We had a sparse breakfast at the Frankfurt hostel. O.K.-- I realize it's called a "continental breakfast", but in the U.S. we are used to a lot more! Anyway-- we then checked out of the hostel and in our caravan of five vehicles, set out southeast along what is called the Romantic Road. This is a very charming two-lane highway through very scenic areas of the German states of Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria. It ultimately ends in Munich, where we would arrive several days later.
The towns and villages along the way have been preserved as much as possible. In some cases you drive straight through an open gate, down the main street and out again. These medieval gates were not intended to accommodate a two lane highway, so sometimes the highway narrowed to one lane, necessitating some careful yielding of the right-of-way! Some bridges were also so narrow that they were one lane only and only sometimes controlled by traffic lights. I wish I had taken photos of these things, but I was driving a van and rather busy at the time.
Our immediate destination was Bad Mergentheim, one of those well-preserved towns 20 miles southwest of Wurzburg, where the band was to give its first concert. We arrived and ate lunch at a restaurant full of medieval curiosities and serving genuine German cuisine. [Note-- There were plenty of McDonald's all around Germany, but I only ate at one once, just to find out if the food tasted the same as the U.S.] Due to a camera problem and another problem described below, I have no interesting, usable photos of Bad Mergentheim. Perhaps some band members can send me some-- Hint, hint!
Here's the story about my problem:
Foolishly, I wore a pair of red sweatpants for nearly 30 hours straight during the first two days, which caused me to sweat quite a bit around my "nether regions". I developed a serious chafing "issue", which necessitated me asking for permission to skip the concert in Bad Mergentheim and find a pharmacist at an "Apotheke" to get some supplies to relieve my problem, which was quite uncomfortable and slightly bloody.
The pharmacist I talked to was a severe-looking elderly man who spoke no English. He summoned an assistant, a young lady in her early 20's, and I described my problem as best I could. She exchanged some giggles with another young lady assistant and returned to translate for the pharmacist, who had the grimmest look on his face. He prescribed some over-the-counter salve, I think, and also handed me a fairly obvious palliative, baby powder. I still have the "Babypuder" packet as a souvenir. Anyway-- back to the events of the day...
After that precious moment, I have no recollection of why I was unable to catch the remainder of the concert I was missing; to relieve my embarrassment, I probably repaired to a bar and had a fine German pilsner! I had gotten back by the end of the concert and enjoyed the sights of Bad Mergentheim along with everyone else. We departed, needing to reach the lovely town of Weikersheim in order to claim our beds at the hostel. Fortunately, it was less than a 10 mile drive east.
Our hostel, the Haus der Musik, was a wonderful experience. We used it as our base of operations for 3 days and nights. I stayed in a relatively spacious room with two roommates. There were no bunk beds and we shared an ample bathroom with a room next door. We had a chance to see some of the town, eat dinner and then go out for some nightlife at "Bistro 11".
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