A Pinay in Europe

The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Mary

The building of the cathedral started in the 13th century and took six centuries to finish.
It is simply breathtaking, the most awesome Gothic structure of its kind!

that way to the DOM …..(to the right)

It’s the second tallest Gothic structure in the world!

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Coming from the autobahn, this is the bridge that will take you to Cologne. The city is split in half by the Rhine

The old city of Cologne

Heumarkt, the biggest square which features the statue of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, on horseback

The fishmarkt houses, dating back to the medieval ages but have been reconstructed after the heavy bombardment in WWII.
The Romanesque church of Gross St. Martin is seen in the background

The steps leading to the Cathedral. The plastic sculpture of Adonis (?) is out of place though

The fishmarkt square facing the Rhine river is a great place to cuddle

A Rhine ferry

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 map of Germany
(courtesy of petsgoeurope.com)

 It took me a while to develop a liking of Germany. The country is fantastic but let’s face it, their notorious “country-invading” history has somewhat restrained me from developing an all-out enthusiasm for the Fatherland.

Lately, however, thanks to our stubborn desire to keep getting out of Brussels every weekend (it being the epitome of depression, hubby says), we always find ourselves driving past the border, towards the Rheinland, as if some magnetic force is attracting the steering wheel to swerve in there.

In fairness, we have always been fascinated about German architecture, culture and history. Never mind the language! It sounds quite aggressive, i know, but we cannot do anything much about it. On the contrary, it is extremely advisable to learn few basic words so we don’t end up eating horse sausages or a plate of sour cabbages!

Blame it on Stolberg! one medieval castle and a staggeringly beautiful village really started it all…. this fondness of Germany… this thing called Germanophilia which is slowly creeping up on me!

And so, last weekend, we drove to Cologne and Bonn, the two big cities, after Aachen, closest to Belgium. The two are just ten minutes driving distance between each other. Up until now, despite the aches and stiffness caused by excessive walking, we still cannot believe that we finally made it there!

But even before that Cologne-Bonn weekend, while surfing the net, I stumbled upon a site which opened up to an even more awesome trip that involves the Rhein river itself. It’s an excursion that we simply have to do….. The amazing Rhein with its medieval castles!

 map of the Rhein with its castles

We almost took that trip last weekend, but we thought, two days is simply too short to absorb it all. We needed to take our time, deeply immerse ourselves into the staggering beauty of this part of the Rheinland…. one castle at a time. This will be another holiday of a lifetime. And how best to prepare ourselves than to, first, get a flavor of it, from where it is supposed to start… from Cologne and Bonn… the gateway cities to this strip of the Rhine.

I am now preparing for a big itinerary of this absolutely romantic trip which will be incorporated into our driving journey back to France in less than two weeks! I can’t wait!
 

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A Mr Bean poster displayed at a newspaper shop at Bonn train station

In World War II, Cologne was heavily bombed by the Allies, the city completely wiped out saved for the Cathedral. The allies must have avoided bombarding it.
By the end of the war, the population of Cologne was reduced by 95%

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Colosse nu assis (Colossus seated nude)…by Rembrandt Bugatti
Displayed at the museum grounds of Gravelines
Rembrandt Bugatti is the brother of Ettore Bugatti, the Italian automobile manufacturer. Bugatti, the sculptor, committed suicide later.

The church of Grand-Port-Philippe

A café-bar seat.  I love the burnt-wood effect!

A typical French town hall (Mairie) with the famous motto of the Republic - Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood

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dream caravans!

A Greenpeace rally.  Lille, France

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Those online ads of the Belgian tourist office exaggerate too much!
We went to Chaudfontaine attractively described on the internet as a “hot mineral springs” town. We wanted to try that chateau offering spa treatment so we ticked that weekend in our calendar. Drove there, but upon entering the town, it looked spookishly haunted! Not a single person in sight, except for a bored-looking ticket lady inside the covered public pool which is actually closed at that time! What ticket was she selling about, i had no idea!

Most shops closed for good, abandoned! We did try their bottled mineral water from a vending machine - at 1 euro - boy! it was refreshingly good! that’s all they can be proud of!

And then there was the Black Hotel, then the abandoned casino, even the river was dirty and filled with muck!

Chaudfontaine
Don’t get fooled by the shop signs on the left. They have been locked up and abandoned!
After few minutes of hopeless search of what the town had to offer, we drove out to the next town.
Saw the sign Verviers, and we were not disappointed!

Verviers church

Christ on the Cross… misplaced! That’s a pub!

Verviers is a fashionable town

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One thing that H and I can really take pride of is our perfected skill of sleeping in the car when going on short holidays or even driving cross-country! Well, aside from the money we save, it absolutely gives us a more “feel-at-home” sensation!

Last weekend, we did just that! We drove to northern France, slept in the coastal village of Grand Port Philippe.

The fishing port of Grand Port Philippe, taken over by Spanish forces in the 16th century

Well, to be honest, it was a terribly shaky night! Literally…!
We did not listen to the weather forecast, that it will be a stormy and windy night. Thank goodness we brought enough blankets and coats to keep us warm. We were warm alright but the howling of the wind and the shaking of the car through the night made us practically awake, perpetually vigilant just in case the car gets blown away, with us inside….

Then,  H had to get out at around 4 am to answer a call of nature. He recounted that it was like a storm at sea with gale force winds and horizontal rain coming at him. It was freezing cold, icy rain and a hurricane-like wind. Very unpleasant.

Oh well, another experience that will form part of our very colourful travelling life!

We had an early rise at 7, still raining, but has calmed down a bit. For all its worth, it was heavenly delightful waking up in a different surrounding, truly exciting to discover a new place, having breakfast of croissants and café créme at a local café, where everybody says bonjour or even shake your hands even if they don’t know you from Adam!

We then drove straight to the northern tip of Belgium to discover the town where wealthy Belgians buy their second homes - the town of Oostende to have lunch.

Oostende

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Fish and chips in an Irish Pub

We unfortunately missed the St Patrick’s Day celebs the previous night!

An Irish Pub in Oostende

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At 3pm, we drove back to Brussels, completely recharged..ready to attack another week of stress!

I am now organising yet another itinerary for next weekend… a drive to Bonn and Cologne, Germany! Cologne is just 2 hrs 15 mins from Brussels. Have to avail of the few remaining weekends - a couple of them actually - while we are still closer to Germany before we finally say adieu to (boring) Belgium!

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Aachen Cathedral
This is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe. There is a chapel inside built by Charlemagne in 786

I thought it was a shopping mall, but no, it’s a bookshop.
An area is fitted with a snack bar, long tables and settees for people to read and browse

Phone box

In Germany, “comfort” is the rule, like those white woolen seat warmers in this café

some of the goodies at a Bäckerei (Bakery)

Hi-tech shops are a joy to discover in the Fatherland

currywurst mit frischen pommes…(curry sausage with french fries)
even the plain “curry” word can sound very German!

Currywurst is a pork sausage served with special curry-tomato sauce (or curry and catsup sauce). it’s a big favorite by George W Bush and Madonna. There are stories told that they don’t leave Berlin without trying this specialty.

Stolberg, District of Aachen

The house of Hansel and Gretel?

Even apartments flow well with the landscape

Stolberg alley

The town

Travel Tip:
When travelling, include a budget for going into at least one bar or restaurant in every region or country you visit.
Why? because half the fun and knowledge you derive from the exciting world of travel comes from inside establishments like these.
Observe the people inside - the customers, the waiters, the chef - for they are the mirrors of the region’s culture and tradition.
Even the decors, (which, by the way, is also great for home decorating ideas!) have a story to tell, not to mention the discovery of new cuisine, new concoction….

The bar and the café we went to in Stolberg were just amazing! Every nook and cranny of the place showing the adornments,
the fittings, the counter, the furniture - leave you bewildered and speechless in awe.
Even the barman’s speed in mixing a cocktail drink in one hand and washing a wine glass in the other make for a better
entertainment than paying to go to an entertainment bar yourself!

 That grey container topped with black bristles is a wine-glass washer. One needs only to submerge a dirty wineglass, mouth down,
and in split of a second, the thing is washed inside and out. Next, place the newly-washed but still soapy glass, mouth down,
in the middle of those two pipe-looking thingies behind for a final shower of water.. Voila! it’s clean!

Nazis, thalidomide, copper

Stolberg has 3 neo-nazis sitting in its parliament, no wonder, while walking down the main street, an elegantly-dressed woman
was staring sharply at us as we passed by… could be a Nazi-hag!

It was the place where a pharmaceutical company concocted the notorious “thalidomide”.
Thalidomide was marketed around the world in the 60’s as sleeping pill for pregnant women, causing them to give birth to deformed
babies: abnormally short limbs with toes sprouting from the hips and flipper-like arms.
Other infants came out with no ears or malformed internal organs such as unsegmented small or large intestines….

Copper. Due to the its large deposits of zinc ore, Stolberg became the center for brass production.
Brass was called “yellow copper” at that time.

A shop sign in brass, Aachen

We stumbled upon this Jewish memorial stone on the main street pavement. Could be that this is a place where Jews
used to live but sadly, exterminated by the Fuhrer’s army

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Spring begins on 21 March 2007 at 1:07 am (French time).
It’s the spring equinox, the day where we are all equal before the sun: the length of day is equal to the length of night at all points of (the) our earth! It’s the day of equality!
It’s also Francophone day.

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