We like Germany

The brave night watch crew of Rothenburg ascends the stairs to the ramparts to defend the city (or to burn off a seemingly endless amount of energy).
Along the ramparts.
In the market square of Rothenburg.
The beautiful market square of Rothenburg. Nice weather eh?
Bad parents?
The boys and their new friend, iron maiden. In the Kriminal Museum in Rothenburg.
Kyle gets the royal treatment - this is where the young princes of Heidelberg would sit and have stories read to them. Kyle prefers Curious George.
One of the neo-classical walls of the partially ruined castle Schloss Heidelberg.
Our knowledgeable and humorous guide at the Heidelberg castle explains just how much the noblemen, gathered in this hall to feast, would vomit into the vomitorium behind him.
The men were impressed by this puny wine barrel.
This is the big one. Devon and Carter are on the dancefloor located on the top of the barrel.
As you can see, the kids are having fun.
At one of the old arched entryways to the Heidelberg castle grounds.
Staying in a castle (Burg Stahleck in Bacharach) is not all fun and games - here we haul our luggage up the snowy stairs behind the castle.
We slept in that tower. Very comfortable, despite the lack of plumbing and heating. It is, after all, a medieval castle.
I stitched this together in photoshop - this is what we woke up to today.

Germany is awesome! Great people, great architecture, great food! Our stay in the Bacharach castle, overlooking a scenic bend in the Rhine, was not so medieval, as the rooms are very modern and comfortable, and the food was very warm and plentiful. But this 13th century castle, that has been a youth hostel for most of the 20th century, still evokes the feeling that invading troops may siege the building at any time.
After our hearty German breakfast, we went to the Schloss Heidelberg - this partially ruined and partially restored castle has a great history that was brought to life by our two expert guides who took us deep within the castle, beyond where most of the tourists get to visit. After Heidelberg, we were off to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Rothenburg is a cute little town that hasn't changed much since the 1400's. We arrived a little late for last entry at the Kriminal Museum of Medieval Justice and Torture, but Ms. Vogt managed to convince the kind lady to stay open for an extra 45 minutes for our kids to tour. I gave her a nice tip (the lady, not Ms. Vogt).
After our scavenger hunt through the streets of Rothenburg, we were pleasantly surprised by the fine hotel (I haven't stayed in this one before) that awaited us. Again, great food, service, and hospitality from those friendly Germans!
A few brave souls ventured out in the sub zero temperatures after dinner to walk the city ramparts, and returned apparently not the least bit more exhausted (or should I say less hyper) than they were before the walk. I don't get it - it always worked when my kids were little...
Tomorrow, off to Nuremburg and then Prague - exciting and new (even to me)!

Craig