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Published: December 15th 2006
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Bonn Dia
A Road Trip to Bonn Today we actually got up and out in time for breakfast in the hotel which turned out to be pretty decent. We both got some freshly scrambled eggs and some bacon along with a croissant. The only amusing part of breakfast was the owner’s insistence to anyone that entered that there was no smoking at breakfast…while he smoked a cigarette. Whenever he works the desk the whole hotel reeks of his constantly lit butts, but “No Smoking at Breakfast!!” Funny!
We ended up spending some time in the room to prepare for our next leg of the trip. We will be heading from here to Rothenburg for the weekend. So we took some time to send some emails to hotels in hopes of getting a room (We got responses this evening and have to change hotels while in Rothenburg. We have rooms but in different hotels each night we are there…oh well!).
After our planning session we got our car and went for a road trip! Today’s destination: Bonn. Bonn was originally Germany’s capital city after WWII and therefore grew from a sleepy little town into
a more modern one. Obviously, Bonn is not Germany’s capital today but it has retained some of the energy that it must have had when it was a capital.
The city is laid out with a large pedestrian area centered on it Cathedral. We headed directly for this area and subsequently found the tourist info center. At the TI Kel got maps and found out about a concert at the cathedral during the evening. Kel was really jazzed about seeing the concert so we decided to pace ourselves for the day and stick around Bonn for the 8pm organ concert.
Bonn Cathedral We started out, after the TI, at the Cathedral which towers over the rest of the pedestrian part of town. The inside of the cathedral is a stark contrast to yesterday’s visit to the Dom in Cologne. Unlike the Dom, the Bonn Cathedral is bright and pretty cheerful inside. Of course some of the difference lies in the fact that the Bonn cathedral had to be largely rebuilt after WWII while the Dom in Cologne is largely the same as it was when it was built.
The Bonn Cathedral has a gorgeous
main sanctuary with large mosaics on the back ceiling that depict Christ and the Apostles. The stained glass was really unique as well, almost all of it was just black and white with only a few blues and reds scattered throughout. The color choices make the stained glass stand out and feel much brighter than in other churches we’ve been in.
Kel took some time to pray and light some candles while I walked around the church and documented everything. I took a moment to enjoy the church and sat in a pew while Kel was taking her moment. Being in all of these churches really reminds you how important religion has been in the development of our civilization. It is an amazing feeling to realize the number of people who have been exactly where you’re sitting. Wow!
Walking Around Bonn After the church we went to lunch at a local restaurant that felt more authentically German hometown cuisine than anything we’ve run into in German thus far. We each had a really great meal and enjoyed working on our German. The couple next to us thought it was kinda funny that we were working
on learning how to count to 10. When they got their food we were intrigued by what was on their plates. We surmised it was lamb but were completely wrong. The lady noticed our attention and what ensued was a funny conversation between two couples who don’t speak each other’s language. We asked if it was lamb and she said no. She couldn’t think of the word, so she said “Quack, Quack, Quack.” Kel laughed and we responded, “Duck?” The husband joined in at this point and used hand signs to tell us it was bigger than a duck…finally we had it: Goose! Everyone had a good laugh and felt satisfied that our communication has gone so smoothly.
From lunch we headed to the Poppledorfer Palace which we had seen on our walk in from the car. The Palace is now part of the University of Bonn which is a world renowned university. We walked the large grassed in areas and enjoyed Bonn’s beautiful architecture. This town feels more like Germany should to us because of its buildings and layout.
We walked down to the river and walked up to a lookout with some cannons. From the lookout
we could see the surrounding areas and get a good look at the residential areas of Bonn. Of course while we were up there Kel had to climb up on the cannon. The pictures will show the results.
More Christmas Markets By time we headed back to town from the University it was getting dark. We decided it was finally time to hit the Christmas Market. We walked up and down the 60 or so stalls in Bonn’s market and enjoyed the different gifts for sale. All of the walked had built up our appetite so we started our daily ritual of eating anything cool we could find.
We had more Glughwein mit Amaretto (Thanks to Lycia for the recommendation). More bratwurst and potato pancakes ensued but from there our evening meal diverged from Cologne. We had a pork chop sandwich which was good but VERY dense. For desert we followed up with Profferjas (SP?) which are essentially really small (think small cookie sized) pancakes with powdered sugar. Very Yummy!
German Organ Music By time all the food was finished it was time for our much anticipated Cathedral concert. Kel had
been really excited because she assumed that the concert was going to be Christmas music. Probably a safe assumption in most situations, but this was not Christmas music. It was very good, but modern classical music written by a turn of the century (20th century) German composer. The guy who played it was really good and most of the pieces he played were pretty good. I really appreciated the Matrimonial March because there was a section of it that was incredibly loud. I had been seeing all of these organs in Cathedrals throughout Europe and this was the first chance I had gotten o hear someone play one really loud! It was awesome…you could feel it through the pew!
After the concert we headed back here to the hotel where Kel is now fast asleep. Hope you guys are all doing great!
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Eric Swenson
non-member comment
Cool pix!
Hey guys, I hope you're having fun; it sure looks it! I'm really interested in seeing what you end up doing for Christmas. I guess your choices are limitless. Take care not to get the bird flu. -E