Another warm night and didn't sleep much so woke early and got us packed. Worried a bit about Sam and his knee which had been swelling and he has been on antibiotics for over two months now and the Lyme disease isn't seeming to go away. Feel like we need to get back on Doxy since that seemed to work best. Finally heard back from Sam's Dr and he said he could get on doxycycline but Sam needs a prescription. Decided we will try and get doxy from the pharmacist - maybe things are different here, but maybe not as easy as India.
I packed us up and let Sam sleep in. We grabbed a late breakfast and took the hotel's bikes and explored a little more around Bamberg and went to find a pharmacist. They said they couldn't give us doxy without a written prescription but directed us to a Dr. a couple doors down. Not sure what kind of medical program they have here but the office said they would see us and asked us to sit in a packed room with 15 people waiting for one Dr. No one was taken back the whole time we were there which was about an hour- is this what socialized medicine is like? Thankfully they pulled us out and the Dr. met with us and I told him exactly what we needed for Lyme disease and he wrote it and we got out with just an hour wait and $75 fee. We got the prescription and then toured around town going into a few Christmas shops and finding an awesome cookoo clock. It was perfect, from Bamberg, had birds all over it with a cookoo bird that popped out and dancers that twirled around while it played Edelweiss, the only song I play on the piano;)
We hit the road as it began raining and headed to what is considered Christmas Town in Bavaria, Rothenburg. On the way there was a detour and it took us on a rolling road through spectacular green meadows and fields and all of a sudden we saw a stone church, standing with simplistic beauty against the green meadows with nothing else around it. It was one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen for a church. I thought how lovely, who is the amazing person who constructed this in a sea of green? We pulled over on a dirt road and just admired it for a few minutes.
Rothenburg was just as quaint and perfect as one could imagine with a town square surrounded by colorful gingerbread looking buildings and geranium filled window boxes. We parked right across the street from the Christmas Museum. Inside was floors of ornaments and a well done museum explaining the evolution of Christmas and all it's toppings and traditions. Christ's birth being celebrated on the 25th of December evolved several centuries after Christ and utilized the pagan winter solstice celebration that was prominent at the time and made it a celebration of a different kind of light, the light of Christ. Santa evolved from Saint Nicholas who was a Bishop who gave gifts to others back in the early 3rd century and was later colorfully depicted wearing red robes in a poem and illustration in the 19th century. His image evolved over the years into a jolly heavyset gift giver. It was Germans from Bavaria who are credited to be the first ones to decorate Christmas trees. Originally with apples and depictions of Adam and Eve and then small candles and glass bulbs which simulated the apple but were out of glass. Miniature Christmas trees were sent to thousands of German soldiers during the second world war.
We roamed the streets and ate the local pastry which is strips of pretzel dough baked then dipped in frosting, sugar, chocolate,.... There were many shops that had decorative displays of these balls, which are very popular with the tourists, since you can't find them anywhere else. Every street was lined with picture perfect homes which look like they are out of the story books of Hansel and Grettle.
We arrived that night at a hotel I booked last minute online that was near the Porsche museum. It was called the Domino Hotel. Said it was 4 stars. Well, it turned out to be seriously ghetto and had graffiti on the outside and smelled funny on the inside and there were a bunch of people that I think were living there, it was like a dorm. So grateful when they turned us away, since I know we can find better .We parked it for the night at the Holiday Inn and not lying, Holiday Inn never felt more like a Ritz!
Little Venice, my favorite of the old fishermen's homes
I packed us up and let Sam sleep in. We grabbed a late breakfast and took the hotel's bikes and explored a little more around Bamberg and went to find a pharmacist. They said they couldn't give us doxy without a written prescription but directed us to a Dr. a couple doors down. Not sure what kind of medical program they have here but the office said they would see us and asked us to sit in a packed room with 15 people waiting for one Dr. No one was taken back the whole time we were there which was about an hour- is this what socialized medicine is like? Thankfully they pulled us out and the Dr. met with us and I told him exactly what we needed for Lyme disease and he wrote it and we got out with just an hour wait and $75 fee. We got the prescription and then toured around town going into a few Christmas shops and finding an awesome cookoo clock. It was perfect, from Bamberg, had birds all over it with a cookoo bird that popped out and dancers that twirled around while it played Edelweiss, the only song I play on the piano;)
We hit the road as it began raining and headed to what is considered Christmas Town in Bavaria, Rothenburg. On the way there was a detour and it took us on a rolling road through spectacular green meadows and fields and all of a sudden we saw a stone church, standing with simplistic beauty against the green meadows with nothing else around it. It was one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen for a church. I thought how lovely, who is the amazing person who constructed this in a sea of green? We pulled over on a dirt road and just admired it for a few minutes.
Rothenburg was just as quaint and perfect as one could imagine with a town square surrounded by colorful gingerbread looking buildings and geranium filled window boxes. We parked right across the street from the Christmas Museum. Inside was floors of ornaments and a well done museum explaining the evolution of Christmas and all it's toppings and traditions. Christ's birth being celebrated on the 25th of December evolved several centuries after Christ and utilized the pagan winter solstice celebration that was prominent at the time and made it a celebration of a different kind of light, the light of Christ. Santa evolved from Saint Nicholas who was a Bishop who gave gifts to others back in the early 3rd century and was later colorfully depicted wearing red robes in a poem and illustration in the 19th century. His image evolved over the years into a jolly heavyset gift giver. It was Germans from Bavaria who are credited to be the first ones to decorate Christmas trees. Originally with apples and depictions of Adam and Eve and then small candles and glass bulbs which simulated the apple but were out of glass. Miniature Christmas trees were sent to thousands of German soldiers during the second world war.
We roamed the streets and ate the local pastry which is strips of pretzel dough baked then dipped in frosting, sugar, chocolate,.... There were many shops that had decorative displays of these balls, which are very popular with the tourists, since you can't find them anywhere else. Every street was lined with picture perfect homes which look like they are out of the story books of Hansel and Grettle.
We arrived that night at a hotel I booked last minute online that was near the Porsche museum. It was called the Domino Hotel. Said it was 4 stars. Well, it turned out to be seriously ghetto and had graffiti on the outside and smelled funny on the inside and there were a bunch of people that I think were living there, it was like a dorm. So grateful when they turned us away, since I know we can find better .We parked it for the night at the Holiday Inn and not lying, Holiday Inn never felt more like a Ritz!
The spot that we think maybe Sam's great great great grandmother had a doll shop, right by Elizabeth's Church. We are going from an old photo and the building has been renovated a bit with newer windows. But, if not... it looked very similar to this
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