburg, but much quieter, with beautifully preserved buildings dating back from the Middle Ages. Their cobblestoned streets are broader, and thus a little more impersonal to me. Their houses are a lot wider and bigger, and there are blackletter labellings of every single house which really captivated me!

We stopped here for a little ice-cream set in an alfresco cafe beside a man playing a fiddle - how relaxing! But most of all, we were struck by the majestic cathedral of Dinkelsbühl, with magnificant interiors!

Nördlingen

I was most enthralled by the history of Nördlingen, a 1,115-year-old walled ancient town set in a crater of a meteorite impact, with its impressive tower built with the rock formed from that impact! Again, its plazas and market squares were a lot wider than of Rothenburg as well, and I did not quite grasp the small quaint town feel here.

Ausburg

Ausburg is the third oldest city in Germany (older than all the historic towns we visited), so it has this bustling large town feel with trams, modern shops, and rich, large patriarchal buildings which I did not really like. There were some beggars around, and we felt like lost kids in a big city!

In all, we felt like we were literally lost in another time, another age - and truly revelled being part of this historical journey of medieval Germany!

Travelling Back In Time (Part 2): Frankfurt, Germany

FRANKFURT

This post will be about our experiences in Frankfurt. This was my first trip to Germany (other than the stopover in Frankfurt Airport on the way to the United States last year), and I did not have any expectations nor impressions about Germany, except for my deep interest in the holocaust and Nazi Germany's destructive forces. Thus, when we touched down in Frankfurt on a bright, sunny and crisply cool day on 6 June, I had zero expectations and minimal anticipation.

But, after a week spent in Germany, I was impressed and fascinated. The Germans I met are highly efficient and adept, take immense pride in whatever they do, friendly but not probing, soft-spoken, very clean and polite, and process-driven. In fact, the entire country reminded me very much of Japan, and I wondered many times during the trip if these are the potent characteristics that propelled these 2 countries to be the aggressive and ambitious superpowers in World War II!

Another thing I love about Europe during summer is their languidly long summer nights. It made travelling so much easier, and we are able to extend our daily experiences to indulge in the ethereal sunlight.

In addition, Germany has one of the better and more efficient transportation systems in the world. Their cab fares are reasonable, and all the cabs are Mercedes taxis! Their subway is clean and punctual, with an excellent network across the city, and their buses are so comfortable and spotless too! It was so easy to travel all around on our own.



Taking the subway in Frankfurt



Impactful and eye-catching designs at the subway stations

Such self-initiated creativity at subway stations!



I love the quirky personalities of trams!

Some key highlights of our Frankfurt segment of the trip are listed below.

1) The Main River
The first morning of our trip was spent languorously ambling beside the River Main. Our trip coincided with major floods happening in southern Germany, which affected most of the river systems in the country, so River Main was very swollen, with fast-flowing waters overflowing to the banks.

 

It was such a delightful early morning walk in the cool air, with minimal people around us. We were literally able to smell and admire the blossoming summer flowers around us, as well as the abundance of foliage all around.

2) Heaven for musicians - Session Music
We spent the rest of the morning indulging in Hubby's favourite hobby - browsing for music keyboards in Frankfurt's suburbs. The Bees were suitably excited by the amazing array of pianos, keyboards and guitars that adorned the vast 2-storey shop, and all 3 (except for musical idiot, me!) tinkered with the pianos and keyboards.

3) The Römerberg
The historic heart of Frankfurt was breathtaking and charming. We were captivated by alluring ancient statues around the square, and browsed in quaint shops selling the most enchanting merchandise. The Bees were drawn to an antiquated water fountain, and loved chasing the pigeons around the old plaza.

The fascinating cuckoo clocks that originate mainly from Black Forest

We had alfresco lunch at a winsome German restaurant, and indulged in typical German cuisine like bratwurst (hot dogs) and sauerkraut (sour cabbages), etc. I must say I am not a big fan of German food, as there is too much meat in their cuisine! We took a lovely long lunch under the mild sunrays of a rejuvenatingly cool summer day!

4) The cathedrals
What is a visit to the historic town centre without taking a peek at the town's cathedrals? We visited 2 cathedrals that dated back to the 12th to 14th centuries (the modest Alte Nikolaikirche and the glorious Dom St. Bartholomaus).



Little Bee doing some colouring in an ethereal cathedral

We were awed by the brilliant architecture and our frazzled urban souls were soothed by the pervasive peace within these cathedrals.

 

Splendid organ pipes

5) The Naturmuseum Senckenberg (Natural History Museum)
The highlight for the Bees was the natural history museum. I had always wanted to visit a natural history museum before, but never had the opportunity to, so I was as excited as the Bees.

And we were not disappointed. We marvelled at the splendid display of colossal dinosaur skeletons, and most of them are originals from eons ago! Simply mind-boggling and amazing.

Venturing deeper into the museum, we were able to experience interactive displays on the solar system and earthquakes. There were also highly educational displays about deep sea creatures, huge exhibits of exotic stuffed animals and the evolution of the human species. Fascinating stuff indeed. Needless to say, the kids loved this museum, albeit Little Bee was a little spooked in some deeper, darker and lonelier parts of the museum. I also found it remarkable that the museum was hardly populated with visitors! We were usually the only visitors in some parts of the museum, and this was so refreshing after having arrived from over-crowded Singapore!

 

We ended the day, jetlagged, with a cosy and relaxing room service dinner, while looking forward to what the next day might bring!

Travelling Back In Time: Germany and Paris (Part 1)

We are back from an amazing 16-day journey from 6 to 22 June in Germany and Paris, with a little bit of Salzburg thrown in for good measure.

 

We traversed up chilly and rainy forest lanes to see the awe-inspiring castle that enlivened Walt Disney to create his Sleeping Beauty castle. We hiked along lots of country paths and in beautiful woods. We stayed in medieval towns so well preserved from the Middle Ages that we felt that we were time travellers in another age, in another time.

 

We were immensely humbled and grief-strickened by stories of horror, devastation and bravery in Dachau's concentration camp. We immersed in the splendid Salzburg hills that are alive from the Sound of Music and cruised in the placid St Wolfgang lake, surrounded by the magnificant Salzkammergut Mountains, spellbound by the unreal natural beauty around us. 

 

We were then captivated by Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower while sipping coffees in Parisian sidewalk cafes. We shook hands with Mickey Mouse and were dazzled by fireworks over Disneyland's castle. Most of all, Hubby and I could not believe that we could be rocking with tens of thousands of French fans at a Depeche Mode concert in the grand Stade de France...seeing our girls swaying to their music was truly memorable!

 

I will be writing more accounts of the awe-inspiring places that we had travelled through - but it had been an unforgettable holiday that bonds us closer as a little family :)

 

 

Post-Exams Bustle

School's out for June! Before this long reprieve from school, the Bees' school organised plenty of social and enrichment activities for the students to wind down after their stressful mid-year exams. This is the fundamental reason why I love the Bees' school - it is holistic and cares about the students' well-rounded development, which is so important to help shape the kids' character development.

This is the first year that Little Bee would be involved in all these activities, and fun-loving her was beside herself with pure excitement every day! I had been actively helping out in Big Bee's activities for the past 4 years, so I gently informed Big Bee that this year is the time when I would start helping out in Little Bee's class, while keeping an eye on what Big Bee is doing in school. Being a fiercely independent tween, our Big Bee bravely breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that mummy is no longer going to tag after her. However, I could tell from the questions she asked and her mirthful reactions when she saw me in school that deep inside, she was still thankful that I am still present in school and could wave to her from afar.

Post-exams May was a hectic one in school! Little Bee had two drama concerts (an English and a Chinese one), and it was truly gratifying to watch her indulge in her favourite activity on stage - acting! Our drama queen always loves the stage and would always recite her stage lines incessantly at home the whole day long.

I managed to take some time off work to help out in a couple of events. The first was for an in-line skating lesson. It was amazing to hear and feel the initial fears of the students (especially those who had never skated before, like Little Bee) - only to see these fears dissipating away with the wind the moment they started skating away! As always, I could see Little Bee making all kinds of cheeky faces and asking all kinds of crazy questions....like the drama queen that she is!

A tired-looking Little Bee after an hour of skating! 

The following week, I helped out in the annual Zany Brainy Games Day - as per usual for the past 4 years! This year was like cycling back in time because once again, I became a parent chaperone of a primary one class, instead of a station master for older students. I forgot how enervated and exhausted a parent chaperone could be, especially after conducting a scavenger hunt, dashing through different locations within the school, under the hot noon sun!

I really like the parents in Little Bee's class. They are very united and everyone got along really well. There are plenty of communications and coordination between the parents before such events, so our children could all enjoy better-organised group activities even more! For example, instead of the usual recess, the parent chaperones decided to bring some food for the kids to have a picnic under a balmy pavilion. A simple idea but a grand way for the kids to chill and bond with their friends without the frazzled need to buy food in an over-crowded school canteen!

Some of the food that the parents chaperones brought for their recess picnic

Zany Brainy Games this year comprised of a poster competition, in which each parent chaperone was in charge of a group of 5 girls to create a poster about kindness.

My team's poster, decorated by the prolific students!

This was followed by a spelling competition and then a movie session, before the scorching scavenger hunt! However, I thought this year's programme provided the parents with some respite from the heat and never-ending activities, compared to previous years!

The groups of students had to dash around school, performing activities and  looked for clues
so that they could collect pieces of this tangram puzzle and solve it. 

In all, it is just so important to be present and supportive in school, no matter how busy our lives are. It allows us to get to know our children's friends a lot more, so that we could have common conversation topics about their friends at home. I noticed it is valuable as Big Bee enters tweenhood when I got to know her friends and chat with them like friends. There is a certain sense of acceptance and contentment from Big Bee as she sees me interacting with her friends or when we chat about them at home.

Furthermore, when the kids see us in school, participating in their activities, they will understand that we too want to be a big part of their lives, and this is a start of a lifetime of friendship with our children....