Harburg was a pleasant surprise, offering us some tranquil respite during our summer roadtrip down the Romantic Road in southern Germany. I had planned to spend the night here between some of the highlights on our itinerary. I first learned of the landmark castle when I was searching for suitable accommodations. The bonus that there was a castle nearby sealed the deal on a quick stop in Harburg. We planned to arrive late afternoon, coming from Rothenburg, via Nordlingen. Seeing Harburg Castle if there was time.
Having no idea that this town was in itself a romantic destination, my plan was to check into our apartment and eat dinner at Hotel Gasthof zum Goldene Lamm (menu). In the morning, the plan was to eat breakfast at Brueckencafe, a little cafe right on the bridge, before a morning visit to the castle. I should’ve done more research.
We stayed in two adjoining apartments at the Old Bavarian House on the Romantic Road, which I found on booking.com. They were quite basic, but clean. We paid $171 total for the two apartments. And they were only a few minutes walking distance to everything in the photos (other than the castle itself). The landlord was friendly, and there was plenty of parking for the large rental van we were driving.
When we arrived, the kids (ages 10, 12, 13, & 22) were tired from walking around the other sites throughout the day. So Gary and I decided to head out on foot by ourselves, and see the small town.
The road we took to the apartment did not offer any glimpse of the town itself. Quite frankly, we may have taken an unusual route and even gotten a bit lost. At some point I had to attempt an 8-point turnaround at the end of a one-way road. When we made it to the apartment, we really weren’t sure where we were in relation to anything else in the town. Gary and I headed to the right at the end of the driveway, exploring down a small side street. We were delighted to see the castle peak through in the background, for sure. But, we began to notice other details… Like a courtyard filled with exotic birds. And cats looking down at them from a neighboring window. While the castle above clearly demands attention, we began to find unexpected details pulling our curiosity back to our immediate surroundings.
Within minutes, we found ourselves in the center of town. And it was so quiet. After the hours spent competing with tour groups for every glimpse back in Rothenburg, the lack of other tourists was really nice. We wandered onto the bridge and were awe-struck. The water reflected everything we saw. And the old stone bridge itself was adorned with colorful crocheted decor, colorful chairs and flowers, and an unexpected frog statue.
At this point, we had randomly come across both restaurants we had planned to eat at; both which we would not eat at. The restaurant we had planned for dinner was closed. We noticed the cafe on the bridge planned for breakfast would not be open the next morning (hopefully it is open when you visit because it looked lovely!). So we soaked in the charm while strolling the village. I hadn’t expected anything special from this stopover; I was so wrong! Harburg is beautiful, and stands out amongst the places we visited on this trip. It is the perfect place to spend a memorable night as you travel the region. In fact, I thought this was one of the most romantic stops on the Romantic Road.
From our initial walk through town, we knew there was a nice bakery and cafe along the water with an excellent view of the castle. We promptly made our way to Mayer’s Backstube the next morning. You can see the amazing view we had with our morning coffee and pastry below.
After breakfast, we checked out of our apartment and drove up to the Harburg Castle. It was easy to find inexpensive parking near the entrance. It was only when we were there, that I realized there were walkways around the castle and fairytale displays.
For example, the Fairytale Trail takes the visitor through a series of fairytale scenes, charming all ages, because who doesn’t love a good fairytale (in Germany). Note, the trail is not open in the winter.
At the castle, we paid a small entrance fee to access the castle grounds. We did not do a tour of the interior when we were there due to a technicality I cannot recall the details of, but we could access the courtyard, castle church interior and a viewing platform that overlooks far into the countryside. To learn more about our visit to Harburg Castle, check out this post. There is also a hotel and restaurant at the castle. If you have visited, please share your own perspective and tips in the comments! I hope to return one day myself, and do the tour, among other things.
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