The city, not the fragrant liquid.  Established in the first century AD, Cologne began as a Roman provincial capital and became an important trade route in the middle ages.  During WWII, this was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany, resulting in loss and evacuation of around 95% of the city’s population.  Fortunately, the Cologne cathedral survived the devastation.  Construction of the cathedral began in the 13th century, but was not completed until the 1880s.  At a height of over 500 ft (to the tallest spire), this is one of the largest churches in the world.

Very near the cathedral is the Hohenzollern Bridge, once used for both rail and road traffic over the Rhine river, but is now only a railway bridge.  This is a spectacular structure on its own, without even considering the hundreds of thousands (millions??) of locks attached to the lower bridge panels!

Jean

From Rudesheim to Koblenz, our drive down the Rhine was filled with spectacular scenery and interesting little towns. I imagine one could spend a week exploring and still not find all the treasures!

First stop for us was the quaint town of Rudesheim am Rhine. We visited a mechanical music museum – an amazing collection of music boxes and instruments.

Theo took a cable car above the hillside vineyards to the Niederwald Monument, where I joined him. The view of the Rhine river valley from there was just beautiful!

Next stop-the Lorelei rock.

Last, but not least, was Marksburg castle – built about 1100 and is part of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO world heritage site.

Jean

Well, no trains…yet. We landed in Frankfurt with a minimum of fuss – although neither of us slept much on the plane. Nevertheless, we managed to find the rental car and make our way into the city. Happily, our hotel had a snug little parking garage (for a fee, of course) and we were content to leave the car behind.

A short while later, we found ourselves on Fressgrass, a street full of stores and restaurants. On one end is the spectacular Frankfurt Opera House, on the other is the Romerplatz, which is the center of the old town. Much of this area was destroyed during WWII, but has since been rebuilt according to the original designs.

To finish off the day in Frankfurt, we hopped on a boat for a relaxing ride along the river Main. This is a town for business and has the skyline to match.

Jean

Happy Father’s Day to all, but especially to Theo, my favorite partner in crime, er, I mean, in adventure! The next one begins today as we take off for Frankfurt. From there, we are driving through much of western and southern Germany, ending up in Switzerland.

We have lots of interesting places on the itinerary, including the town where I lived more years ago than I care to admit.

So, stay tuned to this channel for updates as they happen!

Jean