Category: Germany & France

Paris in springtime!  Here we are in Rosie and The Operators most favorite city in the world! Daffodils and wildflowers are starting to bloom on the peripherique, trees on the boulevards have new leaves and full luscious canopies blow in the spring breeze, so many tiny dogs to be seen already with their solemn well behaved eyes walking beside owners carrying bags with baguettes poking out the top …..now just stop raining for a  bit so Rosie and The Operator can go for a stroll and pretend to be part of this amazing regal city.

The metro here is a well oiled machine, trains every three minutes, clean stations and carriages and what seemed to be an abundance of police everywhere keeping an eye on things.  I was holding my mobile phone and a lovely Frenchman warned me to be careful as people snatch things and run off….so maybe I wont list safe as being a plus of the subway….
 

The canal St Martin is 4.5km long and was built by Napolean Bonaparte in 1802 to supply the growing population of Paris with fresh water and help prevent disease.  Canal boats also plied it moving food and building supplies into the city.  It was able to be built from the funds of a new tax on all wine….bet that went down really well in Paris.

What a breathtakingly beautiful town Reims is, cut from golden sandstone that gleamed like a beach in the sunshine. Walking into the centre and looking skyward the Gothic towers of the cathedral loomed over the houses.  When you first saw the cathedral down the avenue, the size, height and intricate facade is just astonishing.
 

Epernay itself is a beautiful wee town, very compact and picturesque in the old area,  Rosie couldnt be bothered visiting any more Champagne houses so The Operator led her to a merchant tasting house that sold on behalf all brands and we bought our crate of mixed bottles to take away…Rosie was dead serious when she said were going to be drinking champagne only when in France.

Standing in the shadow of the Cologne Cathedral it was hard not to start there. It is the largest Cathedral in Europe, the Mt Everest of churches dwarfing everything around it.  You tilt your head back to look skyward to the top and you can see the sky moving making you feel dizzy. Its huge black carbon encrusted edifice was the only thing not destroyed in totality by the Allies during the Second World War….everything around it was flattened.

Cologne is a great city, easily navigable, compact and explored on foot.  It has so much history from every era in time and many stories to tell.  As Rosie was writing this….she heard a Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang….loud and exactly like gunfire….Rosie and The Operator rushed to the balcony for a look….and our hearts stopped….

The stone buildings are looking a little dumpier and squatter and the gables on the roof are curlier and rounder with steep pitched roofs.  The first half timbered houses are starting to appear as well.   Everything is getting more charming and pretty and we havent even hit the best part of the Rhine proper.

It felt the best being in the open air, it was warm, the sun was shining on us and there was not a breath of wind, it was so quiet, all you could hear was the birds singing in the trees, it was such a great feeling soaring free above the view.  The Operator told me to stop wriggling around with my camera, so Rosie sat back and enjoyed the ride, all 20 mins of it to the top. 

The Rhine has captivated Rosie, I must be, I am standing in the rain. There’s a rhythm to the mighty river that merges with its environment: black slate cut from plains above, terraced vineyards zigzagging up hills, husks of ruined castles, and squat spires of stone churches and towers rising up through townscapes.
 

This region along the river is heavily planted with grapevines, predominately Reisling for which the area is famous for, the huge 38 metre tall Germania Statue stares down at us from the hillside between the vines, a tribute to the re establishment of the German empire after the Franco Prussian wars.

Every corner and every turn in this town is beautiful and on show, yet has a real feeling.  Amongst the hotels, cafes and crowds of wandering tourists are post offices, hairdressers, real estate agents, bakeries, butchers and everyday shops.  Real houses line the streets with real people who get up everyday and go to school or catch a train to work somewhere.  

Rosie and The Operator wandered up and down the cobbled streets and enjoyed the quietness and charm every nook and cranny had to offer.  It was slow paced and quiet, time dosnt move fast here unless you only have an hour stop on a tour bus, even then Bacharach will still leave a lasting imprint on you.

This city is regarded as one of the most romantic cities in Germany…Rosie turns to look for The Operator, time for a little smooch on the balcony…he is busy checking out some scaffolding couplings and shaking his head as to the apparent lack of care on construction. Rosie is surprised he didnt pull out his permit pad and issue a stop card.  Never mind, this city is not short of beautiful places to stop and linger.

Inside the town walls it is basically a pedestrian only area unless you live there or are staying at a hotel. You enter through the thick walled gate and the rattle of the cobbles under your tires is good, it alerts tourists taking photos and looking skyward that you are coming…or in this case not, as we are immediately surrounded by a busload of Asian tourists as we were trying to turn a narrow corner. The Operator is slowly persistent at forward momentum, Rosie was opting for the horn herself….get off the road!

Whilst Rosie was looking at the ancient manuscripts, The Operator was mooching around the windows. They all had drawn curtains and he was peeking behind them….look what he found from the second story of the Criminal Museum.  The elusive Doubleback bridge.  Rosie and The Operator ducked behind the curtain and got the perfect shot we had been looking for through the glass.
 

The site itself was as grey and sombre as the day and the mood of all who entered.  The kids themselves were old enough to know to be respectful and there were all types of people visiting here.   You wondered at their stories…did they loose family members here?  Were their families part of the liberation?  Or just like us, having heard of the horrors were they they there to show their respect and honor the past and those that lost their lives, with,  lets be honest, abit of morbid curiosity thrown in.  

Big open fields of long grass and wildflowers surround us, then sheer walled forested mountains rear up so straight and tall like a boundary on the horizon.  The hint of greatness was there, the moving cloud and swirling mist giving a taunting outline as to the sheer enormity of the mountain top that we couldn’t see.

The sky is showing bits of blue, the cloud has lifted and the tops of the glorious alps are dwarfing and surrounding us with sheer cliffs, it is an amazing sight.  Rosie and The Operator are going to visit the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany and Castle Linderhof, preferred home of the crazy Bavarian King. The big question.  Which site to visit first.  Castle Linderhof and beat the crowds of other tourists? Or, wait till abit more of the cloud burns off to get a better view when we are up at the Zugspitze lookout?