Rotherburg ob der Tauber (the red fortress above the Tauber) is a small town in Bavaria that is not very conveniently accessible by public transportation. I went there in 2006 and it has always stayed in my memory ever since. It is one of the most well preserved medieval towns. I liked it so much that from time to time I wanted to go back there. And I did, five years later. I made a day trip just to trace my own footprints there, plus to photograph their famous street scene (Photo 49) which I missed out last time.

When I was on the train, outside the window the only thing that made me worry was the fog. Even at close to noon time it was still misty. The rides, 3 trains each way, took more than 7 hours in total back and forth. On top of that, there was one hour delay waiting for the connecting ICE train due to a mechanical problem. The net time I had walking around town with my camera was only 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was not long enough, but it gave me a good reason for another revisit in the future.

Many adults say Rotherburg ob der Tauber is romantic. Many children say it's fantastic. With the city wall and towers along the wall, and the houses that look like the ginger bread houses on a Christmas cake, it's a town that reminds you of what you have read from the fairy tales. The shops are all decorated with good taste, simple but cute. Everything adds together to make this town more attractive. This time, the nice bonus was the leftover of the fall colours (in photo 41-43, in front of the Western Town Gate). The courtyard was all covered with the fallen leaves that created a matching mood for the deserted gate so perfectly.

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