Jill |
Oct 24th, 2002 01:56 AM |
Just back from trip to Germany
I have regretfully returned from my trip to Germany. We visited Dusseldorf and stayed at Hotel Carat in the aldstadt section. Rooms were nice, clean, and small. I was with a group of 4 other women on business, so that first night we ventured out for dinner to a typical German Restaurant and when we entered the place quieted down immediately-it was kind of funny. I guess women in Germany do not go out at night in a group without a male escourting them? <BR><BR>The following day we went to Aachen and spent 2 nights in the Aldstadt section as well - it was so charming. Tons of shopping, excellent food and wine (I was suprised at how good the food was)and sightseeing. CHarlemagne made this city his home at the end of his tenure and his influence is everywhere, it was pretty heavily damaged by the war as well.<BR><BR>Our next stop was Cologne, we stayed a beautiful hotel - the Savoy, stronlgy recommend this place, again inthe aldstadt. The cathedral is overwhelming, I have been to Notre Dame in Paris, and the Duomo in Florence, but I think the sheer height of this cathedral is greater than either of those, very Gothic architecture - beautiful. Very interesting history and pictoral of the rebuilding after the war of this massive cathedral.<BR><BR>Our last day we took a river cruise up the Rhine from Koblenz to Bacaharach - this was my favorite day of the trip. The leaveswere all changing and the castles and villages along the rhine were spectacular. I was especially impressed with vineyards on a slope of 45 degrees ( I thought hat was only to be witnessed inTuscany). We stopped at Bacrach, shopped and sightseeing, sampled the federweissen, this is the first pressing of the grapes and tasted like apple cider.<BR><BR>The following day it was back to the states, I must say the airport at Dusseldorf is by far the nicest and cleanest I have ever been to, it gleamed.
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