France and Germany Spring 07

Germany

May 13 and 14
Landed in Nuremburg in the evening, and fortunately had a beautiful rust colored Fiat Panda waiting for me!

I never did find the hotel I made reservations at (oops) so I just stayed at the first hotel I could find that was open at 1 a.m.! Awoke early in Nuremburg to a pleasant and cool day. Nuremburg has long been considered the ‘heart and soul’ of Germany---the prototypical German city, filled with history and importance. That’s why Hitler selected this city as the center of his Nazi rallies and planned to make this the administrative center of the Third Reich. I began my day by driving uphill to Nuremburg Castle,

which sits atop the city, which was largely leveled during WWII and reconstructed afterwards.

Leaving the castle, I was driving in a pedestrian zone (didn’t know it) but so were lots of other Germans doing the same who should have known better! A policeman pulled me over and was ready to give me a ticket but gave me a break when I told him I was a lost tourist in Germany for my first day. Think that’s the first time I’ve talked myself out of a ticket! Ladies, now I know what it’s like for you when you have to talk your way out of tickets!
The Nuremburg Cathedral and Marketplace were colorful and fun---

had my first authentic pretzel and German beer while walking through the old pedestrian center. Sun gave way to clouds as I visited the German National Museum, which is enormous, fascinating, and so big it’s overwhelming.

After several hours I left for the Nazi Documentation Center, built on the site of Hitler’s unfinished, massive coliseum meant to symbolize the ‘new empire’.

This museum is chillingly fascinating, detailing the Nazi’s brutal rise to power, World War II, the Holocaust, and the aftermath of the Third Reich. There was a great movie featuring older citizens of Nuremburg explaining how they were seduced by Hitler and the Nazi movement.
Leaving the museum, visitors get to see the unfinished coliseum, then it is a short walk (it conveniently started raining as I made the ½ mile walk) to the Nazi rally grounds seen in all the documentary movies and the famous propaganda film ‘The Triumph of the Will’

Now it functions as a park, but the stage has been left as a reminder of the Nazi legacy in Germany. Out of the pouring rain I made the drive to Bamberg Germany. This UNESCO world heritage city is extremely well preserved and features some splendid architecture. It’s Rathaus is set on a small bridge, and it’s half timbered homes line a river, called the “Petite Venise”.

Bamberg, Coburg Castle, Surviving the Autobahn, Romantic Road
May 15
Spent the night in Bamberg’s cute old town (reminded me of the one in Prague) and awoke to a beautiful sunrise that was great for photo taking.


Visited the impressive gothic cathedral,


which features some world class artwork including the famed 13th century ‘Bamburg rider’ which Hitler described as the ideal Ayrian knight.

Leaving this beautiful small city, I drove north to Coburg Castle,



which is one of Germany’s best preserved medieval castles. The former home of England’s Prince Albert (he was German) and Martin Luther

(hid here for a year while on the run from the Pope) this castle features a circular, turreted outer wall, and an inner courtyard. The castle’s architecture spans several eras. There was a GREAT art museum with lots of paintings by famed German painters, Durer, Holbein, and Cranach.

Holbein’s portraits of Martin Luther and his family were outstanding, as was the biographical museum exhibition of Luther’s life and times. This castle also featured a huge armor display and carriage museum.

All of this (and a spectacular view of the German countryside) made this an extremely worthwhile trip. It was a bit out of the way, but was among my favorite castles in Germany.

Leaving Coburg I had my first experience on the German autobahn, which was one of the experiences of my lifetime. Never have I seen so many drive so fast. The autobahn is hard to drive on if you don’t have a performance car, because the cars drive either 130 mph or 60 mph. My little Panda couldn’t do more than 90, which made life tough for me because the Germans drive REALLY aggressively in the passing lane, so you have to pull over all the time and let the Audis, Mercedes, BMW’s and even VW’s pass you by while you get stuck behind 18 wheelers that can only do 60 mph by law. So it was fun, stressful, and even made me laugh out loud on several occasions---I’ve just never seen anything like having NO speed limit at all!

Survived my first stretch of Autobahn to reach Wurzburg on Germany’s fabled Romantic Road which goes from Frankfurt to Munich. Wurzburg was mostly leveled during WWII, and much of today’s sights are restorations, still, it’s quite charming, and it’s Residenz (former bishop’s palace) is magnificent.



Some of this survived WWII and its interior is lavish and stunning---also a UNESCO world heritage site. Leaving Wurzburg under cloudy skies, the weather improved as I revisited perhaps the best preserved medieval city in all of Europe, Rothenburg.

It’s filled with tourists, which can be irksome, but what an amazing town---the entire city is surrounded by a wall which you can walk around (I did) and filled with cobbled streets, statues, folklore, a great cathedral, and museums

(I visited the ‘medieval crime and torture’ museum years ago and was fascinated and grossed out---hard to believe men can be so cruel to eachother. If you visit Germany and stop at only one town or city, this would be the one----it’s like stepping back into a Grimm fairy tale!

You’d even feel more so if it weren’t for all the souvenir shops and photo stores, etc. Still, I love this town!

Left Rothenburg and it was starting to get dark, so I finished a long day on the Autobahn and reached my next destination, Ulm, where Albert Einstein was born.

May 16
Bavaria
My ‘Bavarian Day’ started in Ulm, which has two memorable sights. It’s single spired gothic cathedral boasts the world’s largest church steeple,

and its painted medieval Rathaus (town hall) could be perhaps the most beautifully decorated building in all of Germany.


I spent more time admiring the Rathaus than I did the awesome cathedral!


After Ulm, I drove to the awesome Ottobeuren Pilgrimage Church, which is in a small German village. It doesn’t look like much from the outside,


but inside it is STUNNINGLY beautiful. One of the most amazing rococo/baroque style churches I’ve ever seen. It’s multiple domes, gilded and carved choirs, immense organ, colored marble columns, and many stautes. It’s breathtaking.


My next stop was another rural parish church in the middle of nowhere (it borders a farm), the Weis Church. Smaller but no less impressive than Ottobeuren, I actually got to witness mass in session as this was a national holiday of some kind. This was my second trip here and it is known as the ‘wedding cake’ of churches for all its frilly, lavish decoration.

Next stop was the smallest but most lavishly decorated castle of Bavaria’s Mad King Ludwig (who lived here most of the time because it was his favorite).


The Linderhof is replete with gold, art, over the top decoration, and even a hall of mirrors.


It’s called the “Little Versailles” because Ludwig admired Versailles and idolized Louis (the ‘sun king) XIV of France.

Wow! It also features some spectacular gardens and a Disneyesque grotto which is the closest thing to Disneyland outside of the U.S.---Ludwig used to watch his Wagner (another idol) operas here.


This was not the grand spectacle of Neuschwanstein, but its intimacy and splendid décor and landscaping made the Linderhof very unique. From the Linderhof, I visited Grindelwald, Oberammergau (visited the theatre where they hold the passion play), and ended my day in Mittenwald, which is possibly the cutest alpine town you’ll ever see! The men even wear those hats and leiderhosen. I didn’t hear any yodeling, though! There’s a little brook running through the pedestrian town center



and all the buildings, homes and churches have flowers in every window and mural paintings, often of fairy tales (like Little Red Riding Hood below).


It’s setting is breathtaking, sandwiched between alpine peaks that look like the sharp, snow capped teeth of a wild animal. I slept in an old world beergarden/chalet type place and awoke to a snow capped mountain. What an amazing, amazing place.

May 17
Austrian Alps, German Lakes, cuckoo clocks and getting lost in the Black Forest
Began my next morning in beautiful Mittenwald, had a walk around, and then drove the steep, alpine pass into Austria. Driving through miles and miles of snow capped mountains and nearly touching the clouds was thrilling!

Made my way to Innsbruck and stopped by for a tour of nearby Hall in Tirol,

which is a beautiful and historic alpine city. Spent another hour or two driving through Austria before making my back through another beautiful mountain pass back into Bavaria. My goal was beautiful Lake Constance at the far south of Germany. This lake shares a border with Austria and Switzerland.


My first stop Lindau, was a gorgeous lakeside town where all the Nobel Prize Laureates gather each year. Lindau has some memorable landmarks, a beautiful Rathaus,


and great lakeside views. Gorgeous town. I spent several hours and then proceeded to Meersburg, which is equally quaint and beautiful. Meersburg features two impressive castles, one newer, and one older and an upper and lower town with historic architecture and quaint streets.


This is where the Germans often like to go on summer holiday. From Lake Constance, I drove north into the Black Forest, where I stopped at Triburg, home of the world’s largest cuckoo clocks!



This small town is known as the cuckoo clock capital of the world, and features many cuckoo shops. After Triburg I got hopelessly lost in the black forest! With daylight (it was 10 p.m.) fading, gas gauge running near empty with not a gas station for miles (I was in a valley with no gas stations) and no hotel reservation, and EXHAUSTED from a full day driving and sightseeing, I stumbled into a bar where nobody spoke English, men were wearing leiderhosen and the waitresses looked like Heidi. There was one young waitress that spoke a little English and with a little game of charades and pointing I was able to secure a room at the inn, which was enormous!!!! I had my own huge loft in this chalet for about $25 a night. A night in authentic Germany---I still remember the relief I felt as I feel asleep after an unforgettable day of touring.

May 18
Freiburg, Strasbourg, Worms, and the ‘Fairy Tale Road’
Awoke early and made my way out of the valley and into Freiburg, an historic university town that is the gateway to the Black Forest. Freiburg is a beautiful and interesting historic city. It’s cathedral is memorable.

It’s portal features hundreds of carved wooden figures,


and its stained glass windows (donated by guilds) feature different trades---there was even a pretzel maker’s guild!
See these stained glass pretzels (at bottom of windows)

Freiburg’s marketplace is lively and its town hall is impressive.



This was a fun town. Next, I drove north across the French border to reach Strasbourg, a city which has been both French and German on several occasions. It definitely has a German feel to much of it. It’s Grande Ile is a UNESCO heritage site and is exceptionally beautiful.

Strasbourg’s sandstone gothic cathedral is ornate and imposing.

This was a memorable stop---it’s strange driving across borders and not going through customs of any time. Driving through Europe feels sort of like passing from Delaware to Maryland---a United States of Europe. It’s just there’s such a dramatic change of culture over those borders! After Strasbourg I made my way to see the Romanesque cathedral at Worms---

famous as the place Martin Luther was tried before the pope and refused to renounce his beliefs and was excommunicated. This is one of Germany’s finest and oldest cathedrals, dating from the 1100’s. From Worms I made the long drive towards Frankfurt and embarked on the ‘Fairy Tale Road’ filled with towns and scenery made famous by the Brothers Grimm, who worked and lived north of Frankfurt. My first stop on the road was Marburg, where the Brothers Grimm, Hegel and Niechtze studied.

It’s a gorgeous, well-preserved university town unique for its shingled rooftops and steeply winding streets. I loved it here, and felt what it must be like to experience an authentic German college town.

After Marburg I visited the most pleasant surprise of my German trip. I stopped at a tiny village called Alsfeld. It’s not really famous, and appears in few travel books. Yet it is, next to Rothenburg, perhaps the most perfectly preserved small town I’ve seen in Germany!

Many of the buildings date from the 1300’s and if I were to think of the stereotypical storybook medieval German town, this would be it.

The few buildings that weren’t the half timbered style were covered with these beautiful colored tiles which contrasted with the slate tiled roofs. Alsfeld----if you’re ever in Germany, stop here. You will not regret it, as I’ve rarely seen a more beautifully preserved little town anywhere in Europe.


This town felt like it was all mine---unlike Rothenburg, there were no foreign tourists! My only regret of the day is I drove in search of the Brothers Grimm museum and couldn’t find it, but next trip. Spent the night at a woman’s house in Gotha (which has ancestral ties to the current British Royal family) Gotha wasn’t memorable, but it was near my next day’s destination…

May 19
Wartburg Castle, Cologne, Aachen
Wartburg castle. Rising hundreds of feet above the German countryside, this is a stunningly impressive castle, and perhaps the most historically important in Germany.

Hitler thought it the ‘most German’ of all German castles, and it’s impressive location is matched by its history. Dating from the early middle ages, there are sections of the castle dating from the 1100’s, 1300’s, 1500’s, and 1800’s. Combined, they form a most imposing and impressive fortress. The Wartburg was never captured in history, no doubt owing to it’s high perch!

Martin Luther hid at the Wartburg after being excommunicated and wrote many of his most famous works here, while he was living under an assumed name disguised with a new beard to hide his identity.

Only a few people knew of his existence at the Wartburg, and here is his room, accessible only through a small covered walkway.

Equally fascinating were the Middle Ages and later portions of the castle, which were filled with gilded mosaics, fantastic archways and murals (very reminiscent of Neuschwanstein) The required German speaking tour wasn’t the greatest. But the finish is in the awesome banqueting hall, where Wagner used to perform and many a German king used to entertain.

I went hours and hours out of the way to visit this castle, and am so glad that I came here! From the Wartburg it was a very very long drive on the autobahn to Cologne, my next stop.

The drive in Cologne was as stressful as I’ve ever had. Cologne, is huge, busy, chaotic, and driving in the city center was near impossible---but I managed, and made my way to the one site I wanted to see---Cologne Cathedral, which is one of, if not THE largest gothic cathedral in the World.
After seeing so so many cathedrals, I thought I might be jaded by this one, and unable to appreciate it fully. Not at all. This cathedral was one of the most awesome I’ve ever seen from its artwork, to its huge nave, flamboyant sculpture, and larger than life interior. This gold 'Three Kings' shrine was phenomenal!

Not to mention that it took 500 years to build. That’s just impossible to imagine for me---anything taking that long to complete, yet people still worked on it year after year knowing it would never be done in their lifetimes. To me that was the most touching and inspiring thing about this extraordinary work of man.
After Cologne, I made my way to Aachen, a German city that in many ways feels more like Belgium or France since it’s right on the border with Belgium…

By the time I reached Aachen I was tired and worn out, yet I walked the old town and made a point to stop at an important site. Aachen was the seat of Charlemagne’s government, and his court was set up here. The cathedral contains his grave site, and the tower and town hall

are where he ruled his vast empire in the beginning of the middle ages.

May 20
The last day of the trip…
Aachen, Mosel River Valley
After spending the night in Aachen in a dumpy but friendly hotel, I spent the next morning touring Aachen and visiting the Aachen Dom (cathedral)

and was the first to visit the Schatzkammer (treasure museum). WOW. This museum contains so much gold as well as some really famous items like Charlemagne’s sarcophagus, a priceless jeweled bust of Charlemagne, and a variety of assorted treasures. I also visited the famous town hall, and tower of Charlemagne

then left for my next stop…which was the Mosel Valley

But I got lost first…I tried to take a ‘short cut’ through Belgium and Luxembourg (at least now I can say I’ve been to Luxembourg) but somehow got way lost and wound up on this painfully slow windy mountainous secondary road before finally reaching the Mosel valley in the afternoon. Germany’s Mosel valley is famous for its vineyards and castles. Driving along the Mosel is lots of fun, as it’s quainter than the nearby Rhine and much easier to navigate. I passed through scenic towns like Cochem

before going about ½ hour out of the way through a series of small towns and villages to reach this trip’s final major sight, Eltz Castle.

Eltz Castle is a marvel. Isolated, mounted on a steep cliff (it was never captured) ½ mile through a thick forest and surrounded by a natural moat, it’s every bit as dramatic and breathtaking as Neuschwanstein, but this is the real thing! The castle dates all the way to the 1100’s with additions built afterwards.

The inside is every bit as impressive, as the interior rooms and chambers are decorated with authentic 14th and 15th century furnishings. The castle is still privately owned, and people actually live here! So some of the rooms are off limits, but this is probably the best, most authentic view of an historic middle ages castle. A great way to finish my trip.
Driving back to the Mosel Valley I made a stop in the picturesque little village of Beilstein


before making my way to Frankfurt Hahn airport for my journey home. I actually laid over in Dublin, and had to spend the evening in Dublin Airport before catching my a.m. flight home.

My journey to Orlando was without incident, and I still shake myself when I think of the sheer number of mind-blowing sights I’d seen on this trip. I couldn’t have designed this itinerary any better, and caught all the highlights. My whirlwind pace may have been too frenetic and rushed, but hey, you only live once and who knows when, if ever, you’ll get the opportunity to see these two historic countries again. I can know that I’ve seen many of the very best historic sights both of these countries have to offer, and did it all in just over two weeks driving in all conditions and lived to tell the tale!