Rothenburg Day 3

It's our last day in Rothenburg o.d.T. and it's Sunday so we set our alarm to get up for breakfast and be out of here by 10 for 10:30am Mass at Kobolzeller Kirche.

 I don’t think I like alarms any more now that I’ve grown accustomed to a more leisurely existence.  A rainy start to our day but it is supposed to clear gradually after noon.

We gave ourselves 30 minutes to make the 6 minute drive to the church since we KNOW we have no idea where we are going. First, can only turn right when we need to go straight! No polizei so we cut through the gas station on the corner. That was easy! Now to find the right turn road. Of course we try the first right only to second guess ourselves, turn around, and continue on the main road.  OK. This can’t be right…turn around and go back to the road that hugs the outer walls of the Old Town to try again. Success! There’s the bridge over the Tauber River and the church on the right. Cross the bridge only to find no access to the church so turn around and park on the road. Again, we choose to walk across the bridge to get to the church only to find that it is on THIS side of the river and people are walking are walking under the bridge we are on! Turn around AGAIN and take the walk down the road for the path under the bridge. We’re HERE! (I won’t put you through any other journeys of the unknowing tourists but suffice to say…it’s always an adventure.)  Area around the church:

Mass has begun so we sneak in and find a couple places in the back.  Melodie picks up a couple hymnals for us as we guess our German pronunciation and do our best sight reading of the hymn. Everything is wood from the kneelers to the seat. The seat is actually 12” deep but the top for resting a hymnal juts into your back to keep you from sitting all the way back. It’s Pentecost and incense abounds in this tiny village church. It’s the only Catholic church available as St. John’s in town is under renovation. There were approximately 100 in attendance and I was happy to see that girls were altar servers (unlike Poland) and a woman did the readings while her husband distributed communion with the priest.

Everything is in German, of course, so I try my best to follow along with a word or two. The priest intoned the entire Gospel and his sermon was read from his preparation with few times to look up at the congregation. I liked the insertion of the bells during the Consecration and was amazed at the hymnal board.  We sang each and every one up there! The red numbers are the verse numbers to sing.

The pipe organ was beautiful in this small space and the congregation was enthusiastic in their singing.

We tourists stuck out at times as most would kneel and some of us would remain standing during various parts. Communion had some who knelt before the priest to receive and others who bowed before receiving.  The priest remained at the front of the church during the recessional hymn and exited “stage left” without going down the aisle to greet anyone afterwards. It was a nice experience even though we had a language barrier. 

The acacia tree and views of our walk to the church were beautiful and had to be included.

Returning to our hotel, we hung around for the rain to subside and did our trek to the Old Town one last time. Today we hoped to see the Shepherds’ Dance in the Square and the Military Parade at 3:00 as they passed through the Square.

What a difference a day makes! The crowds were double Saturday’s group and probably quadrupled from Friday. There were crowded streets at every turn. As we entered the Rodertor Gate, we found a shop that looked promising for gifts and boy did we have fun! I think I have Christmas done! We hurried to the Square and caught the end of the Dance and their procession off the Square and down a side street. It’s 2:15 and they were on at 1:45.  As we had to wait until 3 for the parade, we went in search of other shops to spend our time.

The Market Square was filling up with people and the parade route was being outlined with ropes. People as far as the eye could see! We chose to plant ourselves on the steps of the Imperial Hall but decided against our view since it would only leave us with tops of heads passing by. With Melodie being short, we hoped to get close to the rope with a tall person allowing her in front. I can shoot through heads and shoulders! Most of my pictures, as you can see, were holding the camera FAR ABOVE my head and pointing in the general direction of the oncoming groups.

Provisions for the troops.

REAL dead birds they carry on their poles.

Parade over, it’s 4:00, we decide to have dinner before returning to the hotel. This time we got smart and SHARED a meal of beef, dumplings and purple cabbage with the intent of having dessert. After this meal and our beer/wine beverage, there was no room for dessert! So we stopped at a bakerei on our way out to buy a tasty dessert for later in the evening in our room.

The stork atop a tower was visible and posing so we grabbed a few shots and headed back.

Nice evening in the room as I was able to catch up with my blogging and pictures and finish Sunday’s (today) events on Monday. Whew! Caught up! Enjoyed our dessert and couple cups of kaffee. This hotel is absolute wonderful and the three rooms that share an l-shaped balcony would be great for extended family with or without kiddos to book and share.