We spent three hours visiting this beautifully preserved medieval walled town on a hill overlooking the Tauber River. It's located near the Romantic Road in the Franconian area of Germany, a road of fairy tale magic. I thoroughly enjoyed the Glockenspiel in the town square. Our coach driver, Peter, told us the story behind it, which helped me understand its significance. As legend has it, the town was about to be attacked by its enemies, but the leader of the opposition said that if the ruler of the town could drink a large tankard of wine without stopping, the town would be spared. (Why such a crazy test is anybody's guess.) He did so, of course, although he apparently slept for days afterward. So, when the clock struck 12:00 noon, two fairly large windows on either side of the clock open up; the military leader and the ruler of the town are in the two windows, one observing the other drinking from the stein. It's pretty entertaining.
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