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Travelling with Stabilo #20: Rothenburg ob der Tauber: a medieval journey

经纬游踪 #20: 罗滕堡中世纪之旅

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A while back I was travelling to Nuremberg, Germany for my friend’s wedding. On the day before the wedding, he wanted a break and we decided to visit a nearby town Rothenburg, a town in Franconia that is famous for its well preserved medieval buildings. While the town can be easily reached by train from Nuremburg, everything of course is easier when someone is driving, although my friend did miss a highway exit and we had to backtrack ourselves for a bit. Nevertheless, we reached Rothenburg by mid-morning and ready to explore.

几年前我到德国的纽伦堡参加好朋友的婚礼。在婚礼前一天他提议去附近玩一下。他带我去了离纽伦堡一个多小时车程的罗滕堡, 一个以历史悠久的中世纪建筑为名的小镇。 罗滕堡交通方便，从纽伦堡坐火车就可以到达。当然，开车肯定是更方便的。需然我们上高速时错过了出口而要往回走一段路，我们还是十点多就到了。

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罗滕堡的原名，Rothenburg ob der Tauber, 在德文的原意是在陶伯河上方的红堡垒。去过德国的朋友肯定会发现很多德国城市的名字都是这样，以分辨出不同地方的同名城市。古城的停车场就在古城的中世纪城墙外。而城墙边就有一条通往城墙上的楼梯。这是我们古城之旅的第一站。罗滕堡的古城墙建于十五世纪，是罗滕堡 这个帝国自由城镇（就是东罗马帝国的直辖市）的边界和她的第一道防御。沿着石墙每隔几米就有一个向着城外四方形的孔洞，为以前弓箭手发箭抗敌所用，在战争时发挥重要的作用。墙上向着城那边为木制的篱笆，从这里可以看见古城里那些传统德国木屋和它们的红色瓦顶。

Rothenburg's full name is Rothenburg ob
der Tauber, which means, quite literally, Red fortress above the Tauber river. You will find that in Germany there are a lot of towns that was named like that, as somehow many towns are of the same name, and they needed to add the extra bits to distinguish between them. The car park for the old town is located just outside the medieval town wall. There was a staircase by the gate that leads to the top of the wall, and so we went up. This medieval town wall was built in the 15th century, and acted as the boundary and first line of defence for the Rothenburg imperial free town (which essentially meant it was a self-governed town who's only allegiance is the Holy Roman Empire. Along the wall you can see archer holes dotted along the outside of the wall. You could easily imagine how armies in the medieval times point their arrows to their enemies through these holes to defend their city. On the side facing the towards the town you can see clearly a large part of the town, the many medieval Germanic houses and red tiled roofs.

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我们只走了城墙的一小段，就下来往古城中心出发，沿途踏着鹅卵石小路，经过了无数历史悠久而又现代化的民居，店铺和咖啡馆。当路上没有车时，就仿佛像时空穿梭回到了中世纪的欧洲一样。很多民房的阳台都种了鲜艳夺目的花丛，让整个小镇散发着夏日的芬芳。古老的商店外都挂着传统的铁制招牌，印证着它们被时间的洗礼。

We only walked for a small stretch of the wall before coming back down and continuing towards the old town centre. We walked along the many cobbled lanes in the town, passing by homes, shops and cafes that are historical on the outside and nicely modern on the inside. It’s a pity that Rothenburg is not a car-free town, otherwise it could easily be mistaken that we time-travelled back to the 13th century. A lot of balconies were decorated with blossoming flowers, giving the whole town a nice sweet summer scent. There are old style iron signs hanging by many of the shops and cafes, as a proof that they have stood the test of times.

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我们走走停停的就到了城中心的广场。和其他古镇一样，罗滕堡的城镇广场是中世纪时城中最繁忙的地方，也是城中最重要的行政建筑，市政厅的所在地。现在，城镇广场成为了游客的集中地，因为在这里可以看见城里最传统的建筑设计，例如那些设计得像阶梯的房顶，四方的窗户，和粉刷在外墙上的壁画。我们在广场上还看见了在吹阿尔卑斯长号的乐队。这传统乐器只有在瑞士和巴伐利亚才能看到，十分特别。我们本来想上市政厅上的钟楼，可是正好是午休时间，只好先去逛别的。

We eventually arrived at the town square in the middle of the old town. As with most towns back in the medieval days, the town square is always the busiest place in town, and where the most important buildings, the town hall and the bell tower, are located. Nowadays, the town square became a gathering place for tourists and visitors, showcasing the town’s architectures. From the square we could freely admire the staircase like roofs of the houses around as well as the perfectly square windows. When we were there, there were three musicians playing the alpenhorn, a type of traditional horn instruments that is common in Bavaria and Switzerland. It was pretty cool to watch. We wanted to go up the bell tower, but it was closed for lunch, so we continued on.

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我们往小镇西面走，出了城门后到了一个漂亮的大庭院。在庭院的瞭望台可以从另一个角度欣赏这小镇和底下山谷的风光。炎炎夏日，绿草茵茵，这庭院到处都是绿油油的草丛和艳丽的鲜花。从庭院的平台可以远远看见小镇上的建筑，在烈日底下变得有点模糊。在山谷下也可以看见几栋特别的房子。在庭院中心的房子旁有个被藤蔓遮掩的阴凉处，可以坐在藤架下的长椅上一边休息一边欣赏旁边的小花园和雕像，十分惬意。

We exited out from the town from the west tower gate and arrived at this little garden courtyard that offers view back into town as well as the valley beyond. As it is in the middle of summer, the courtyard was lush and green, full of beautiful stubs and flowers. We can view the town from a distance, slightly hazed by the bright sunlight. There were also some cool looking houses down in the valley below. In the middle of the courtyard there was a house with a vine sheltered terrace and a statue garden beside it. It reminds me of a castle that I visited more than 10 years ago, also in Germany. A very elegant place for a picnic or just a rest.

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Heading back through the gate we backtracked ourselves towards the town square. On the way we enjoyed more of this bustling little European town. There were flowers and green bushes shrubs everywhere, and there were shops selling all kinds of local produce such as wine and olive oil. There was even an old painter on the side of a lane, capturing the beauty of this town on canvas. We went to a little bakery and bought a sandwich for a quick lunch, before heading back to the town square.

从西城门往回走，我们放慢了脚步，细细感受这欧洲小镇的气息。小镇里到处是鲜花和小树林，小路上的商店贩卖着红酒，橄榄油等特产。年迈的老画家在路边架起画布，用他的笔把这小镇的美记录在油画上。我们在一个小面包店买了点三文治，包餐一顿后往城镇广场进发。

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回到市政厅，钟楼午休已过。我们花了只欧元爬了上楼。在钟楼上浏览整个古城，红顶木房像积木一样密密麻麻的在我们脚下。在这我们清楚看见围绕着小镇的城场，和城场外的现代建筑。再过去就是一片片农场和绿油油的山丘，一直伸延到远处的山脉。也可以看到小镇上有四个岗楼，这些岗楼是在中世纪时作用重大的防御设施。

By the time we got back to the town square, the bell tower was now open. We went up for a better view of the whole town. It was pretty dramatic to see all these red roofed houses, irregularly placed like Lego blocks directly below us. We could make out the town wall easily and could see all the modern buildings beyond that is a part of the new town centre. Beyond that it was just plains, farms, and rolling hills, stretching towards the distance mountain range in the horizon. Four watchtowers can be seen scattered around the old town, again one of those things that were essential for defence back in the days.

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回到地面，我们往唯一没有走过的广场的南面出口前进，在小镇的南边找到了这小镇最漂亮的景点: 一个分叉路口上的像童话故事中的小黄屋，和后面底下有个拱门的大钟楼。这景观在罗滕堡的明信片中经常出现，也有很多游客在这里自拍他们的到此一游照。我们只好等游客散去了才好好的拍几张明信片照。

Back down onto the ground, I was adamant on walking around some more, wanting to search for the postcard view of the town, a crossroad marked by a typical timber based medieval house with crosshatch patterns, in front of a clock tower with an arc at the bottom. The only path that we have not explored is the south of the square, so we decided to follow this path. Of course, we were right, and in no time, we were treated with the postcard view of Rothenburg. It does look quite magnificent, nicely capturing the small town charm in one single scene. There were many tourists around posing in front of this crossroad for a “been there done that” shot, and so we had to wait for the crowd to pass before we can get some good shots of the place.

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好不容易拍完照，看看表，原来已经三点多！我们四点钟还要回去准备婚礼呢！我们半跑着回到停车场，开车赶回纽伦堡。幸好交通不是太拥挤，最后快五点才回到家，朋友的末婚妻也没说什么。虽然是很赶的一天，可是可以跟老朋友游玩拍照大半天还是很值得的！

By now, it was mid-afternoon, and we were supposed to be back to Nuremberg by late afternoon for wedding preparation. We rushed back to the car park and sped through the highway to get back, and it was lucky that there wasn’t any significant traffic. It was also lucky that his wife-to-be didn't seem too concern when we got back just before 5pm. It was nice to be able to take half a day to explore this pretty little medieval town. Especially with a trusted friend!

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