A "Quilty" Visit to Rothenburg

Moving to a new place and making new friends can be daunting. I (Kara) was pretty nervous about how I would connect with people—in not just a new place, but a new country. Had it not been for the kindness of the Black Forest Quilt Guild and some of their members, I might have become a stitching hermit! In a previous post, Welcome to Germany: Quilter's Style, I shared how I was welcomed to BFQG with open arms. The welcome extended outside of guild meetings: from stitching visits in homes to a field trip to the Zwiegart store and factory to purchase threads for my Academy block. Most recently, some of the guild ladies invited me to Rothenberg ob der Tauber for a visit to a quilt shop there. Of course, I said yes!

Our view as we entered through one of the city gates.

I had heard that Rothenburg was a must see while we were living here, and the fact that it had a quilt shop made this field trip even better. The day started out a little cloudy, but by the time we got there the clouds were moving out and we were ready to shop.

Our fabric shopping shoes are on!

As we entered through one of the gates in the wall, the quilt shop was one of the first shops we saw. It is unmistakably a quilt shop, and the outside displays were so charming that even if you didn't quilt, you would want to go through the door just to see what was inside.

Der Patchwork Engel

While the shop is small, the owners have made the most of the space, with enough different fabrics to satisfy many tastes. Der Patchwork Engel, or The Patchwork Angel in English, was filled with fabric, patterns, and samples. It even included a display of Traditional German fabric.

This shelf was full of not only German fabrics,
but all sorts of small purses, pouches, and
 tissue holders as well.

Lots of different fabrics and patterns to choose from!

The cutting counter and some lovely
reproduction fabrics

When asked to go on this trip, I thought the quilt shop would be all there was to see, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how much more there was to Rothenburg. It is a quintessential, medieval, German town and is one of the few towns left with the encircling wall still intact. If you never stepped foot in any of the shops or restaurants, just walking the streets would be a treat for the eyes.

The well-preserved buildings will transport you back in time.

A quaint timbered house

The town center

A cottage straight out of a fairy tale!

There was more shopping to be done, so we made our way in and out of many of the shops. Never one to miss an antique store, I led the charge into a little shop we found. I only bought a few doilies to add to my collection, but was tempted by a few other things.

Lederhosen anyone?

A sweet sewing box.

Still filled with treasure!

In and out of the shops we wandered, stopping whenever something caught our eye. Lace, chocolate, dirndls; there was so much to see!

Beautiful lace trim found in a linens shop.

I didn't adequately capture the scale of
this giant bag of Lindt truffles!

A dirndl to go with the lederhosen

Another dirndl option!

Rothenburg wouldn't be complete without the German, Käthe Wohlfahrt, Christmas store. This store has all things Christmas for every person's taste and wallet. Upon entering, you follow a path similar to Ikea, that leads you through beautiful Christmas displays.

The Christmas village.

All too soon, it was time to head back and leave this stunningly beautiful town. I fell in love with its charm and beauty, and I thought it would be wonderful to show it to our soon-to-be-visiting friends. I wish I had read Rick Steves' review of Rothenburg; especially the part that tells you to put the full name, "Rothenburg ob der Tauber," in your GPS. There are quite a few Rothenburgs in Germany, and if you don't enter the right one, you will find yourself in a completely different Rothenburg than the one you were intending to visit. Had I read that before the road trip we took with our friends recently, I wouldn't have had to tell my husband that we had just driven two hours in the wrong direction! 

I will come back Rothenburg