Freiburg Cathedral

We briefly toured the Freiburg cathedral, spending a bit more time with the surrounding market day and downing a last couple wursts, but enjoying the cathedral nonetheless.

The cathedral as it appeared in the 1820s

In July, 2012; sorry about all the trucks; market day was ending

The construction was largely sandstone and in
need of ongoing renovation

1295, right?

The usual Last Judgment tympaum at the stern, unusually painted; the Hell
section, of course

Nave view

Altar panel, coronation of the Mother Goddess; alas, I didn't catch the artist's name

Because the putti peering out from under Mary's robes is as cute as any of Rafael's

Speaking of putti, this is only the 2nd cathedral we have seen in Europe that
provided work space for the little ones

Very old medallions in the window here

And a nice sandstone Fall tympanum

Freiburg

We drove on to Freiburg and found the modestly-priced stellplatz, where we stayed a couple of nights. The first was an administrative day--the wash--the second we ventured the 20 minute walk into the old city.

On the walk in, a wild flower lawn at one of the apartment
complexes

Downtown scene

I like public transportation as much as the next person, but
when the sculpture is entrapped, it's a bit much

In one of the fast-flowing canals, a sculpture, The Crocodile

Soap bubble blowing machine outside a toy store; we're
very attentive to toy stores these days

Frau Merkel lemon press

Market day in the cathedral square; the marble merchant;
when was the last time you saw marbles for sale like this?

One of the beautiful burgher houses on the square

As elsewhere in Germany, outdoor sculpture everywhere

Leaving town the next day, a Goggomobil...cute, small 50s-
ish coupe; when it pulled away, it sounded much like a
lawnmower; further research revealed Goggomobils were
powered by 2 cylinder, 2 stroke engines, capable of 18.5hp;
a very powerful lawnmower; sorry, VW won that race

Bad Wimpfen

Having concluded our business in Rothenburg obT, we headed south and west, aiming for the Black Forest and then Freiburg, before entering Switzerland to see Basel. We were drawn to Bad Wimpfen by its promise of a free stellplatz, which we found right by the train station, overlooking the Neckar River. Bad Wimpfen turned out to be a beautiful medieval town, something of a resort now, full of more half-timbered houses, towers, a wall, and a major surprise as we strolled about in the early evening.

The Neckar, from Bad Wimpfen, near our campsite

More beautiful old half-timbered buildings

Thus

And thus, which is actually a local bank, advertising "off- line banking" and
a logo of shaking hands

The steeples of the city church

I was so proud to get this great shotof the steeples on
a wall of a nearby tower

And then staggered to see that said tower had been built in 1200

The Blauer Tower

Walls of the fortress, built in 1200, we learned, just following the reign of
Frederick Barbarossa, who had stayed in Wimpfen some years before; part
of his Holy Roman Empire

More of the walls

Secondary tower

About the fortress

The Kaiserpfalz, same vintage

Impressed by Bad Wimpfen, we drove on the next day on the Burgstrasse,
"castle road," along the Neckar

Taking in a few more castles; but the weather turned ugly, and our drive through
the Black Forest to Freiburg saw mostly clouds and rain

More Rothenburg obT

Some more RobT pix, under the general heading of religion in Rothenburg.

An interesting chapel outside the walls, with very old-looking
frescoes

And this, the 1298 pogrom memorial stone; unfortunately, not the last such 
event in Rothenburg

In the Franciscan church in town

This Tilman  Riemanschneider altar panel

One of the several Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas stores, for which Rothenburg is
 most famous

A clandestine shot inside the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas crap
museum

And, at the main St. James city church

One of the greatest of all German church carvings,
Riemanschneider's Holy Blood, c. 1505

A bit closer-up; it is displayed against a west-facing set of
windows, not helpful for viewing in the afternoon...

Current altarpiece, by Friedrich Herlin, 1466; nice
windows too

Interior of St. James

Although Calvinism never achieved great success in Germany, capitalism is
alive and well (in the church gift shoppe); sic transit, Gloria

Rothenburg obT

No umlaut, but always "ob den Tauber." We have been to RobT before, several times. I have always figured it was Germany's answer to Italy's San Jimmy-Johnny (we had been living in Dallas, too long, when we first went to San Gemignano) in Tuscany. We had business in RobT this time, however, with Kathe Wohlfahrt, and so spent an actually pleasant day both within and without the famous city walls. It was but a short drive from Nuremburg in the pleasant Bavarian countryside.

On the main square

Rathaus, with the usual clockwork
foolishness

Seriously impressive half-timbered old buildings throughout

Plönlein with Kobolzeller Steige and Spitalgasse 

The tour buses were massing for attack at this point, so we
decided to walk some of the walls 

Both inside and outside the town

Looking back toward town

Passing through a nicely ornamented vineyard

A beautiful park and gardens

More towers

And towers

And towers