The Romantic Road

Welcome back to Germany! As we were driving along the autobahn, we (well, really it was me as the navigator!) missed an overpass and began heading off away from where we wanted to go. After a quick map check, I found a little road that would take us across country about 20 km and we could join up with the main road again. It was a perfect detour and we got to see things off the beaten track. And there were way more great photo ops on this route too :))



Now this is the way to cut hay - a mower behind the tractor and another mounted on the front!




At a stop sign in a village and this tractor and silage wagon go breezing by! Agriculture and urban centers co-exist in Europe!




This little glimpse of a town shows you so much about European architecture and colors.




This was the most scenic route we could have picked! Right in the middle of town - a huge farmhouse with attached barn. See the white dotted highway line markings? I like how they curve.




Yup - the road goes right through this tower!



This little detour gave us some great glimpses into the daily agricultural life of this area - exactly what we were interested in, especially Bob. This machine was harvesting potatoes in one of the last fields we saw. Most harvesting, except for corn, was finished already.




Just driving along, heading into town, and this statue was right in the middle of the street! In another village a little further on, we found ourselves driving down the highway which was also main street, right through the Sunday morning market stalls that were setting up.




Nordlingen is known for its wide valley that was formed by a meteor 15 million years ago. It is also known as a grain basket because of the rich soil and good crops that are grown here.




The town of Dinkelsbuhl is billed as Rothenburg's little sister. We just pulled over at a rest stop and got some pictures of the skyline.




While we were taking pictures, an elderly man walked by with 2 children and a big dog. He stopped to point out that when you stood in a certain spot a little further up the path, the 2 towers lined up perfectly and it looked like just one spire. Clever optical illusion!!




The further south we drove, the closer to the mountains we got. The alpine views were so beautiful and we started to see more cattle in the fields.




Our first view of the church we were coming to visit. It's just set out in a field with a few farms gathered around, not even a village!



Weiskirche, or Church in the Meadow, was built around a statue of a scorged Christ, which supposedly wept in this place in 1738. A tiny chapel, that seated about 20 people, housed the original statue and still stands on the site but so many pilgrims came that a new church had to be built. It's big but the outside gives you no clues about what you will see inside!



This new church, opened in 1749,has an ornate and elegant interior, covered with white and gold Rococo details. Pictures of Biblical miracles cover the ceiling and walls. There is an annual pilgrimage here and evening concerts are often held in the church. It was definitely worth the drive!




This little restaurant. where we had lunch, was just down the hill from the church. The very friendly owner was a sports fan and updated Tyler on the soccer scores and car racing results. He didn't know anything about tennis though!




This was such a picturesque farmyard - right across from the church!




Something completely different but such a happy image!