HEIDELBERG, COLOGNE, PLUS CRUISING THE RHINE

(If interested, scroll down to my previous posts for the start of my trip to Germany.)

We're headed to Heidelberg via the Romantic Road - beautiful countryside with rolling hills, farms and vineyards.

Heidelberg has Germany's oldest university dating back to 1386.

The 700-year-old castle overlooks Heidelberg.

The view of the Neckar Valley was spectacular from the castle.

For my Wiggins' viewers I'm including our group picture at the castle. The backdrop looks fake, but it is the real wall left standing at the ruins.

We left Heidelberg to cruise down (or is it up?) the Rhine River.

It was a short 3-hour cruise, but the scenery was beautiful.

Castles, churches, villages, and vineyards.

And finally, our last stop in Germany - Cologne.

The cathedral took more than 600 years to complete. But Cologne seems to be all about shopping these days. Just off of the cathedral square is over a mile of pedestrian shopping. Since Cologne has a professional football (soccer) team, I figured it was a good place to find a soccer shirt for my grandson. I took off to find the shirt, always keeping my eye on those twin spires of the church so that I didn't get lost.

Found the shirt; had a sweet pretzel; had a diet Coke that actually had ice and a slice of lemon; and managed not to get lost!

Next up is France, but before I continue the travelogue; I think my next post will be about Germany's charming windows and their lace curtains.

(Most pictures may be clicked on to enlarge and view the details.)

MUNICH, DACHAU, ROTHENBURG

(If you are interested, just scroll down to my previous two posts about the beginning of this trip to Europe.)

On the road to Munich, we saw fields of hops being grown for the making of beer. I had no idea that they were a vine and grown on a pole/string apparatus.
The interesting architecture of the 1972 Munich Olympic Park. The 1972 olympics are unfortunately most known for the massacre of Israeli athletes.

At the center of Munich is the Marienplatz, once the intersection of medieval trade routes and home of the famed Glockenspiel that is in the tower of Neues Rathaus.

We were there at 5:00 pm and saw the Glockenspiel do its thing.

Then it was time to check out another beer garden, so I could have my daily Diet Coke. My Coke always cost more than the beer - usually about 3,50 euros or over $5.00!

We had dinner at the oldest brewery in Munich called Augustiner; then headed to our hotel in Puchheim.

The next day the tour was scheduled to go to Neuschwanstein to see King Ludwig's fairy-tale castle. Instead, three of us elected to take the commuter train back to Munich to take in the art museums. I'm so glad we did, as the others reported that it was quite a hike uphill to Ludwig's castle. We had a wonderful day back in Munich. I spent my time at the Alte Pinakothek immersing myself in the paintings of Cranach, Vermeer, da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, etc. etc. etc. Wonderful!!!

I did discover a new favorite - Jan van Kessel, a Flemish painter from the 1600s. He did the most detailed work of animals and botanicals with a large painting in the middle then a series of smaller paintings around the outside edge.

We also toured the Munich Residence Museum, the Palace of the kings of Bavaria.

This grotto courtyard was all done in shell work.

Opulence everywhere.

All of the extravagance of Munich was left behind. We next traveled to Dachau, the first concentration camp in Germany. What can I say - this was a sobering experience to think of the lives lost or changed forever. The inhumanity that took place was unbelievable.

I spent most of my time there in the museum reading the stories of the people that were interred. I'll never forget some of the stories and pictures.

We left Dachau, and traveled on the Romance Road to Rothenburg.

Rothenburg is Germany's best-preserved medieval town with half-timbered homes, cobblestone streets, and city walls.

We are headed to Heidelberg next for what must seem like to you an endless travelogue. Hope you check in for my next post.

I apologize for spacing problems - Blogger is giving me fits tonight!

(All pictures may be clicked on to enlarge to see details.)

I LOVED NUREMBERG!

If you are interested, you may scroll down to read my first post on my recent trip to Germany and France.

On our way to Munich we stopped at Nuremberg, the town that was famous for its association with Nazi Germany's Third Reich and the trials that were held there to determine the perpetrators of war crimes. It certainly has shaken that image, and is now a charming town with the most beautiful fountain in the square.

There was a market in the square with all of the beautiful sights you could imagine, including a flower market.
Vegetables, meats, and cheeses - no one seemed too concerned about the e-coli scare at the market. However, the restaurants that we ate at did not serve any fresh, uncooked vegetables.

I was especially intrigued by all of the white asparagus. One evening, we had white asparagus soup with our dinner - delicious.




Street scenes!

Sushi everywhere including Nuremberg!

I bought a lebkucken cookie (gingerbread, fruit & nuts) at the market for my lunch. Hey, I was on vacation - nutrition out the window! I then went to McDonald's for a Coke with ice and ran into the teenagers -- four days without American food was their limit, I guess. Plus, McDonald's always has clean and free bathrooms!

We all met at the fountain to head to Munich.

On to Munich for my next post!

(All photos may be clicked on to enlarge for details.)