By The days are starting to blur together, but I’m trying to keep them straight. Our longest stay (3 days) was at Pension Elka in Rothenburg, which was a nice sojourn. But first we have to get there, which was PAINFUL.
To get there, we have to take a train to Nürnberg, change to a train to Ansbach, change to a train to Steinach and then finally take the train from Steinach to Rothenburg. When I saw the schedule I was frightened. The first layover was an easy breezy 30+ minutes. But layovers in Ansbach and Steinach were incredibly short. And the trains were running behind (unheard of in Germany!). I appreciate the vote of confidence from the DeutscheBahn app!
but first we have to get out of Regensburg. We arrived with plenty of time to spare at the train station, so I went to talk to the info desk to confirm the route while the other ladies got in line for snacks at the train cafe. We were talking about our game plan when Ruth’s eyes grew wide and she gasped ‘I don’t know where my luggage is’. Egad! Ach Du Lieber! We spotted some ‘Sicherheit’s’ gents, who candidly asked if the bag was lost or stolen. I couldn’t think which would be worst? After admonishing us about leaving bags around, they began to help us look. Apparently there are real concerns about bombs being in bags, so any bag left unattended is confiscated. Ultimately the bag was found at the info desk and we all breathed a sigh of relief. This was going to be a long day if we are already experiencing travel drama!
We arrived in Nürnberg and found our Gleis, at which point both Cammie and Angela indicated a ladies’ room visit was desperately needed. I gave them both a stern mother look and told them it was high risk as the train was coming in 20 minutes and would only be in the station for a short time. Cammie chickened out, but Angela decided it was worth the risk. Off she went in search of Die Toilette. And then we all waited for her return…and waited and waited. Meanwhile the platform for our ‘medium demand’ train was getting more and more crowded. Finally, with I would bet was 2 minutes to spare, Angela came running up with an entertaining Toilet story – apparently the Nürnberg bathroom has a toilet that rotates which conjured up visions of Myrtle from Harry Potter for Angela. We launched ourself onto the train for the short ride to Ansbach. It should be noted that not a single man/boy gave up his seat for us on this trip or any trip. Shame on them!
The train arrived in Ansbach late and we RAN with all of our stuff to the train that was already in the station and waiting…along with several other tourists I assume. We all laughed while we congratulated ourselves on making the train. The last connection was Steinach. Our train pulled in and we could see the connector train in the station. I figured there was no way we could make it, but we dragged ourselves and luggage down the stairs, over to the platform entry and up the stairs with several other tourists. We were the last ones. The train conductor admonished us which got him a dirty look from me as we all pointed to Ruth, who was hoofing it up the stairs with luggage in tow and whom we were trying desperately to help. We got on and were just going to stand for the short ride, but he came up to us again to lecture us and tell us we had to find a seat. We sat and stewed for the short ride to Rothenburg. I occupied myself with Uber searches to see if there was a way to arrange a car service from Rothenburg to Nürnberg (our next destination). I did NOT want to make that return trip!
We didn’t stew for long, because Rothenburg is such a pretty quaint medieval town that you forget all your troubles. Our Pension is adorable – with rooms just above the local grocery store in the middle of town. It was nice to unwind and not travel for a few days! We arrived on Thursday, with Rothenburg’s Christmas market opening on Friday. Ruth knows this town and knew which shops she wanted to visit, and we willingly followed her around. The last time I was in Rothenburg was with my sister in 1994. I had a terrible flu/virus and spent most of the time turning green and searching for restrooms. So it was nice to have a moment to roam and sort of remember the town. We shared a Schneeball (the well known treat for the area) and just meandered and enjoyed the beautiful blue skies…and the shops.
And… we managed to find a taxi to drive us to Nürnberg!
