Germany

A very nice weekend in Germany, just 2 days, driving around Cologne, Bonn and Aachen, which I describe for you below. We really enjoyed our stay with husbanito and my niece. We had the opportunity to see a lot of interesting places and monuments, eat excellent German food and buy interesting things in a Sunday market in Aachen. We were very lucky that the Sunday that we were there the market, which is only held four times per year, was being held.

You have to know that my first boyfriend was German, a very good friend of mine until today. For many years I used to come a lot to Germany. It is a country that I have always loved, especially for its people and for the beauty of this immense country. I have a lot of German friends since many years and I always had a lot of fun with them. Every time I return, I try to visit a new place, the country is the biggest in Europe and there is a lot to see. My previous trip with husbanito was to incredible Dresden, Leipzig and Hannover‎. Don’t miss Dresden. I will write about that trip when I have time.

Bruhl Palaces, near Cologne

Augustusburg Palace, one of the Bruhl Palaces

We drove two hours and a half from the Netherlands directly to Cologne (Koln), and went first to visit The Bruhl Palaces (Schlosser Bruhl), where you can see the magnificent Augustusburg Palace, the Falkenlust hunting Lodge and the beautiful Bruhl Park and Gardens. We had a one and a half hour guided tour through the palace where you can see, imagine and witness the sumptuous life of the 18^th century. This palace represents one of the first examples of Rococo creations in Germany and is part of the history of magnificent European architecture. Artists from France, Germany and Italy worked in this beautiful palace to create a masterpiece.

In 1725 Clemens August, member of the Wittelsbach dynasty and Archbishop of Cologne, commissioned the Westphalian architect Johann Conrad Schlaun to start the construction of the palace on the ruins of a medieval moated castle. In 1728 the Architect François de Cuvillies took over and made this Palace one of the most splendid of its time.

When you arrive and see the Palace in front of you it is breathtaking, more impressive outside than inside with its magnificent entrance. The Palace was used for representation purposes by the German Federal President and government, for many decades from 1949, whilst Bonn was the capital of West Germany, receiving guests in the ‎incredible entrance and formidable staircase created by Johann Balthasar Neumann in marble and stucco, with many beautiful sculptures and paintings.

The Palace has been restored to look as it was originally, although modern facilities were added for the comfort of important guests, in particular the rooms that were destroyed during the war. Fortunately, only a very small part of the palace was damaged. ‎In 1984 UNESCO added the palace, hunting lodge and gardens to the World Heritage List.

The main floor was considered the summer part of the Palace: the windows could be opened to keep the rooms cool during the summer. The decoration was fresher in design and a lot of blue and white was used in this room. The second-floor rooms were considered the winter part of the palace. Clemens August used this palace mostly in summer, but also during his trips he would stop there.

The Falkenlust Hunting Lodge is 2.5 km from the palace and is located on the edge of a secluded grove. ‎ You have to calculate around 3 hours if you want to see everything. And you can have a good meal, snack or drinks in the restaurant-bar in front of the gates of the Palace in the train station. Funkhaus Gastronomie (Wallrafplatz 5‎) has good food and good prices.

The Archbishop Clemens August loved hunting with falcons and spent ‎a lot of the Church’s and his own money on this activity. He enjoyed entertaining his friends and organising hunting parties, including women, in the hunting lodge.

In constructing the palace, he ran up large debts, that were paid off at his death, including selling the furniture of the palace. Thus, the furniture is not the original. The Palace has been redecorated with furniture of the period.

‎The location for constructing the Falkenlust Hunting Lodge was selected to be on the flight path of the herons, which are the favorite prey of falcons. You can see a lot of paintings of falcons around the rooms of the palace. ‎The herons, flying on their route from their breeding grounds in the beautiful Palace Gardens to their fishing grounds on the River Rhine, near Wesseling, were captured by the falconer, Clemens August, and his guests and hunting parties. Once the hunt was finished, they would meet for dinner and entertainment in the lavishly decorated rooms of Falkenlust. The rooms are perfectly preserved. The small hunting lodge was created in a few years as an extension of the palace by the Architect François de Cuvillies.

In 1730 a chapel was also constructed dedicated to Saint Mary of Egypt near the hunting lodge. Pierre Laporterie fashioned it as a grotto-style hermitage. The Gardens are in the French Style.

At the beginning of 1728 the beautiful baroque gardens (perfectly kept today) ‎were created by Dominique Girard, most probably student of Andre Le Notre, the master gardener at Versailles. He created a landscape after the French fashion at the time. When you see the gardens from the Palace rooms, you are enchanted, they are beautiful, perfectly designed. The colours and the trees around them are magnificent. The centre piece of the gardens is an ornamental parterre with round and quatrefoil fountain basins. The flowers bloom from May to October. Lateral alleys of lime trees lead over to the bosquets.

In 1842 the garden designer Peter Joseph Lenne redesigned the gardens and park following the English landscaping designs in fashion at the time. This transformation, which was commissioned by the Prussian King Frederick William IV determines the forested park grounds today, woodland leads to meadows crossed by walks and water.

Today the Government of ‎North Rhine-Westphalia maintains the palace for the public as a museum. Thank you, it is so fantastic to have the opportunity to appreciate such a beautiful and magic piece of the past.

Check the timing of the guided visits, it is not possible to walk around the palace alone. And there is a short and a long tour that you can choose (and the prices are different).

‎If you are interested to see also the Max Ernst Museum Bruhl you can combine the ticket with the Palace one. Ask when you buy the ticket. If you are travelling with students, always remember to take the student card that will save you money in all the museums.

Cologne

After this visit we went to the city of Cologne. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany and was founded by the Romans. Charlemagne made it the capital of his Archbishopric. It was a very important ecclesiastic center and that’s why it has 12 Romanic churches and the famous Gothic Cathedral.

The city is very lively, full of people, especially on a Saturday. If you come by car, there are several parking garages in the centre of the city. Follow Zentrum and look for Parkhouse. All German cities have convenient public parking near their centres and prices are reasonable.

Today the city is an important arts centre, with lots of museums and art galleries and constant stream of trade fairs. If it is possible for you a good time to visit is around carnival time, in February/March, so as to have the opportunity to see the processions.

The Germans certainly know how to build an impressive church

The Cathedral of Cologne is gigantic and is one of the most famous Gothic buildings in Germany. Started in 1248 and finished in 1880. As husbanito did, you can climb to the top of the tallest tower ‎and have a fantastic view of the city. It is a long way up, as it is the tallest twin spired church in the world. He always climbs up all the towers he finds around……I don’t! I prefer to wander around the shops, which is very extensive in Cologne. In the streets near the Cathedral, you will find the luxury shops and the international chain stores.

Other places to visit in Cologne:

Pfarrkirche St Maria Himmelf‎ahrt, one of the only baroque buildings in the city.
Romisch-Germanisches Museum has a lot of interesting archeological relics from the Roman period, plus weapons and other interesting things.
St Andreas Basilica.
Ludwig Museum, one of the best collections of Modern Art in Europe.
Gross St Martin, all of the area is very interesting from an architectural point of view.
Farina House, that covers the history of perfume. 300 years ago, an Italian perfumer Farina started to produce the Eau de Cologne, famous now across the world.
Rathaus (town hall), constructed and re-modelled in different moments in Gothic style and renaissance style.
Jewish museum.
Gurzenich a Gothic building, which has a big functions room.
Wallraf-Richartz Museum and Foundation Corboud, take the name of the owner of the collection of art that lived in Cologne, together with the name of Johann Heinrich Richartz, who ordered the construction of the museum in 1824. Here you will find Rubens, Rembrandt and a lot other famous artists, together with a big collection of Gérard Corboud’s work.
Kolumba Museum (collection of religious art).
Schnutgen Museum (the Romanic church of St Cecily). In Cologne there are 12 Romanic churches which show the power and the importance of the church during the construction of this city.
St Peter has very magnificent windows. The church was bombarded during the second world war, and damaged. The father of Pieter Paul Rubens is buried here. Beautiful is the Crucifixion of St. Peter painted around 1637 by Rubens who lived in the city when he was young.
St Maria Im Kapitol began as a convent and has very interesting interiors.
Overstolzenhaus is a perfectly restored house. It was constructed at the beginning of the XIII century for a rich family and is considered one of the most beautiful houses in the city‎ .During the second world war Cologne, along with many other German cities, was heavily bombed, destroying forever parts of the city, that were very rich architecturally. What a craziness to destroy forever part of history, the beauty and the art, that was created by fabulous artists of the past , a great shame. How can humankind be so destructive.
Chocolate Museum. Wow! Imhoff-Stollwerck-Museum, very interesting to learn about the story of cocoa, its cultivation and the production of chocolate.

Shopping and Eating

In all Germany the shopping is good. You find the International brands that are in all the big cities in the world. However, what I like are the traditional German products, that are famous for their quality, like scissors, ‎knifes and pans for cooking.

German clothes, like lederhosen (leather pants) and wool jackets, that lots of people use in the mountains during the ski season. You can find a very big selection at good prices in the weekend markets. Bavarians often wear these typical German clothes.

The street markets in Germany are very good, you can find a lot of interesting things for a good price. I always visit the markets when I go to Germany and always return with very good bargains. You will not be disappointed. I am sure you will find something that will interest you. I found lots of nice pieces, this weekend in the Aachen market (more of that later).

Check on the Internet before visiting Germany to see if there is a market in the area you will visit during the weekend you are there. Some are every weekend, others rotate between different towns. Very special are the Christmas markets all around Germany and also in other Northern European countries.

You can also take back home nice sausages: in Germany there is a huge selection. In Aachen we had lunch in a restaurant that served sausages in different styles and they were all very good. I had curry wurst. I used to go to eat a curry wurst at lunch time in a small vehicle that used to stand always on the same corner of a street near my friend, Evita’s house. She passed away, already many years ago. I always miss her. We had such wonderful times together in Frankfurt where she used to live. I love all types of sausage, except the white Bavarian ones. Nearly every region has a different type of ‎sausage.

German food is mostly of a homemade style, very good and not expensive. You should try the speciality of whichever region you are visiting. Pork is common and is cooked in different ways. It is excellent roasted with crispy skin, served with sauerkraut (fermented cabbage). Cakes and all sweets in general (with fruit) are really good, try the famous apple tart with cream. It is not for the diet conscious for sure, but excellent! Don’t miss it.

I always recommend people to try a traditional German restaurant in any city you visit in Germany. They are very good and you cannot go wrong. Prices are always reasonable. There you can try the famous local beer or the apple wine in the areas around and in Frankfurt.

The German Biergartens are a lot of fun, especially during the summer you can sit outside and mostly drink beer and wine and eat good and simple food, not spending much. There are long tables full of people, that you can talk to, or not. It is a good way to socialise, particularly if you go alone. You can also sit inside, but in summer most of the people love to be outside in the northern European countries. They have plenty of time during the long winter to sit inside. The best time to visit the Biergartens is during October. It will be full of people, but an incredible experience. ‎The most famous Octoberfest is in Munich.

‎Bonn

The second city we visited during the weekend was Bonn, which was the Capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1991, until reunification moved it back to Berlin.

Before going into town we visited the unique Schloss Drachenburg, a dream castle with an unforgettable view over the River Rhine. The location of the Castle is incredible. The views of the river and of the hills and green forests that surround it are spectacular.

Castle Drachenburg ‎was built between 1882 to 1884 for Stephan Von Sarter, the son of a Bonn inn keeper. It is one of the most important and unique castles constructed in Germany during the 19^th century. The spectacular gardens have unique plants and trees and breathtaking views on the river and town. You could stay in the windows looking at the view for hours. I can imagine that the owner and the guests enjoyed the view and the fantastic gardens during the summer.

There is a car park particularly close to the castle, from where there is quite long, but very pleasant, walk, of around 2.5 km to reach the castle. Alternatively, you can take the train from the town of Konigswinter, which avoids the walk. The ride is quite expensive if you are a family.

Some beautiful buildings on the way up from the car park

The Castle is situated above Konigswinter, in the heart of the Siebengebirge (seven hills) nature park. You can see the building from a long way away. It is half way up ‎the Drachenfels, or Dragon’s Rock, which you can climb on foot or as I told you before go up there comfortably seated in the historical train, from where you can enjoy the splendid views.

‎You can see the castle that appears behind some very old trees, surrounded by beautiful hydrangeas and rhododendrons, that you will see in full bloom during July. We were very lucky to see them at their best. There is a bench in the garden between two large hydrangeas, where you can take excellent pictures.

There is a nice restaurant on the terrace with a beautiful view on the Rhine. You can have a guided tour, performed by a lady dressed in an old servants’ uniform. She is dressed in black with a white bonnet and carries around a basket with cleaning utensils. You can wait for the tour in the entrance of the castle.

‎Since the beginning of the 20^th century, the possibility to experience the combination of nature and culture, in a romantic setting with a rich history, has attracted a lot of tourists from all over the world to visit this castle. We really enjoyed our visit. It was a wonderful experience. And you can enjoy breathtaking panoramic views on the River Rhine.

Inside the castle you can ask to go to the upper floor in the elevator, which is not available for everybody, only for those in need. To get to the very top of the Castle, which has another entrance, you need to climb a lot of stairs. Husbanito went up there of course!

The inside of the castle is very well restored and refurbished. You can see and appreciate 19^th century life. ‎You can admire the large canvas paintings by artists such as Ferdinand Wagner the Younger and Frank Kirchbach. There are also artistic wood carvings, elaborate stencil paintings and coloured glasswork.

Over the years, the Castle was a villa, a summer vacation house, a home for convalescing women and a school. It was empty for some time and was damaged during the second world war. There is an exhibition that explains the restoration work ‎if you are interested. In 1986 the castle and its park attained the status of a site of historic interest.

Starting in 1995 the North Rhine-Westphalia‎ Trust for the protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage in co-operation with the State and the town of Konigswinter has carefully restored the castle to its original condition. The extensive restoration was completed in 2011, which returned the castle to its former glory.

You can bring nice food and make a picnic in the beautiful gardens; it is really the ideal place for one.

City of Bonn

Bonn was founded by the Romans in the first century before Christ. The city become famous because the Archbishopric of Cologne was nearby. The city is also famous also because the musician Ludwig van Beethoven was born in this city in 1770 and because another musician, Robert Schumann, lived his last years here.

Bonn became famous worldwide ‎when on 10 May 1949 it became the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. It remained the capital until 1991 when the German Parliament decided that Berlin would be the capital of the reunited Germany. Although it is no longer the capital six ministries are still based here.

Bonn is full of beautiful buildings around the center, residential areas with abundant trees along wide avenues. The architecture around the city is beautiful. There are lots of churches and squares, cafés and restaurants. And lots of shops.

If you want to have very good traditional German food, go to Wirtshaus Salvator, try the beer sampler, which has 6 different beers to taste at a very good price (around 12 euros). Ask for a pretzel ‎to eat with the beer. My recommendation is to try the crispy pork. A portion is sufficient for two people. Alternatively try a schnitzel, with kartofle salat (potato salad). (address: In der Surst 5-7, Bonn)

‎There are a lot of nice shops in Bonn. Walk around town, admire the beautiful buildings and churches. Stop in a bar or patisserie and try the famous apfelstrudel or an apple tart with whipped cream. Try also the fresh mint tea with fresh ginger, very popular also in The Netherlands.

Don’t forget to visit:

Beethoven’s house. Bonn was his town.
The Markt, the market square.
The Rathaus (town hall).
The gothic churches ‎of Remigiuskirche and Namen-Jesu-Kirche.
The Universitat building is one of the nicest buildings in the city, it is baroque palace.
Munster St Martin, Bonn Cathedral, a very good example of Romanic Architecture.
Landesmuseum ‎Bonn which holds Roman remains.
Kunst Museum Bonn, one of the largest contemporary art museums in Germany. The building itself is very striking.
Bad Godesberg, known for its thermal baths, became a part of Bonn‎ in 1969. It is a very elegant area of the city.
Poppelsdorf is full of parks and boulevards. Here you can find the baroque Schloss Clemensruhe and its park, which has the botanical garden. They are part of the University.

‎After Bonn, on our way back to the Netherlands, we drove to..

Aachen

Aachen is a beautiful town. We read that there was a street market there on the Sunday we were passing which rotates between different towns in the area. We were very lucky to go to such a beautiful town and a most interesting and enjoyable market.

The current appearance of Aachen Cathedral has evolved over twelve hundred years. In around 800 the central octagon, the Palatine chapel, with the dome, was built in the Byzantine style. If you have been to Ravenna in Italy, you will notice its similarity to the Basilica of San Vitale. In the 14^th and 15^th centuries the Gothic choir and North and South Chapels were erected. In the 18^th century the Hungarian Chapel and the portico were added.

Charlemagne’s final resting place is in this church. It was the most distinguished sanctuary in his realm. His remains are kept in the Shrine‎ of Charlemagne in the apsis of the choir. Thirty-one German king’s and 12 queens were anointed, crowned and enthroned here on Charlemagne’s throne in the gallery.

During the middle ages, the Royal church of St Mary at Aachen become one of Christendom’s most important places of pilgrimage, on a par with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. This pilgrimage had been taking place, every seven years since 1349, the next one will be in 2021.

The mosaics in the cathedral are incredible. I have seen many, but I think that these are among the most beautiful that I have seen, certainly on a par with Ravenna.

Visit the treasury, one of Europe’s most renowned church treasuries, holding a unique collection of precious works of art illustrating the history of Aachen Cathedral‎. There are a lot of other churches around town worth visiting.

Don’t forget that on Sundays all the shops are closed in Germany. Geschlossen! Not the markets though….

The Einkaufen market in Aachen is a very interesting place to visit. I am passionate about street markets all over the world and in Germany you are always able to find very interesting things to buy. This market took over most of the centre of the city and was very extensive. As I am a creative person as well as travelling a lot, I always find special pieces in markets around the world, that I make into special things, such as necklaces, handbags, dresses and things for the house.

The markets are always a surprise. You never know what you are going to find. I like the challenge of the hunt and then the negotiation of the price. In this market in Aachen I found an enormous variety of new and old things to buy: haberdashery, beautiful old buttons, ribbons and cutlery. I bought a very nice cigar cutter, beautiful serving spoons with deer horn handles for less than 10 euros and a big decorative Ralph Lauren perfume bottle for 20 euros that looks great in my guest bathroom.

There was a large collection of used and vintage clothes.

We ate in Hanswurst, das Wurstrestaurant (Munsterplatz 6) specialising, unsurprisingly, in wurst (sausages). There were lots of different flavours cooked in different ways. There was 3 of us, my niece, husbanito and me and we all ate the wurst in a different way. They were all delicious. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the summer weather and watch the people walking around the market.

You have to check the internet to know what are the locations of the market for the weekend you are there. They change every weekend.

Around this town there are very nice sweet shops. You will find something tempting to take back home, for you or for your friends.

Every time I go to Germany, I visit at least one market. I always find excellent things. Very interesting is the Sunday market in Berlin, don’t miss it if you are there on a Sunday. In these markets you can find very nice pieces to buy for presents for birthdays or Christmas. I often buy them months in advance, if I see something suitable for someone. In fact, I start buying Christmas presents in August most years. This way you can find something that people will really appreciate, rather than something found at the last minute.

Bye-bye from Germany, Auf Wiedersehen‎!