We stepped out of the Nuremberg Christmas card and traveled to the fairy tale village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Red Fort over the Tauber river). The well-preserved medieval town of half-timbered houses with red-tiled roofs served as the inspiration for Disney's Pinocchio and later as the quintessential town to emulate for the German pavilion at Epcot. Now tourists say, ironically, it's just like Disneyland! Like Disney, it oozes quaint charm and we eat it up like lebkuchen. A fortified wall (that we walked), 17 towers, a horseman ambassador of Christmas, and a night watchman all protect the treasures of the town. Christmas trees hang above the street from second floor windows and the children parade to the Town hall with homemade paper lanterns and decorate the tree with ornaments made from recycled cups and straws. The Christmas market stalls here serve gluhwein made from local Franconian white wine. The night watchman, dressed in a black cloak and carrying a lantern and sword, the John Cleese of Rothenburg, led us on a tour down cobblestone streets under the cover of darkness when the day-tripper tourists had left.
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