Yesterday I checked out of my Airbnb in Hamburg and had plans on stopping in Cologne to do the Hop On Hop Off bus even with all of my bags. By the time I got to the train station however after waiting for the bus I wouldn’t make it to Cologne in time for the last tour at 5pm so I had to bypass Cologne and decided to continue to Frankfurt (which would put me on another train).

I’m glad I continually checked for updates on platforms as I was sitting at platform 6 but my train to Frankfurt would depart at platform 14. I was at the station for a good hour and a half and found this out 15 minutes before departure so I made my way there. I was hoping I had a row of seats to myself but it was crowded and an older lady came and sat next to me. It would be about a 4 hour ride from Hamburg to Frankfurt. 

This is where my Eurail pass I purchased months back comes in handy (when traveling between cities). I have a 7 day pass and I can go to as many places in one day as I want. Once settled in on the train I started by watching a podcast on Youtube and ended up falling asleep. I ended up sleeping for about 2 and a half hours of the trip and listened to music and did some sight seeing for the remaining time. I also ended up having the whole row to myself for the last hour and a half.

Once I arrived at Frankfurt’s Central Station since it was raining I figured I’d metro to the closest stop where my Airbnb was and take a quick Uber from there because with my bags and the rain it’d be too much to walk. That worked out well and the host Britta came out to greet me as I couldn’t figure out which house to go to. A small dog greeted me barking named, “Boo Boo” (I didn’t realize she had a dog and a cat-I usually avoid booking places with animals because I’m allergic). Seeing as though I had a seperate room and bathroom and didn’t really plan on using the common spaces it was ok.

Britta has a no shoes policy for her home so I left my shoes at the door and she escorted me to the room. The room looked nice and cozy and she showed me the bathroom. Afterwards I placed everything in my room put on lounge clothes and plopped on the bed. I ate a bit of food I bought at Hamburg station and fell asleep watching Netflix. I woke up around 11:30pm and got ready for bed but didn’t go back to sleep until around 1am. Tomorrow was going to be a long tour day (10 hours-6 hours total spent traveling by bus).

I slept for the most part alright, and left my window cracked as to not make the room so stuffy because when I did close it I’d sneeze constantly. I set my alarm for 6:30am and needed to be at the meeting point by 8:45am. I had planned to take the tram which was just up the street all the way there but I wanted to preserve my feet and since an Uber wasn’t expensive made myself not rush. 

This gave me more time and as I was getting ready Britta asked if I wanted some tea which I accepted. Once ready, I took the ice pack she gave me yesterday for my ankles and meet her downstairs at the table. We talked over tea and she told me a bit about herself and things I can look forward to in Frankfurt. She actually told me cider was more popular here and I told her I love cider and wasn’t much of a beer person so that’s a win for me.

She offered some suggestions of where to go and things to see. She also said it’s fine if I leave my things here tomorrow while I do the bus tour and I could come back and get them (I check-out tomorrow and go to Munich). It was time for me to catch my uber now so I bid her farewell until later. At the bus station by the main station was the meeting spot and I messaged to confirm exactly where to meet. Moments later the Romantic Road bus pulled up so I knew that’s where I needed to be. 

Keiko was our guide and Egor was our bus driver. We came to learn that Kaikor is a freelancer (amongst other things) and she does this tour once a week. Our group consisted of maybe 27 people and the bus was big enough (had a whole row to myself). We drove for 2 hours and our first stop was in Würzburg where we picked up one more person at the train station. Across from Würzburg station was a memorial dedicated to the Jews that were brought in and taken to concentration camps (it consisted of suitcases and toys). After a short ride we stopped in Weikersheim where in a castle built in 1600, we saw the knight’s room which was said to be the most beautiful and then a baroque garden in the back. The room was full of stunning architecture and paintings on the walls and ceilings. There were even some animal heads high up on the walls and a big gorgeous chandlier dripping down in the middle. We all got our photos and videos and went out to the garden. The garden was massive, I didn’t even attempt to really walk it but got an overall good shot and took some of interesting statues nearby.

Afterwards it was back on the bus again until our next quick stop which was at Röttingen. It was here that we stopped to look at a sundial clock (shows the time through the sun). Keiko said it’s the most recent one installed and that the town has several. Before arriving to our main destination of the day at Rothenburg ob der Tauber (aka the Romantic Road) we stopped at a sercret bus overlook location. Fun fact: No buses are allowed to park inside the main city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber except our bus because our bus was literally their branded coach bus. The over look was nice and the Romantic Road fully spans about 310 miles. There are even gold, silver and bronze medals given to those that complete so many miles/landmarks on the course of it. Gold is the real winner though as you’d have to complete them all, and you’re given a special certificate. Keiko said she has a gold medal and that she did it back in 2021 and that it took her about 35 days (it was during lockdown and she said she had nothing else to do). She herself doesn’t even know of anyone that has a gold medal.

Within about another 20 minutes we arrived at Rothenburg ob der Tauber. There are many different things to see here from churches, museums, shops, restaurants, towers, gardens, a vineyard and more. Thankfully we were all given maps and vouchers for the Christmas Markets and we had 3 hours to go and explore on our own. Keiko invited us to eat with her at a traditional Franconian restaurant if we were hungry and 4 of us took her up on that offer as I sure was hungry. We dined at Gasthaus zur Schranne back out on the patio. I ended up getting some Franconian sausage with potato salad and a glass of red wine; it was good. It was a lot of food for me at the moment so I took the rest to go with me. Over lunch though I got a chance to meet a couple living in Philadelphia who have daughters at GW (George Washington University) and a woman from Japan who currently lives in China for business.

Because eating basically took about an hour I only had 2 hours to explore and I was not going to go very far, I planned on hitting what I could in the middle where most were together but was definitely checking out the Christmas markets. I managed to stumble upon a small art museum then a church dedicated to Santa Maria but couldn’t find an entrance within a good amount of time so I proceeded to the garden. It was huge so I walked around the opening from the street. On my way to the garden I passed the Christmas markets and now given the time made an executive decision that I was going to try to visit as many of them as I could (there are 4). I was able to make it to 3 out of the 4 Christmas markets and I bought some things in each one. I was upset though because I completely forgot to use my voucher for 30% off at the 1st one but managed to use it at the other 2 (I got some cute souvenirs and things for myself, family and friends). 

I had set an alarm to go off 5 minutes before we needed to be back at the bus and as I was  checking out at the last market it went off. I hurried and gathered my things and put some pep in my little steps to get back to the bus (I made it on time). I was content with what I saw and what I got because I likely won’t be in Germany again around Christmas to really see all the different Christmas markets that spring up. By now my feet were tired so I was glad we were in for a bit of a ride back. We did however make an extra stop in Ochsenfurt which is a baroque style town where it looked as though some type of fair would be upcoming. Our last official stop was back in Würzburg at a big church that is beautiful on the inside with a botanical garden behind it.

Once there we were led inside and because it still operates as a church we couldn’t be too loud or touch anything but we were free to photo, video and sit down if need be. It was gorgeous on the inside and so detailed. The ceilings always seem to amaze me with the talent shown of the artist’s hand. Absolutely stunning! I didn’t spend too much time out in the garden because by now I was tired and wanted to sit down. I did manage to get some nice photos and a video before leaving. Back on the bus it would be about another hourr and 20 minute ride before we were back in Frankfurt. We were lucky and blessed as we personally dodged the rainy weather today (though we could tell it had rained).

On the bus Keiko had given us so much information about the different cities/sites we visited, Frankfurt, the food and etc. Here’s what I learned today either from Keiko or Britta this morning:
• Applevine is a well known cider in Frankfurt (comes sweet or sour-sweet is with still water added and sour is with sparkling water)
• Handkäse (aka Hunt Cheese) you eat with paprika
• Frankfurt is known for wine more than beer
• Frankfurt is only a city but the biggest in the state of Hessen (or Hesse)
• 95% of the city of Frankfurt was destroyed in 1944
• Frankfurt has over 40 museums but they are closed on Monday
• Supermarkets are closed on Sunday in Frankfurt
• There are 150 vacation roads
• There are about 750,000 people in Frankfurt
• The 75th anniversary of the Romantic Road is this year (even the bus tour is at it’s 75 anniversary year)
• The Romantic Road started with 4 cities but now has 29
• Today is UNESCO World Heritage Day (June 1st)
• 700 million liters of beer is consumed at Oktoberfest in Munich (3 weeks-biggest beer festival in the world)
• Ludwig the 1st’s wife Therese is where Oktoberfest comes from (anniversary idea)
• You can order a whole chicken at Oktoberfest (it’s held in September because October would be too cold)
• The Fairytale of Snow White comes from the Spechan Forest which we traveled through
• Wilhem Conrad Röntgen a German physicist and professor invented the Xray
• A lot of sugar beet is planted on the Romantic Road
• Typical German houses are half timbered houses and can last over 800 years (whereas stone houses can last 500 years)
• Franken or Fraconia wine is one of the biggest in Germany
• Franconia is the sunniest area in Germany which is why they have good wine

The couple sitting across from me were from Florida and they had paid to have wine with their ticket. They had a sparkling, white and red Franconian wine. Once they tasted them all I asked them which one they preferred as I wanted to see what Franconian wine tasted like (plus it came in a cute shaped bottle). They as well as Keiko recommended the white wine so that’s what I bought and oh it is indeed good (I wish I could take some home-they don’t ship this wine). I’ve noticed since being in Germany that many are choosing being here as a time to explore multiple cities and countries and I love that for them and me. On the ride back Keiko showed us a few photos and she identified a specific photo that had a mistake and asked us to guess it. Anyone that correctly guessed it got a Romantic Road pin (I wanted another one). I overheard the lady 2 rows behind me give the right answer so I definitely cheated and said the same thing (I got my pin though).

At one point on the ride back I took a nice little nap as did many and by the time we arrived back at our starting point my body was a little achy. I made it a point I was going to take public transportation back to the Airbnb and save the Ubers for when I really needed them so I took the train, tram and walked back to the Airbnb. Met by Britta, her dog and cat I greeted them and headed upstairs. I changed into some lounge clothes and had to just debrief for a moment. By now it was a little after 9pm so I chatted with my mom and showed her most of my Christmas market goods and then I ate the rest of my food from earlier. By now I was struggling trying to finish this write-up as I had only written yesterday’s portion and ended up falling asleep for an hour. Here I am in Frankfurt Germany at 3am finally wrapping this up. Truth is it’ll probably be another hour before I can go to sleep after posting and I’ll need to get up around 8:30am to pack up and leave here by 10am. I bet this made up for no post yesterday though…