Thursday, December 11, 2014

2014 Germany Trip - Transports @ Rothenburg

Location: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:


My Germany trip opened my eyes to just how different transportation could be. Bicycles came with carriage for the pedaling adult to pull kids along safely and under the shade. Tour vehicles were decked out to look like toy trucks with Christmas ornaments and presents. Some exuded antiquity to fit better to the atmosphere of a charming old town surviving the centuries. And surprisingly, horses were far common than I would expected, plodding along the cobbled streets

What I remembered the most was of course a stark red Ferrari F430 parked at a roadside, attracting attention of passing tourists. A sign on its windshield mentioned that it was for rental, and upon later online search, revealed this to be the asset of a business named European Sportscar Travel. The savvy business used it as a marketing tool to direct attention to the shop located at a corner of the town which saw lower foot traffic. Interestingly the rental included an instructor to go with, which of course was required as the high powered was not as easily controlled as a normal sedan.

Lady in red

This Ferrari was just parked on the roadside but there was a sign on it saying it was for rental. It attracted attentions of most tourists walking past. I later found online that this was in front of a shop specializing in renting out luxurious cars for traveling (check out European Sportscar Travel). Of course I wasn't the only photographer snapping off there.

Prancing horse

Scooting down a lane

To know that the land of speeding highways still enjoy a moped.

Antiquity

Rothenburg greeted me with a few surprises upon my arrival in town, literally throwing me a wedding procession and let me relive the medieval life. My first encounter in town was a horse drawn carriage crossing my path. The clip clop of hooves beating on the cobbled road made me imagine myself in the medieval centuries, not difficult with the beefy fortifications completing the illusion. For the right price, which I did not inquire, the carriage would take me for a tour of the charming town, allowing me to further immerse in my imagination.

Right after the horses trotted past, a wedding procession of the groom and his band of brothers drove past. In swirling colors the fleet of cars drove past, blaring their horns to signal their main man's big day. It was clearly a good start of my trip to see such a happy fleet.

Old man and kid

Carriage

Wedding procession

Groom

Cycling

Toy truck

I wandered around the town and saw quite a few other interesting transports, one of them being the decorated visitors tour trucks. Each of them were remodeled into merry transports meant to invoke enthusiasm in their passengers. I wasn't too sure how to get on board of one, and at that point I was too afraid to ask either.

The eco-friendlier locals would travel around in bicycles, and I saw that the parents would have their bicycles retrofitted into a tricycle with a shaded carriage behind the cyclist. Their kids could have their fun while their parent cycle them around to pick up grocery or to the church, which to me was a good idea. Nevertheless I could not imagine that happening in Malaysia or Singapore, what with the sun so strong and the temperature so high.




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