More rain and.....flooding!

Saturday, June 1, 2013
  You know all those times I mentioned it was a rainy day? Well there has been so much rain that localized flooding is occurring! We tried to visit some nearby small towns today but some of the roads were closed and we kept having to try a different route.  We finally gave up and took the autobahn to Wurzburg.  We toured the Residenz there and saw some beautiful ceiling frescoes by Tiepolo, then walked out into the garden.  There are some nice features in the garden but it was rainy and windy again, so we headed back to Rothenburg.
   We really like Rothenburg and spent the whole day yesterday just staying in the town, shopping and exploring.  There are some very nice Christmas shops here and lots of bakeries.  :-)  Mike is still having at least one pretzel a day - notice I said "at least". The pretzels we have in the U.S. will really pale in comparison to the ones we've eaten here.
  Our hotel is so nice and the staff are wonderful.  Our waiter at breakfast has our freshly squeezed orange juice and Mike's soda ready when we come downstairs and brings us a huge basket of different kinds of breads and rolls, along with the hotel's homemade jams, to enjoy while our hot items are freshly prepared. The dining room has a huge wooden pillar inscribed with the year 1568 - awesome! The reception ladies have been so helpful with suggestions and so pleasant, I just can't say enough good things about the staff here.
   Because the weather has been so bad, we really couldn't go out and enjoy the surrounding little towns like we wanted to, so we're changing plans and heading to Berlin a day early.  Not that it isn't raining in Berlin - it is - but it happens to be about 10-15 degrees warmer there and the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday is rain-free!!! So we're going to do a 5-6 hour drive tomorrow with a stop in Wittenberg.  The prospect of seeing a little sun and not wearing so many layers of clothing is pretty appealing!