Romantic

The Romantic Road in Germany has little to do with cuddling and kissing, but much to do with beautiful Franconian and Bavarian towns that have remained pretty much unchanged since the late middle ages.  Rothenburg ob Der Tauber is definitely the #1 destination for people seeking something a little more authentic than Leavenworth, Washington.  And it never fails to please its visitors.  One of the few towns in Europe to have it's medieval wall fully intact, the old town inside the walls is filled with churches and museums and shops and... Schneebälle.  We had a great day in Rothenburg - I guided a tour of the town and St. Jacob's Church, took everyone to the Kriminal Museum of Medieval Justice and Torture (sounds fun, doesn't it!) and let the groups of students and their parent chaperones loose on the town with the highly competitive Rothenburg scavenger hunt.

Herrngasse - the street of the herren - aka the wealthy high society gentlemen.  Their former mansions are now stores, hotels, and restaurants.

smells

In front of the Kriminal Museum, witnessing torture of fellow students.

Janelle and Eve try out the stocks. Just for fun.

Bizarre Petro Canada flags on this Rothenburg hotel.  I guess they are having some sort of retreat here. Great place to have it.  Not sure what it has to do with gasoline in Canada.

Iron Maiden is not just an 80's heavy metal band.

Mr. Johnson has eaten way too much German sausage today.

This is fascinating - an actual "indulgence" sold by a priest in the middle ages to give some rich guy permission to sin for 100 days.  This practice was short-lived and abolished after the Council of Trent.

I just put this up here to remind myself of punishment options for students who are misbehaving.  I don't even know what "nose-filliping" is, but it sounds like quality discipline to me.

Leanne shoots Fred with a death ray on the ramparts.  You can see he is disintegrating at the very moment this picture was taken.  A rare photo indeed.

The night watchmen of Rothenburg.

Always remember to have fun.  Not something these guys need to be reminded of.

The huge St. Jacob's Church in Rothenburg - once a Catholic cathedral, now a Lutheran church.