Eindhoven to Cologne (Koln in German) is a 4 hour drive. The city of
Cologne, well known for Eau de Cologne, has beautiful, many-colored
buildings and well maintained roads. The temperature was 13 degrees and
there was a strong wind. We visited the Cologne Cathedral, which at 500
feet is the tallest Gothic structure in the world. The cathedral
survived several bombings during both World Wars, which is considered a
miracle as the wars destroyed all buildings, bridges and other
structures around the cathedral.The cathedral is blackened on the
outside and is being cleaned.
The cathedral is huge on the inside, with beautiful stained glass
windows, frescoes and paintings.
The square in front of
the cathedral has a life-size replica of the topmost part of the
cathedral, to give a sense of the proportions. The place is filled with
tourists. A man, painted silver and dressed fully in silver clothes to
give the resemblance of a statue, stood in the centre of the square. The
streets around the cathedral have many shops and stalls where one can
shop
for cheap clothes, shoes, branded cosmetics and
electronics (Media Markt store).The famous 4711 Cologne, the first
cologne that was made here can be purchased.
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Cologne Cathedral
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From
Cologne we drove to St. Goar, a 2 hour long journey. St. Goar is a
quaint and pretty village situated on one side of the River Rhine and
backed by mountains. It has quiet streets, cafes and cute houses. The
mountains housed many castles in the olden days, which now lie in ruins
or stand unguarded. Some castles have been converted into hotels. The
place has a laidback, sleepy air about it. A red and green toy train
runs rides around the village and up to the castles.
We
took a cruise through the picturesque Rhine river valley, a 60 minute
journey. The place is extremely scenic and the cruise is very relaxing.
There are castles, farms and vineyards on the mountain slopes, and
pretty village houses near the foothills. The ship was equipped with a
coffee shop and
bar on the deck. It was extremely relaxing to sip a cup of coffee in the
cold while sitting on the sunny deck and looking at the river flowing
by. We disembarked at Bacharach, another pretty village and drove
through quiet, narrow roads and vineyards to Hokenheim where we stayed
at Hotel Achat. The place was situated in the countryside and had a
racing track nearby.
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St. Goar
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River Rhine valley
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Sunset was at 10 pm
and we woke up to an early sunrise at 4.45 am. A 3 hour drive took us to
the Black Forest region. The black forest cake gets its name from this
region. The forest is very dense, makng the trees look dark green-brown
in color. In winter, snowfall penetrates only the top layers of the
forest, coating the tree tops in white and giving it the same look as
the cake. We drove through Freiburg, a very
picturesque town, to the Drubba village at the foothills of the
mountainous region. The forest here is sunny and pleasant.
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Freiburg
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The
Drubba village is famous for German cuckoo clocks. We saw a demo on
different kinds of cuckoo clocks and how the clocks are made and
maintained. The clocks are expensive, starting from 150 euros, for the
most basic cuckoo clocks. The largest clock was built into one wall of
the shop, with larger than life couples that would dance at every half
an hour after the cuckoo came out to announce the time.
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Cuckoo clock shop, Village Drubba
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Clockwork toys
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There
was a hotel nearby, where we tasted black forest cakes. Glasbläserei was a shop for German
blown glass, selling candles, showpieces, vases and other glass pieces.
It was beautiful to sit in the mid-day sun and watch the quaint and
beautiful houses set against forested mountain slopes. A stream flows
through the village, the water blue-gray against the riverbed pebbles. A
train track runs across the slopes, completing the perfectness of the
place. After lunch, we drove through Stuhlingen and other mountain
villages to the Swiss border.
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Blown glass
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Drubba village
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Stuhlingen
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From
Cologne we drove to St. Goar, a 2 hour long journey. St. Goar is a
quaint and pretty village situated on one side of the River Rhine and
backed by mountains. It has quiet streets, cafes and cute houses. The
mountains housed many castles in the olden days, which now lie in ruins
or stand unguarded. Some castles have been converted into hotels. The
place has a laidback, sleepy air about it. A red and green toy train
runs rides around the village and up to the castles.
Sunset was at 10 pm
and we woke up to an early sunrise at 4.45 am. A 3 hour drive took us to
the Black Forest region. The black forest cake gets its name from this
region. The forest is very dense, makng the trees look dark green-brown
in color. In winter, snowfall penetrates only the top layers of the
forest, coating the tree tops in white and giving it the same look as
the cake. We drove through Freiburg, a very
picturesque town, to the Drubba village at the foothills of the
mountainous region. The forest here is sunny and pleasant.
The
Drubba village is famous for German cuckoo clocks. We saw a demo on
different kinds of cuckoo clocks and how the clocks are made and
maintained. The clocks are expensive, starting from 150 euros, for the
most basic cuckoo clocks. The largest clock was built into one wall of
the shop, with larger than life couples that would dance at every half
an hour after the cuckoo came out to announce the time.
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