Harburg Castle & Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Setting Off on the Romantic Road

Day 8, 16 December, was booked as a Romantic Road coach tour to Rothenburg and Harburg, bundled with the Neuschwanstein Castle tour later that week. We started early today, making our way to Karlsplatz for boarding, which began right at 8am beside Buddy Hotel, and as soon as we stepped onto the bus, we were greeted by our guide, a very sweet Japanese lady who spoke German, English, and Japanese so fluently it felt effortless. Her kindness set the tone for the entire day.

Harburg Castle

Our first stop was Harburg Castle, among the oldest and most completely preserved castles in Germany, with parts of the fortifications dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. It's belonged to the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein since the 14th century and is still privately owned by the family today. Inside, we learned that parts of the castle had been used by the Nazis. We also visited the centuries-old prison and even saw the medieval toilet — a tiny, chilling chamber that made you imagine just how tough life must've been back then.

The view from the castle walls over the village below.

On the path toward the gate.

The view from the fortress walls was beautiful despite the grey skies. The little towns below, with their clustered roofs and winding river, made the whole scene look like a miniature model from above.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Next, we continued along the Romantic Road to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a town that reached its peak as a Free Imperial City in the 14th century and then, as trade routes shifted elsewhere, simply stopped growing — which is the main reason its medieval core survived into the present largely unaltered. Cobblestone streets, colourful houses, and timber-framed buildings line every turn.

One of Rothenburg's old gate towers, still guarding the street.

Every street seemed to end at a tower.

A Delightful Lunch

We had lunch near the Plönlein — the fork in the road with a half-timbered house wedged between two towers, one of the most photographed corners in Germany. The Schweinshaxe (roast pork knuckle) came with the skin cracked crisp and the meat falling off the bone underneath.

The pork knuckle we're still thinking about.

In the market square, before the afternoon crowds.

Wandering the Old Town

After lunch, we wandered the town's cobbled lanes, past half-timbered Christmas shops and storefronts strung with lights. Rothenburg's old town survived almost entirely intact until a 1945 air raid destroyed part of it; post-war reconstruction rebuilt it in the original style, which is why it still looks the way it does today.

The market square, dressed for Christmas.

A cobbled lane lined with half-timbered houses, rising toward the gate.

A Day to Remember

One coach, two towns, and roughly six centuries between the oldest stones at Harburg and the pork knuckle at Plönlein — the kind of day that only really works as a guided tour, since the two towns aren't an easy pair to connect under your own steam.