I first visited Rothenburg years ago, and I remember one thing in particular--the famous Christmas store. Yeah, I know, I should have remembered that Rothenburg is a magical city with a strange backstory. But when you travel with someone who could play/watch tennis 24 hours a day (Dan) and a gangster cat (Theo) who has the attention span of a flea, the Christmas store is what you talk about.
Kathe Wolfhart is famous all over the world. The store is several floors and has room after room of everything you could ever want to decorate your house or your tree. Located on a street that also has a giant bear at a store entrance nearby, you enter and are immediately greeted by a moveable display of a fairytale village.
We stand there too long--watching. Theo is enthralled. At first he's content to be held in Dan's arm and watch the magical figures. Then he gets another idea. He meows and begins to wiggle free. We've seen that behavior before. He wants to jump into the display.
"Forget about it," we tell him. "There's no room for you in there."
Even so, we are now in the mood to tour Rothenburg. Imagine stepping into a place that offers beautiful scenic views, half-timbered houses, and a quaintness beyond compare.
The Christmas store is near the main market where, it seems, everyone gathers. I now understand why Rothenburg is considered the German version of Disneyland for adults, minus the rides. Partially destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, the town rebuilt itself with money from the Marshall Plan. During that renovation the town was made even more fairytale like. In fact, Germans visit Rothenburg and consider it a wonderful tourist attraction.
Here is just a sampling of the countryside that surrounds the Christmas store:
