From Lucerne to Rothenburg

The road trip from Lucerne back into Germany involves a short drive across Austria. Our destination was the quaint town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This entire drive can take 5 to 6 hours so in between, we stop by Neuschwanstein Castle. To visit the castle, one will have to purchase advance tickets for a specific timeslot. We were just slightly less than an hour late and the staff were kind enough to let us in. One will have to factor in the time it takes to find a parking space, join a queue and get a ride up. So do be extra early arriving when planning a trip to this castle. A group that came much later than their allocated time unfortunately had their tickets voided and had to purchase anew. There are several local restaurants in the vicinity and so we had lunch in one of them. The backyard of the restaurant turned out to be a scenic spot. In fact, everywhere is scenic when in Europe. The journey to Rothenburg continued after for another 3 hours. Along the way, the stops at petrol stations turned out to be attractions themselves because there is always a playground of some sort that kept the kids entertained. This also prolonged the journey a bit as we ended up spending more time just relaxing at these pit stops. Reaching the doorsteps of Rothenburg, there is a playground at the gate. So, yet another stop. The kids enjoyed this entire day of visiting so many playgrounds. Hotel Goldener Hirsch we stayed. It is on the street that led to an iconic clock tower so well photographed. This hotel is one of the better ones we stayed at on our entire trip. This was day 8.