Our Pension Street

My first month of retirement is over. I can’t begin to tell you how much I miss work. This is because there hasn’t been a day yet, that I have missed it! Everyday here has been a new and different experience. We are both relaxed and loving life.
We started out with a similar breakfast to yesterday and then went for another stroll. This time we walked the wall from the Galgentor Gate to the Spitaltor. This was basically where we walked along the moat yesterday. It is sunny and a bit warmer than yesterday but we are in the shade under the wall roof. Carol notices how the tile shingles are hung on wooden strips and also that there are large wooden nails holding together the larger beams.
At the Spitaltor, we cross the wooden bridge from yesterday and a lady asks me if I sprechen the English. Apparently after 2 weeks, I am starting to look like a native German. I just say yes and when I start to talk she says you speak very good English. Nobody ever told me that before! I told her that I should as I am from Colorado. Darlene, her husband, and her cousin are from Houston. We stand talking with them for over a half hour enjoying some great conversation about our travels without struggling to understand each other. Their roots are German and they visited their ancestral town. Pretty cool and something I will try to do one day. We gave them one of our cards so maybe we will get an e mail or comment from them on our blogs. We wish them safe travels!

St Francis Alterpiece

We now head to a Franciscan church which we have passéd but have been unable to visit. It is open until noon and we get there about 11:35. The church was built in early gothic style in 1285 and is the oldest church in Rothenburg. It is a beautiful church with an interesting history. There is an alterpiece carved by Riemenschneider, the same person who carved the the alterpiece of the Holy Blood in St. Jakobs Church, that we loved so much. This is a much smaller and simpler piece which shows the stigmatism of St. Francis who received the nail scars of the crucifixion. The church also has a Madonna from 1400, a statue of St James, the patron of pilgrims, and several tombstones.

Could Hurt

We leave the church at noon and head over to the Crime and Punishment Museum. This museum displays items of torture, punishment, and executions but was much more. It explained the legal process of the medieval period, had a great display of seals from royalty, and towns, told about the various crimes and punishments for them as well as lots of exhibits with actual punishment and torture devices. Not a great time to be accused of something. We were surprised that the torture was not used after sentencing but as a means to get you to confess before you went in front of the Judge. The devices did not look pleasant.

Gossip Mask

It was also interesting to see how many of the devices were just for petty things. If you gossiped you get to wear the mask of shame. If two women quarrel, they get locked together by the neck and hands until they settle their dispute. If you did not do your job right you ended up locked to a pillar for a period of time while everyone got to mock you. I guess all this encouraged you to do a good job, don’t argue, and keep out of other peoples business. The more serious crimes just ended in death righty after sentencing. No death row here.
After the museum, we stopped for a bite at the donor kebab place. We have seen these all over Germany and decided today was the day to try one. It is a sandwich made of chicken, lamb, and beef , gyro style, in a pita type pocket bread with lettuce, tomato, and yoghurt sauce. Very large and tasty and a great price of 3.50 Euros. We shared one and I am sure we will find a reason to have another while in Germany.

Dinner

We then went back to our room as it was getting pretty hot and we just wanted to relax a little. Some wine and rolls with cheese spread topped off our lunch. It was a nice break.
All that was left to do was to have another nice meal. Meatloaf with spaetzle and Pork cutlet in a mushroom sauce with fries. Two beers to wash it down. We are getting spoiled with the portions and the prices here.

Night Watchman

We headed to the Markt Square for the Night Watchman’s Tour which started at 8:00. It is a walk around town with the night watchman and he tells stories at different spots of the mostly bad life in the not so good old days. Very entertaining and helps us walk off dinner. Our 3 days here have been great. Tomorrow we head to Fussen with many train connections. Wish us well.
The blog takes a while to write and I am enjoying reliving our days. Let us know if you are out there reading. You can send us a comment directly on the blog or to our e mail.
CNC

Expenses
8.40E- Crime and Punishment Museum
3.50E- Donor Kebab
24.40E- 2 dinners and 2 beers
14E- Night Watchman Tour
52E- Pension

Miles Walked – 5.1 Miles. 8923 steps