May 11, 2000

We had a brief team workout this morning at 8:00 and then it was on to breakfast at the hotel. It was a small buffet of rolls, lunch meat, cheese slices and better and jelly. Coffee and orange juice were also included. We took showers and toured the area of Rothenburg. We walked the wall around the town, this was a narrow covered passageway and you could see down in the garden and flower beds of the small homes near the wall.

Some of us toured the "Kriminel Museum". There were displays of torture equipment used for different crimes during the 12th century. For example, a shame mask (made of iron) was used for people who gossiped, it had a long tongue and big ears. Other ones included the donkey of shame saddle for lazy people, thumb screws for thieves, a huge wooden rosary for someone to wear that missed church or fell asleep during the sermon, and a tongue screw for liars.

We walked through the Castle Gardens which had beautiful flowers of all types in bloom. We had lunch after buying Birkenstock shoes and boarded the bus to Munich. It was a three hour drive with our usual rest stop at the half way point.

We arrived at our Hotel Bristol at 6:30pm and checked into our rooms. Some of us did laundry in our rooms and we met for dinner at 7:30. We rode the "U Bahn" (underground subway) to the next stop or the main part of town -- Marienplatz, a large square which houses the Glockenspeil. (The Glockenspeil is a large clock with figurines and moves every hour.) There is always a crowd to watch it change time.

We had dinner at Donisyl's on the square, ordering Wiener Schnitzel, Dumplings (Potatoes), fish, and Apple or Pear Strudel. We got back to the hotel at 10:00 and headed to bed. Thursday morning we plan on taking a tour of the city!