Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl (or Meteor Town and The Benevolent Swedes)

So Thursday we took an enjoyable daytrip with C & M to two medieval Bavarian towns. Nördlingen was built in the crater of a meteor. The gigantic gates date back to medieval times, and you can walk atop the wall that surrounds the whole of Nördlingen. Pretty cool.

Then it was off to Dinkelsbühl (which is really fun to say with the correct German pronunciation). The place is simply gorgeous. The origins of the town are also interesting. While the name is written about as early as the 1200s, its later history is what most people remember. In the 1600s the city changed hands eight times due to attacks from various warring peoples. In around 1632 it was the Swedes who came along and took over. According to legend, the children of Dinkelsbühl begged their attackers for mercy, and so while the Swedish did indeed take over the city, they spared the lives of the conquered people. Even more curious is that the people of Dinkelsbühl still hold an annual festival celebrating the fact that they surrendered and weren't destroyed by the Swedes.

In other news not directly related to travelling but nonetheless important, we watched the series finale of Studio 60 last night with Colin & Marlene, whom we were pleased to learn were fellow fans of this remarkable show. What an ending. Now we continue lamenting that it only lasted one season.