13 August 2016

A quick visit to Germany

Overlooking Bonn and the Rhein River - lovely vistas
Not many would travel 28 hrs for a week and then fly 28 hrs back again, but for the right people you don't think twice.  My wife and I did just that to link up with 9 other families for a War College mini-reunion.  A brilliant time was had by all and while the fantastic meats, cheeses and endless rivers of beer didn't do my waistline any good it made the world of difference to my morale.

While there we did a few interesting side trips:
Drachenfels Castle, overlooking the Rhein River outside Bonn


Franco Prussian War Monument at Drachenfels

Kaiser Wilhelm I, King of Prussia 1876.
German Artillery dated 1658 (at a different castle)
German Eagle detail on the barrel

The beautifully scenic Berg Eltz dates back from the 13th century

View down onto the outer defences which guard the river ford.  Note the pile of cannon balls stored in the courtyard

Armoury





The magnificent Cologne Cathedral took 60 years to build and was one of the only structures to survive WW2
..and was the scene of a Sherman v Panther v Pershing tank duel on 6 March 1945 (read more here)
Me at the spot where the Panther was knocked out
Roman Gateway dating back to 50AD at the founding of the city as the colony of Aggripinensium.
The gate overshadowed by the Cathedral: fantastic history
"Well obviously the roads - they go without saying don't they!"
Sadly, there was no time to hook up with Stefan in (relatively) nearby Dusseldorf.  Sorry mate, but thanks for the tip on the Alt Bier!  Yes I enjoyed it - but was there any doubt? :-)
When in doubt - go native!

17 comments:

  1. Just a quick jaunt! Lovely photos!

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    1. Thanks mate! You coming down for MOAB in October? Drop me a line and we'll get together

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  2. Cool photos, I've always wanted to go to Germany, maybe one day?

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  3. Cool photos, I've always wanted to go to Germany, maybe one day?

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  4. Cool photos, I've always wanted to go to Germany, maybe one day?

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  5. What an amazing part of the world, stunning photographs.

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    1. It was very nice indeed. The Moselle river region close by is also particularly nice

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  6. Brilliant, glad it boosted the morale. It reminds me I need to back there too , it's been a while

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    1. I needed something to keep me going between AHPCs :-)

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  7. Great looking trip - with the exception of the rather shocking last picture - somethings can boy be unseen

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    1. Thats What Alan said when I sent him that picture at the time.
      To help you avoid long term therapy, I have not shared the more disturbing pics :-)

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  8. Nice one. Went to Köln a couple of weeks back..did you get to see the fencing with the "love locks" on the railwaybridge just behind the cathedral? The Roman cobbles (leading to the river) were a suprise to me..I expected a Roman road surface to be a bit less humpy with less gaps between the stones..they are a swine to walk over!

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    1. I did indeed. I can only assume that there was some finer gravel packed between the larger stones to make the road smoother, but that that has had 2000 years of erosion etc. I bet Alan can shed more light on the matter.

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  9. You lucky lucky"..................

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  10. Sounds like a fabulous trip! (AND you cut a fine form in that lederhosen!)

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