Our suggestion of a car ride along the Romantic Road, starting at our b&b in Diessen.
This world-famous road starts
in Wuerzburg on the river Main and ends in Fuessen, close
to the Alps and the Austrian border - all in all 350km scenic
countryside with old castles, unspoiled villages and historic
places from the Romans to this day. We will highlight three
stages of the Romantic Road on three seperate days:
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FIRST DAY:
We leave Diessen rather early, take the autobahn to the
north and will reach Schillingsfuerst, our first
stop, around 10 am.(baroque mansion with 70 rooms, rich
stucco work, fine porcelain, valuable furniture)
By noontime we'll drive into Rothenburg,
this completely preserved medieval town with its encircling
wall and defensive towers, a magnificent market place and
great gothic churces: romance pure. You'll be invited to
take a two-hour guided tour (English) followed by a visit
to the Criminology Museum for forensic science, well-stocked
with all kind of torture instruments. The Jakobskirche with
its impressive wood-carved altar, the Meistertrunk spectacle
on the market square and a shopping tour through Christmas
shops opened year-round, are additional highlights for the
remainder of this afternoon.
The Romantic Road leads through
Creglingen and Weikersheim and one of the most charming
of river valleys to Lauda-Koenigshofen, a wine-making village,
nestling in the midst of terraced vineyards. Wine lovers
will enjoy the local Franconian wine in a cosy cellar, before
we'll hit the road to drive back home.
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SECOND DAY:
We leave Diessen around 9 am and
have our first stop in Landsberg on the Romantic Road.
A town sight-seeing circuit takes about 1 ½ hours on
foot along the city wall, beautiful fountains, the alpine
river Lech and lovely art-shops. The circuit involves climbing
considerable heights and requires some physical effort.
By noon-time we are heading for Augsburg a town developed over 2000
years. I suggest we take a guided bus tour this time, which
will last about 2 ½ hours and limits ourselves to
the main historical buildings: the city hall, the Fuggerei
(the world's oldest alms houses built in1516), the cathedral,
numerous fountains, St. Anna and St. Ulrich church, the
Mozarthaus (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father was born here),
the synagoge, to name a few. The day may end with a opera
performance at the open-air theatre at the Rote Tor (June,
July)
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THIRD DAY:
We leave Diessen to the south, heading
towards the Alps and soon we arrive in Fuessen. In
the hundreds tourists from all over the world are visiting
each day Neuschwanstein, the creation of the mad king
Ludwig II of Bavaria, known as the fairy-tale king. From the
car-park we reach the castle on foot in about 30 minutes or
by a horse-drawn carriage. Highlights of the guided tour (English):
singers room (taking up the entire fourth floor with pictures
of the Thannhäuser saga), knights room, the throne room,
the living room, the chapel.
Before we drive back, we will stroll
through the old pictoresque town of Fuessen and take delight
in its alleys, places and souvenir shops.
One last attraction before we
reach Diessen again: the pilgrimage church Wieskirche
in the midst of meadows and forests, the quintessence of
a Bavarian rococo church, which today is a UNESCO World
Cultural Inheritance.
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