Germany’s Romantic Road: Top 10

After a wild and crazy month with Jen and Kari visiting us in Amalfi and Adam and Julie visiting us in Germany/Belgium, we had no time to actually plan our last two weekends in Germany.  We had barely seen much outside of Munich, so tackling the whole country was a bit overwhelming. Frau Branson to the rescue!!  My high school German teacher gave us some great suggestions so that we could see quintessential Germany just a short distance from Munich.  A scenic drive on the Romantic Road sounded perfect after a busy couple weeks.

The Romantic Road is a picturesque route through the mountains and countryside of Bavaria to see sweeping vistas, fairy-tale castles, and medieval towns.  Combine that with the warm hospitality of the locals and traditional culinary delights and you get one of Germany’s most popular destinations.  We haven’t done a top 10 list in our blog yet so thought that would be a fun way to cover our favorite things along the Romantic Road.

10. Dinkelsbühl

Dinkelsbühl is one of the most striking of the historic villages along the Romantic Road and is still surrounded by the old medieval wall and towers.  Sitting quietly after the Thirty Years War and unscathed by the World Wars, Dinkelsbühl still looks much like it did in the 15^th-17^th centuries. We took a little stroll around town…

And ate at Weib’s Brauhaus, a cute pub-restaurant with a female brewmaster.  I couldn’t pass up the house specialty Weib’s Topfle, pork in beer sauce with croquettes.

9. Miltenberg

Nestled between the Main river and the Odenwald mountain range, Miltenberg offers gorgeous views along with a small historic center with over 150 traditional half-timbered houses, a German specialty.  Zum Riesen is one of Germany’s oldest inns and is a beautiful representation of this architecture.  We spent the night at a lovely hotel called the Jagd Rose with views of the Main from our window.

8. Hohenschwangau Castle

Hohenschwangau Castle (Hohenschwangau means High Country of the Swans) was one of the childhood residences of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.  The big, yellow castle stands in the shadow of Neuschwanstein and is often overlooked by tourists, but we enjoyed touring the grounds and the interior to get a more personal look at the family life of King Ludwig II.  The inspiration for his love of swans is impossible to miss from the fountains along the exterior to the giant swan on top of the castle.

7. Zugspitze

The Romantic Road ends (or begins) at the Bavarian Alps.  After touring the famous castles of the region, heading up to the Zugspitze was a great change-up to get breathtaking views over Lake Eibsee as well as a 360-degree panoramic view of over 400 mountain peaks in four countries.  The Zugspitze is on the Austria/Germany border and is Germany’s highest peak.  It was a little chilly up there, so a little hot chocolate definitely hit the spot!

6. Weingut Helga May

A wine tasting stop is a must-do along the northern section of the drive.  We had a wonderful time at Weingut Helga May in Bodenheim.  Thanks to Frau Branson for that hidden gem!  We were a bit skeptical at first because we were thrown off when the winery didn’t have the typical tasting room and there was no one in sight, so we thought perhaps we should have called ahead or that tastings were only for guests (Frau did recommend that we spend the night there).  But, once the owner was tracked down, he proceeded to set us up our own personal tasting with 7 different wines.  Before we could get started, a couple people staying at the inn wanted to join in, so he brought out another 6-7 different bottles of wine!!  And he was not stingy with the tastings like some wineries.  When it came time for the first taste, he actually handed me the bottle, and I was a little unsure of what to do.  But, after a while, I realized that we could have as much as we wanted of each.  Sweet! And he loved to talk…so we just kept pouring ourselves more wine!

He had the usual German wines that we expected like Reisling, Gewurztraminers, and ice wine but also a few new to us like Kerner, Dornfelder, and Silvaner.  We were quite impressed with the range from dry and crisp to fruity and sweet.  The other people had to leave early, but our new BFF was chatting away as we continued to pour ourselves the wine until we told him that we had to leave to meet up with some friends.  But, he said that we MUST join him on a tour of the vineyards first, and he would not take no for an answer.  So, we hopped in his convertible, and he took us out for some great views of the vineyards around Bodenheim.

While sipping on the Dornfelder, he actually had us grab the Dornfelder grapes off the vine to taste them and compare.  I don’t think we have ever done a wine tour that allowed us to taste the grapes and pour ourselves as much wine as we wanted from over 14 wines.  We had a wine party, not a wine tasting!  What an unusual but very fun experience! Of course, we bought a few bottles for our dinner that night.  Jimmy’s friend from high school invited us over for some home-cooked Schnitzel and home-made Apfelwein, an edgy, apple cider that reminded us of the sour beers we drank in Belgium.  Thank you, Kerstin and Jens, for a great evening.

5. Oberammergau

Oberammergau is the capital of woodcarving in Germany and the home of the famous Passion Play. The play has been performed every 10 years with over 2000 actors, instrumentalists, and singers since 1634, when their vow to God to perform the play every 10 years saved them from the bubonic plague. Adding to the fairy-tale theme of the Romantic Road, Oberammergau is also famous for their Lüftlmalerei, huge frescoes decorating the walls of many homes and buildings depicting German stories and folklore like Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel as well as religious scenes.

4. Linderhof

Linderhof is another castle of King Ludwig II with a palace and gardens set in the woods.  Often described as a mini-Versailles, King Ludwig admired the Sun King of France (King Louis XIV), and many of the details inside the castle and in the exterior are copied from the famous French palace including the famous Hall of Mirrors.

Kind Ludwig II was quite the romantic and was friends with many artists and composers, most notably Richard Wagner. He built elaborate “sets” throughout the gardens including the Venus Grotto, the Moorish kiosk with exquisite peacock throne, and Hunding’s Hut. The Venus Grotto (First Act of Wagner’s “Tannhauser”) was his own personal (artificially-made) blue grotto of Capri illuminated with colorful lights and complete with a waterfall and surround sound for him to listen to Wagner’s operas.  The Hunding Hut was inspired by the first act of Richard Wagner’s “Valkyrie”, and King Ludwig often celebrated Germanic feasts there.

3. Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein is quite possibly Europe’s most spectacular castle and was the inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella Castle.  The impressive white castle is perched on a hill surrounded by beautiful alpine scenery.  Sadly, construction was never finished due to the mysterious and untimely death of King Ludwig II, and he only got to live in the castle for a mere 172 days.

2. Rottenburg ob der Tauber

Rottenburg odT was our favorite of all the German villages that we toured on the Romantic Road with its colorful and charming architecture.

Similar to Dinkelsbühl, Rottenburg is still surrounded by its medieval walls and towers and looks much like it did in the 15^th-17^th centuries.  The city narrowly averted destruction in WWII after Nazis had sought protection behind the town’s fortified walls. Luckily, rather than bomb the town to destroy it, U.S. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy ordered his Officers to negotiate the surrender of the town. It turns out McCloy knew the historic importance and beauty of Rothenburg because his mother had once visited the city and brought back a painting of Rothenburg which hung in his living room.

Although it may be the most touristy, Rottenburg got our “almost top pick” because of all the extras:

gorgeous sweeping views over the Tauber river valley,

the nightwatchman tour with his ridiculous accent, fascinating medieval stories, and corny jokes

the beautiful market square with the town hall and the town’s main fountain surrounded by characteristic half-timbered buildings,

Zur Höll “to hell” – the oldest building (a medieval tavern) in Rottenburg dating to 900 serving a “warm” welcome and delicious cuisine in an Olde World atmosphere,

St. Jakob’s church with a magnificent 500-year-old wooden carved altarpiece by Riemenschneider, the Michelangelo of German woodcarvers, with a drop of Jesus’ blood in the cross,

windows lined with overflowing flower boxes (including our cute little hotel – Gasthaus Uhl)

a quiet walk around the historic walls for rooftop views of the city,

the German Christmas museum displaying historical tree ornaments, 100s of different St. Nick’s/Santas, and the traditional German pyramids originating from Erzgebirge,

And finally, quite possibly the worst dessert/roadtrip snack ever…the over-hyped Schneeball, a fried ball of pie crust dusted with powdered sugar or filled with other delicious-sounding flavors.  Other travel blogs/guides rave about this except Rick Steves…we’re with you, Rick….not good, somewhat bland, overly crumbly snack…and we RARELY not like a sweet treat….but it still adds to the town’s charm and we had to add one negative so you know we aren’t pretending to love everything.

All this adds up to make Rottenburg seem like it came straight out of the pages of a storybook.

1. Federweisser and Zwiebelkuchen

Yep, of course we did!  Would you expect anything different from us?? Yes, the #1 thing on the Romantic Road is a wine with the perfect food pairing.  We had no idea about Federweisser until we took off on the Romantic Road and discovered that we lucked out and hit peak season.  Federweisser is a special “young wine” that is sweet, lightly carbonated, and typically only about 4-5% alcohol content.  Because of the nature of this unique wine, it must be consumed shortly after production.  Hence, the Federweisser wine is only available for a few short months in the fall.

Federweisser is quite refreshing and pairs perfectly with the popular German dish Zwiebelkuchen.  You will see this combination on the menus everywhere in the fall along the Romantic Road, and we even saw a sign promoting an upcoming Federweisser and Zwiebelkuchen Festival.  Zwiebelkuchen (“onion cake” in German) is a savory pie made with steamed onions, diced bacon, cream, and egg on a rich yeast crust.  We were first introduced to the pie by our friend Steffen after he and his family met up with us for a hiking trip outside Munich.

We drank Federweisser at almost every meal during the Romantic road trip including our dinner at Zur Höll, and I went for the traditional pairing with zweibelkuchen during our evening spent in Miltenberg.