Saturday, September 20, 2008
Koln = Cologne
This was the last day of our trip, sad to think that our trip was coming to an end. We spent the day touring Cologne's massive Gothic cathedral and then shopping the main shopping drag of the city. We ended our day having dinner and beer at a local gay pub, before catching a train to Dusseldorf...
"Germany's 4th largest city Koln has a compact, lively center. The Rhine was the Northern Boundary of the Roman Empire and, 1,700 years ago, Constantine - the 1st Christine emperor - Made Colonia the seat of a bishopric. 500 years later under Charlemagne, Koln became the seat of the archbishopric. With 40,000 people with in its walls it was the largest German city and an important cultural and religious center throughout the Middle Ages. Today the city is most famous for it's toilet water: Eau de Cologne was first made here by an Italian chemist in 1709." - Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2008.
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Cruising the Rhine...
Our trip is closing in on it's last few days...
We took a train 90 minute from Frankfurt to Bacharach, Germany where we boarded our Rhine River Cruise.
"The Rhine Valley is storybook Germany, a fairy-tale world of legends and robber-baron castles. Ever since Roman times, when this was the empire's northern boundary, the Rhine has been one of the world's busiest shipping rivers. Many of the castles were "robber-baron" castles, put there by petty rulers (there were 300 independent little countries in Medieval Germany, a region about the size of Montana) to levy tolls on passing river traffic" - Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2008
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Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Manhattan of Germany
"Frankfurt, while a bit low on Old World charm, offers a look at today's modern Germany. Cosmopolitan Frankfurt is a business hub of the united Europe, giving it a special sophistication. For years, Frankfurt was a city to avoid...but today it has a unique energy worth a look." - Rick Steve's Germany and Austria 2008
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The bells of Frankfurt
Germany's Most Well Preserved Medieval City
Now a little history....
"In the middle ages, when Frankfurt and Munich were just wide spots on the the road, Rothenburg was a free imperial city. With a whopping population of 6,000, it was one of Germany's largest. Today it's her best-preserved medieval walled town. During Rothenburg's heyday (1150-1400), it was a stretegic stoop on the trade route between northern and southern europe." - Rick Steve's Germany and Austria 2008
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Darren playing with a bunch of crazy springy toys
Friday, September 12, 2008
Adam's Amazing German Family
Adam's Aunt Ani, she was really cute and energetic!
We had a great time visiting Adam's relatives, who live outside the city of Stuttgart in a town called Bietigheim-Bissingen. We had dinner at a very authentic German restaurant and then that night we visited a local bar in the quaint downtown area of their city.
Sorry no videos will be posted of that night, way to incriminating.....
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