Heidelburg, Frankfurt, Brussels, Colmar, Trier, Beilstein, Paris - Whew, I'm tired!

Sunday, September 21st

The next morning we left Munich to head to Heidelburg. We definitely didn't have enough time to see everything in Munich but it will have to wait until next year at Oktoberfest.

Once in Heidelburg, Beth and I walked around trying to find a good place to eat. As is typical for me, we couldn’t find a restaurant that we liked but ended up so famished that we resigned ourselves to eating at the Heidelburg equivalent to TGIFridays. We had some mediocre pizzas and went for a glass of wine elsewhere.

Outside of the disappointing restaurant scene, Heidelburg was a pleasant surprise. Jim hadn’t liked it when he was there for work, and according to Mr. Rick “Back Door” Steves, it was a lowlight of the region. I, however, thought the old town had some very pretty baroque architecture. I liked the red tiled roofs of the old town and beautiful villas on the other side of the river (Neckar).

Monday, September 21st

The next morning, we hiked up to the castle which was beautiful but very noisy with the ongoing restoration. In the castle was a huge wine barrel called the Grosses Fass which held 836,000 gallons! I wouldn't mind having one of those in my house.

We wandered around the grounds behind the castle looking for the Schlosshof which according to the Lonely Planet was supposed to produce an audible gasp from tourists. Since we hadn’t yet gasped, we figured we hadn’t seen it. We finally figured out what the Lonely Planet was talking about and it was indeed quite nice but not what we expected. Why is it when something is built up, you are always disappointed with reality, but when your expectations are low, you are pleasantly surprised?

Around lunchtime we took the train to Frankfurt. Beth’s flight was early the next morning so we decided to spend the night there. I can't say I would otherwise ever plan a trip to Frankfurt. It is really just a big city without much charm.

We decided to take the metro to the hotel which was quite confusing. After about 45 aggravating minutes, we were on our way to the Courtyard Marriot. Beth was able to get a free hotel room with her points.

After going against the concierge’s recommendation that we check out the food court, we found a great seafood restaurant downtown with heat lamps so that we were able to sit outside. It was one of the best meals that I’ve had in Germany and a great way to end Beth’s trip.

Brussels – Tuesday, Sept. 22nd – Friday, Sept. 25th

I took the train with Beth to the airport and then headed home to Bonn. I literally unpacked and repacked and Jim and I were off to Brussels for a CLE (continuing legal education).

The first night there, Jim and I went to the Grand Place and then

the main touristy restaurant area nearby for mussels. Although it wasn’t what I had pictured, the mussels ended up being the best we had in Brussels.

The CLE conference was at the Hilton which was in the swankiest area of Brussels. We were surrounded by high end shops and even saw some red carpet events at a few while we were there. After staying at relatively cheap bed and breakfasts over the last few months, I was feeling like a high roller at the Hilton.

We had a great view of the city from our room. I tried taking a picture of our view at night, but forgot about the reflection so only managed to take some nudie shots of myself rather than the sunset over Brussels.

The next three days I spent wandering around Brussels seeing the sights and of course looking for restaurants. I liked Brussels even though a certain Mr. Rick Steves didn’t consider it important enough to include in his Europe Travel guide.

After spending a few days in Brussels, I am looking forward to a trip to Bruges which I have heard is even more charming than Brussels.

Colmar – Oct. 3 – 5th

Friday was a German holiday so Jim had the day off. Even though we were a little travel weary, we decided to celebrate our 1st anniversary in Colmar. Colmar is a cute little town in the Alsace region of France. The area of Alsace has been part of France and Germany at various times in history so it looks like a little German town with its half timbered houses but sounds like France. There is a definite blend of cultures here which is noticeable from the cuisine. The tart flambée and quiche lorraine is all French, but there is also a fair amount of sauerkraut and sausages.

Our first night in Colmar, we went to Les Maison des Tetes for our anniversary dinner. It was a restaurant recommended by Gourmet Magazine. We had a great dinner of foie gras, escargot, fish and great wine -thanks to Orica! Jim's going away present was dinner in any European city.

The next day, we wandered around Colmar hoping the weather would turn around so that we could go out for a bikeride. We went to the Unter Linden museum which is one of the most popular small museums in Europe. We walked through the Petite Venice and then stopped for some tarte flambée for lunch.

Tarte flambee is like a little pizza with a very thin crust topped with lots of cheese and bacon. I’ve decided it might be one of my favorite foods. Luckily, I’ve just discovered it here in a few German grocery stores.

After lunch the sun came out so we set out for a ride in the foothills of the Vogues Mountains. It turned out to be a beautiful fall day with crisp air and sunshine.

For dinner, we decided to check out a nearby small town – Eguisheim. We wandered around looking for a restaurant and found out that we had just missed a wine festival that ended that day. I’d love to go back next summer to check out some of the wine festivals and do some touring of vineyards.

Colmar and the surrounding small towns are part of the Alsace Wine Route which weaves its way just west of Strasbourg south down to Thann. There are over 100 small medieval villages along the wine route and each one has a number of different vineyards surrounding the town. The grapes in the area are almost all used for white wine with the exception of Pinot Noir.

On our last day in Colmar, we were already planning another trip.

Sylvia’s Visit – Oct. 6th – 28th

Jim’s mother arrived in Germany the next day. The only thing we had planned for her trip was a long weekend in Paris.

Her first week here was low key. We did a lot of walking around town, and she helped me get organized as my closets, futon, shoe rack and kitchen island finally arrived.

The first weekend we did a day trip to Trier which is a town on the Mosel River right on the border of Luxemburg. Trier is the oldest city in Germany. It was founded around 16 B.C. by the Romans. We walked around the town taking in the sights. The Porta Nigra is a Roman city gate from the 2nd century. The Trier cathedral is the oldest Christian church in Germany. It houses the Holy Robe of Christ, the sandal of St. Andrew and a nail from the Crucifixion. We also walked through the Gardens of the Electors Palace which was beautiful.

Before driving back to Bonn, we stopped for lunch at a Rick Steve’s recommended restaurant – Zum Domstein. It was supposed to have Roman dishes in the basement dining room but they seemed to be your standard German fare to me, but I have no idea what kind of food the Romans. I guess I was expecting a more Italian flair.

Jim did a fair amount of traveling for work while Sylvia was here so we took that time to do some little day trips near Bonn.

We took the train up to Cologne one day to see the Cathedral and the Chocolate Museum.

Another day we took the U-Bahn to Konigswinter and hiked up to Burg Drachenfels and the Schloss Drachenburg. The hike was the best part of the trip. Although it was a cloudy day, the very steep hike up through the forest was beautiful with lots of fall color.

One of the most surprising discoveries during Sylvia’s visit was Bruhl. Bruhl is located between Cologne and Bonn and has one of the most beautiful castles I have seen yet. Schloss Augustusburg was incredibly ornate with frescoes, countless marble columns and beautiful gardens. We unfortunately didn’t have time to visit the hunting lodge before they closed, but I know I will be back again with our next visitors.

Somehow I read the train map incorrectly so we got on the wrong train going to Bruhl. Bruhl is only 10 minutes away, but I managed to make it an hour and a half journey. We ended up back in Cologne before I realized that I might have made an error. Even though Sylvia’s sense of direction is comically bad, she can read a train map better than I can.

Our next weekend, we decided to go back to the Mosel Valley and spent the night at a tiny little town called Beilstein. Jim biked down while Sylvia and I drove, stopping at the Birkenstock outlet on the way down.

We stayed at Hotel Haus Lipman. The owner of the hotel was incredibly accommodating which is notable because customer service in Germany is a very different thing than customer service in the US. The hotel was supposed to be a medieval mansion. We needed a three person bedroom so ended up in a different building. However, the heating system might have been medieval in our room because it didn't work. Now I know why they shut the hotel down from Nov. to April. BRRR!

While Sylvia and I waited for Jim to get to Beilstein (he got a little lost on the way down), we visited the Beilstein castle. The castle itself isn’t much to look at but the views of the Mosel are what drive people to hike up the steep climb.

The next day, we stopped at Burg Eltz on the way back to Bonn. Burg Eltz is nestled in the forest along a stream so has a very fairytale feel to it. Jim and Sylvia took a tour of the castle which I have already done so I hiked around the grounds. It was another beautiful fall day. I have decided that fall is definitely the best season in Germany.

The following week Jim was headed to Russia so Sylvia and I used the car to drive to Aachen. Aachen is another great day trip from Bonn. The cathedral is the main attraction in Aachen. It is very different from most that we have seen in Europe. It has a main area which is an octagon rather than the typical cross formation of so many gothic cathedrals and has a mosaic ceiling.

Paris - Oct. 24-27

The last weekend of Sylvia’s trip we went to Paris. We stayed with some family friends of theirs, just outside of Paris. Our first day in Paris was spent at the D’Orsay Museum which houses the largest collection of Impressionists. We only were able to cover the top floor before the mueseum started to get really crowded. We decided that after a few hours we were museum’ed out.

We met up with Jim for lunch and tried to find the great steak tartar place we had been to the last time we were in Paris. After an hour of searching, we finally found it or rather Sylvia found it. Unfortunately it was closed so we ended up at a brassiere and had Croque Monsieur sammies because we were all so hungry.

In the afternoon, we visited Notre Dame which was really crowded. We actually had to stand in line to get in. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was disappointed by the cathedral. I think I like the cathedral in Cologne better than Notre Dame.

On Sunday, Sylvia and I went to Versailles while Jim biked with some friends. For anyone going to Versailles, I would recommend getting tickets ahead of time. We had to stand out in the cold for about an hour and a half to get tickets. Sylvia of course made friends with a Korean couple on their honeymoon behind us. I came back from getting us hot chocolate and she already knew their life story.

Jim and I had been to Versailles the last time we were in Paris but we didn’t go inside. The interior of Versailles is amazing. We saw the kid’s apartments first which wasn’t that impressive but the audio guide gives a lot more information than they do in the main rooms of the palace mainly because they are less crowded. There was a Jeff Koons exhibit in the main place rooms which seemed out of place. I think I just don’t really “get” modern art. I’m not so sure what a statue of Michael Jackson and his monkey – Bubbles has to do with French elite class extravagance. Oh wait, maybe I’m on to something there.

After the weekend was over, I decided that I really like visiting the smaller towns better than large cities. I know I have to experience some of the world's greatest cities, but I'd like to spend more time in the nooks and crannies of Europe.