Today started relatively early with us walking just down the road to catch our bus to do the Romantic Road tour. Not that there is any romance along this road, but it is apparently an area that still has that good old German look we all imagine. We wound up lucking out and getting the front seats to avoid any and all motion sickness. But then, our guide Fred (or Klaus or Dieter, depending on my mood. I did not approve of the name Fred for my German tour guide) started to talk...quite....slowly. I kid you not people, there were times he'd just basically forget that he was talking at all and forget to finish the sentence. Most bizarre thing ever. So, first we drove about an hour and a half to Harburg Castle, a medieval castle that escaped destruction during WWII. Very cool old place. We had a quick guided tour of it and got hurried along. And honestly, the tour got done, we took a couple of pictures, I visited the restroom, and we went to the bus. But somehow Fred decided some of us were 15 minutes late and were being rude to all the other travelers and gave us a good scolding over the microphone. Whatevs, Fred. Drink some more beer. From there we headed to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. So called since it is one of I believe 14 Rothenburgs in the country. This is a medieval town that was left relatively unharmed during the war. According to Fred, Eleanor Roosevelt spent time there as a student, and during the war asked her husband to be sure that the town was spared in the bombings due to its place in her heart. Not sure how true that is, but I would like to think it was. The old town, still within a wall, is ADORABLE. And it's home to one of the biggest Christmas markets in Germany, so you can actually buy/see the Christmas stuff all year. Unfortunately, it rained pretty much the whole time we were there. So, after a delicious lunch of pizza and garlic bread, we braved the rain for a few pictures, and then found the Annaliece Friesse store - of Rick Steves fame. She was sitting right there, as were all the photo Christmas cards from Rick and family over the years. If you have his guidebook (thanks, Betty!) she gives you a 10% discount and a free map. We also ended up with free canvas bags. Very cool. So a little more walking around to witness their glockenspiel (even less impressive) and we had to get back to the bus. Did not want to be scolded by Fred again! Then it was a 3 hour bus ride back to Munich. After dropping off our purchases and resting up for a little bit, we headed to another branch of the Augustiner, a bit more off the beaten path. Huge beer hall. So, we settled in for dinner, beer and the Eurocup final between Spain and Italy. Fortunately, Germany was definitely behind Spain. So the fact that they trampled Italy 4-0 made for a fun evening. I discovered a new love in my life - cheese spatzle. Delicious. After the game we headed home and slept again in our fabulous beds before our last day in Bavaria!