Romantic Road - Part 1

The Romantic Road is the name given to the 500km stretch of road between the Bavarian towns of Fussen and Wurzburg, on the basis that it features many examples of beautiful villages, castles and countryside along the way.

We have decided to start our 7 day version of the trip in the city of Augsburg, and work our way northwards through the small towns of Nordlingen and Rothenburg, all the way up to Wurzburg.

Augsburg is one of the oldest cities in Germany and only around 50km west of Munich. Our brief trip to the city centre takes in the large square at Rathausplatz, with the impressive town hall building looming over the Christmas market. The market scores extra points from us as it has a few little huts in the middle that allow you to briefly escape the cold, and also a stall selling Spiessbraten (steak and onions in a bun basically).

The following morning, amid the first signs of incoming snow, we head roughly one hour north to the town of Nordlingen. This is a walled town dating back to the 9th century and was built in the crater of a meteorite that hit the area millions of years ago (that's an aerial view of the town on the banner at the top of this webpage).

Nordlingen is famed for being one of the few enclosed settlements in Germany to have an uninterrupted Stadtmauer (city wall). Thus at any of the gate towers, you can climb up to

the city walls (for free, which is nice) and walk a full loop without having to come down and go up again (which is also nice). The covered walkway also provides shelter from the snow, which at this stage is coming down pretty thick.

From the outer edges, we walk towards the centre, where the church tower stands well above all surrounding buildings. A small fee affords me the opportunity of a lung-busting climb up the spiral staircase to get the view from above. Despite the snow (or maybe because of it), it's a spectacular sight. And quite a famous one too, as this is the backdrop used in the last scene of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when the Great Glass Elevator flies above Charlie's home town.

As darkness falls, the music starts and the Christmas market atmosphere clicks into gear. A quick gluhwein and an early night for us, as we're on the road again tomorrow!