We decided to lease a car for our trip via a scheme put together by the French government to get their back-log of new cars on the road. On paper, we’ve actually bought the car, and after 7 weeks, they buy it back from us. It all looked very professional and well put together, but when the phone number given to us to call from the airport didn’t initially work; and then when we eventually met a guy wearing sandals and socks sitting in a dark corner of a Holiday Inn, we were a little suspicious.

But, car was there. Keys were in it. We wanted beds. Quickly.

Driving on the Autbahns of Germany is a total spin-out. They drive fast. SOOOOOOOOO fast! Even when our daggy little family car was cruising along at 130k, Porsches and gorgeous Volvo, BMW, and Mercedes Eurowagons roared past at break-neck speed.

The scenery along the way was dotted with wind-generators and fields filled with…solar panels!

It took a couple of hours to reach Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I must admit, I’d never heard of this town until I started doing my holiday research. It’s in Bavaria, and is part of the “Romantic Road” a bunch of cute traditional German towns linked together for the ease of tourism. I tried my hardest to NOT Google too much about the town itself so that I wouldn’t be confronted by too many images before we arrived. And I’m glad I abstained.

The outskirts of town are similar to any suburb anywhere really. Banks, Hospital, Burger King. But then we drove through the original outer ramparts (built in the 1300’s) and into the Aldstadt (Old Town). Cam and I were gob-smacked. It was straight out of a fairy tale. Cobbled streets and perfect triangle-roofed houses capped with biscuit-like shingles. Flower-filled window boxes, carved wooden doors and delicate lace curtains adorning the windows. Sage green, Mustard Yellow and Apricot. Row after row of perfect little boxes.

And. We’re staying in one of them! We’re on the third floor of a little German lady’s home. It’s 100m into the centre of town, and from our windows, we can see the town cathedral, green hills in the distance, and a costumed man who takes tourists for trips around the town in his horse and cart. It’s just beautiful.