Rothenburg's old town, hit heavily by the Americans and then rebuilt, was - before the war - held up as a shining light and example of the Nazi party's belief in what 'The most German of German' towns should be like. In a sense, the idea lives on in the 'Romantic road' stretching from Wurzberg in the north, southwards to Fussen and the start of the Alps; 'Romantic' in this sense meaning 'ideal' or 'perfect'. We English do it too, with the Cotswolds.
What the area does offer are lots of very nice towns and villages, largely rural and open but with excellent (largely empty) roads with enough crests and folds to make them interesting.... A great place to bring a motorcycle, sports car or - if anyone is so inclined - to just bimble along. It's an area of Germany which, along with the northern Baltic coastline, I've mistakenly ignored. Close enough for anyone coming from Calais or the Dutch / Belgium ports to enjoy without hitting every motorway to get there. We went, via St Omer on Saturday morning, down the reasonably direct non-motorway route, to Clervaux in the Luxembourg Ardennes. Then, again on the better main roads (with a bit of motorway to skirt some on the bigger cities) to Colmberg, staying here for three nights before retracing our steps to be home on Thursday night. Six days away, temperatures hovering at about the 18 to 20 C mark, the threatened rain having failed to materialise.... And to think we moan about our weather forecasters. The biggest hazard so far has been the oceans of mud on the French country roads through St Pol and Cambrai, brought about by last week's heavy rain that also hit SE England. Hey-ho, that's rural biking for you.