Anneliese Friese

Anneliese Friese ..something special!

The most beautiful shop in Rothenburg, Germany. We had the pleasure of meeting the most precious shop owner, Anneliese Friese, and her family during our visit. Rick Steves, famed world travel writer, led us to this gem of a Shop and our most favorite Cuckoo Clock treasure from our entire trip. Memories we will cherish forever. RIP Anneliese.

24 Rothenburg Wall Walk

From our 2016 trip to Europe.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the few European towns with its complete circuit of medieval town walls fully intact. You can circumnavigate the entire town but we did a half-circle around the east side of Rothenburg, starting at Klingentor, the tower at the north end of town. Klingentor (the “Cliff Tower”) was not only a defensive bastion but also the town’s reservoir from 1595 - 1910 with a copper tank holding 240 gallons of drinking water. It stands beside the late-Gothic Saint Wolfgang’s Church with its own tiny bell tower.

A staircase built into the side of the tower lets you ascend to the covered walkway which affords nice views over the medieval town. The twin-towered church is Saint Jakob’s, the clock tower is Weisserturm, and the tall white spire is that of the Old Town Hall. The walkway becomes a tunnel-like passage as it passes through each of Rothenburg’s defensive towers.

Plaques built into the wall offer thanks to people from all around the world who contributed to the restoration of the town walls. It was a Sunday morning so while we were walking, we heard the church bells ringing.

We descended the wall at Spitaltor at the south end of town where the town’s best fortifications are located. The tower is formidable with a guardhouse on top, but it is the double-bastion that significantly reinforced the defenses at this critical point. It was constructed circa 1600 when stronger artillery started posing a greater risk to every town’s weak point: the wooden doors. The emblem on the tower depicts angels blessing the Holy Roman Emperor (symbolized by the double eagle) who in turn blesses the town (symbolized by the two red towers). The canon gallery in the double-bastion is accessed via ramps rather than stairs so that horse-drawn caissons could deliver the ammunition.

The video ends with a series of still photos, including one of a plaque attesting that Anneliese Friese, from whom we bought a cuckoo clock, was one of the contributors to the town wall restoration project.

Rothenburg, Germany: World's Cutest Town

Keith & Abby are almost daily vloggers from Wichita Kansas. Today, we did some sightseeing in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.