Katzen: Have stayed at many places in R.od T. and several times at the Klosterstuble. IMHO the Franconian dinners at the Klosterstuble are hard to beat. Another of our favorite places for a nice dinner in R.od T. is the Altfrankische Winestube. http://www.altfraenkische-weinstube-rothenburg.de/
The other two places on your short list are also good choices.
I think you'll find the general consensus on the Schneeballen is that they're pretty foul tasting . . . pretty to look at but nasty tasting! I personally think they taste like stale grease. If you buy a dozen you'll probably end up with 11 new Christmas tree ornaments.

Ok, so maybe I won't be trying a Schneeballen .. although I do have a huge sweet tooth :)

I'm excited to hit the Kathe Wolfahrt Shop. Pef1234, thank you for the restaurant recommendation. This trip is our belated honeymoon. We were married in October but weren't able to get off the time needed .. so decided to go this summer ... this is why I'm looking for some good, quaint restaurants :) Thanks for everyones help!

oh, forgot to add .. should I make reservations for any of these places (as in when we first get into town or even now)? We will be in Rothenburg at the very end of July. Thx.

My favorite thing in Rothenburg was the Church of St. Jacob, where I saw the Holy Blood Altar, an extravagant carved wood depiction of the Last Supper by Tilman Reimanschneider, the master sculptor of the Middle Ages. Here's a link to an image of the altar on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:T...ut_Altar_1.jpg

Note that this is not the main altar at the church. It's actually up some stairs. The main altar and other scenes from the church can be seen in my Rothenburg photo album here:

http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=Mar...p;IID=32547647

I've recently posted several times about the Romantic Road...in a nutshell, just remember that Rothenburg isn't the be-all end-all destination. It is a beautiful city but there is much more to the Romantische Strasse.

Katzen, the route is very well signed but you do have to go off the "main road" to get to many of the sights, so I agree that you should always take a good map and even rent a car with a navigation unit!

I would definitely make reservations if you are going in July; you are going to be there at peak tourist season.

I have to agree with everyone about the schneeballs. I had one the first time I was there 15 years ago and was terribly disappointed...then had to convince my husband and in-laws last year that they were not worth it...even at Christmastime.

I have to say the criminal museum is enormous and quite fascinating. I can understand that a couple of teenage boys might have been disappointed that there were more "humiliation masks" and "neck violins" than torture machines, but the history of medieval justice provided is amazing. It really makes you stop and think about a time when people were actually publicly humiliated as a punishment for their crimes...bad musicians had to wear "neck flutes"...or two feuding women were locked together until they worked out their differences!

And as for Kathe Wolfahrt...well, if you like German-inspired Christmas ornaments mass-produced in another country...probably on the other side of the world...sorry, but that was my impression. I was looking for handcrafted stuff and wanted to spend money but couldn't find anything in Rothenburg. I would just be really careful about what you buy.

Thank you HausFrau and Mary Fran!!

HausFrau, yes, I am looking for the handcrafted wooden ornaments made in Germany. I like Steinbach as well. Were you able to find Christmas ornaments anywhere in Germany that weren't made elsewhere?

We stayed at Gasthaus Butz last month, less than a 100 meters from the main square and had a very good room and good meals there.

Rothenburg o.d.T. is one of my favorite places in Germany. I enjoyed 3 days there two years ago and the first page of this trip report might provide some ideas of how to spend your time.
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/bb2004t...sinheaven.html

For Christmas ornaments made in country - if you are visiting the Black Forest - I recommend the Dorotheenhütte glass blowing factory in Wolfach. Rooms and rooms of handcrafted ornaments blown on site. http://www.dorotheenhuette.de/pages/...h/topfr_e.html

Thank you Wyatt and BavariaBen. We will be driving through the Black Forest area .. maybe I can talk my husband into making a pit stop.
Do you know of a place that has the genuine wooden ornaments made in Germany? Thanks!!

Yes, the Wolfahrt stores have a lot of imported trinkets, but they also have most any German made ornaments available. Over the years I've bought German pyramids, Swiss music boxes and wax tree angels there. Her prices are no higher or lower than most other places, but the selection is excellent.

You can now buy from her on line catalog and save the trip if you search for her on Google. Still, it is a fun experience to see many products you won't see anywhere else.

Rothenburg is a beautiful town but much more contrived and touristy than two other splendid towns on the romantische strasse - Dinkelsbuhl and Nordlingen.

Dinkelsbuhl has a true fairytale feel to it. Less crowded, the town is entered by walking on a small bridge over a the moat that surrounds it.

Nordlingen is by far my favorite. If you climb up the church tower you will realize by the fortifications that the town is circular and is actually at the center of a meteor crater.

Thank you gforaker and shoonye for the responses!! I'm glad to hear that the Wolfahrt stores have some genuine german xmas decorations. Shoonye, we do plan on visiting Dinkelsbuhl and Nordingen. :)

katzen, if you have time one evening, take in an organ concert,(or any concert),at St. Jacob's Church. It was one of the highlights of the 3 days we spent in Rothenburg. You will love the town, and the Night Watchman's Tour is so entertaining! Have a great trip - try a schneeball just so you can say you did it. :)

The Hotel Eisenhut has superb food. The front dining room is less formal than the back room and there is also a small garden terrace for outdoor dining.
Stop in for an Eisenhut Cocktail and nice piano music, if not dinner.

Also, I like Zur Holle, which is located in the oldest house in Rothenburg. They don't have an extensive menu, but their ribs and shish-ke-bob are very good. Very tiny place. Best to make reservations here, if you're interested.

I just had to respond to the schneeball comments... ARE YOU PEOPLE HIGH? These things are awesome! I tried to get some shipped from Rothenburg to the US but no dice. They remind me of Chrusciki's or angel wings. They are also available in Fussen. My advice to anyone who is in either of these two towns is to run (not walk) to the backeri and scarf these bad boys down!

rswrig, I think maybe its you who are high for actually liking those nasty things!! ;)

Tracy

rswrig has only done 2 posts and both are about schneeballs........TROLL!!!!!!

I've stayed at the Hotel Gasthof Glocke two or three times and like it a lot. The food was excellent there.

I was disappointed in the Eisenhut. I had long wanted to stay there but felt that it was too expensive.

I found a deal on the internet for the room, dinner, and a tour (one night the night watchman's tour, and the other the criminal museum.) It was still very expensive. $280 per night, but I really wanted to stay there.

I was very disappointed. The room was not what I'd expect for $280, the dinners were mediocre and we were given meals without choice. The man at the reception desk was very cold.

We were treated like poor relatives. I doubt that this was the experience of other guests, but it certainly was our experience.

My husband and I just returned from a 12 day trip to Germany, and 5 more days in Rome,with 2 nights spent in Rothenburg. We stayed at the Klosterstuble, in the older section. The staff here cannot be beat --- they were wonderful. There is internet access available, a wonderful breakfast included with the room, and the one dinner we had there was fantastic.
A couple of tips:
Make a reservation at Zur Holl --- one of the best meals of our trip, and a great wine list.
If you shop at Kathe Wohlfahrt --- ship it yourself. I love their merchandise, but their shipping costs are outrageous, even adding a handling charge. We bought a box at the Deutsches Post, and mailed it home --- using the bubblewrap that I had packed.
Avoid the schneeballs --- nasty things.
Linger in the area of the Burger's garden --- peaceful, quiet and a fantastic view.

I don't know about the snowballs, but I had the best Bienenstich ever at the little bakery shop near the square.

There was a very nice wine shop just off the square across from the Catholic church. They had a nice variety of ice wines and we were treated to some tastings.

I was disappointed in the Kathe Wolfahrt Shop. I thought is was crowded, overpriced, tacky and I have found much nicer German Christmas items at specialty shops at home in the US.

I loved the altars by the famous wood carver Tilman Riemenschneider at St. Jacob's.