Germany Archives | Rambling Feet

Cologne Cathedral: One Look Isn’t Enough!

It was impossible to ignore the Kölner Dom when I first stepped out of Cologne’s central station. How could I, when it’s such a massive structure? The sunken plaza that I stood in only served to exacerbate the impression of size. It has its advantages, though; in the height of summer, its shadow offered the people gathered on the steps of Domplatz respite from the heat.

My eyes ran over the masonry. From the roof, flying buttresses flowed down the blackened walls that witnessed the bombing of the city in World War II. Here they still stood, even after the Dom took 14 hits. On the western facade, the two soaring spires form an unmistakable landmark. Figurines of holy men and women filled the niches in the doorways, while the arches and windows pointed heavenward towards finials several stories above.
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How to Spend a 5-Hour Frankfurt Layover

For many people, Frankfurt is the first place in Europe that they land and the last that they leave, especially if they’re flying with Lufthansa. Despite that and its status as one of the world’s major financial centres, it doesn’t have a fantastic reputation as a tourist destination, due to the damage that World War II bombing raids inflicted on its heritage.

I had 5 hours to kill between my arrival from Helsinki and my flight home. You might, too, if you fly Lufthansa. There was no point in sticking around the airport when the free wifi lasts only 30 minutes, so I left. I was pleased with what I found and did with €25, and that wasn’t due to any low expectations. [Read on]

A Stroll Around Bamberg

Bamberg was never really on my radar until I met Silke, a German traveller who happened to be my hostel roommate – and learnt that she lived in a UNESCO World Heritage city. It’s not the only one in Germany with such an accolade, nor the only one with many intact pre-WWII buildings, but it was just three hours from Dresden by bus.

The streets that the novelist E.T.A. Hoffmann roamed for nearly five years don’t seem to have changed. Cobblestones are the order of the day, just as they were before the advent of the automobile. The houses and pubs must have seen plenty in their time. [Read on]

Photos of 11 Postcard-Worthy Places in Bad Weather

Part of the fun of travelling around the world these days involves sharing photographs of famous places with everyone back home. Bad weather can ruin those moments, especially if one’s on a tight schedule. Without some photoshop magic or filters, everything appears dull and flat.

However, as The Rolling Stones once sang,”you can’t always get what you want.” So look on the bright side: no-one can buy a bad weather photograph on a postcard and pass it off as their own.

The following is my collection of photographs of tourist attractions as you have never seen them, with better photographs that I found elsewhere for comparison. [Read on]

How to Spend 6 Hours in Trier

ANTE ROMAM TREVIRIS STETIT ANNIS MILLE TRECENTIS.
PERSTET ET ÆTERNA PACE FRVATVR. AMEN.

The inscription on the Red House reads, “Trier stood thirteen centuries before Rome. May it persist and enjoy eternal peace. Amen.” I didn’t have forever to explore it, however; once my friend Yvonne was able to join me after her classes, we had all of six hours to look at the ruins before I had to return to Cologne, which was just enough to cover its most fascinating highlights.

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Why Dresden is Truly the Balcony of Europe

For years, I was in a peculiar position where I had been to Europe twice and yet was unable to help friends who were heading there and wanted my advice. After all, they were more interested in seeing Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, and I’d only been as far west as Poland. To them, that was “Eastern Europe”.

That changed when I boarded the train in Wroclaw for Deutschland, and I doubt I could have started my tour of “Western Europe” in a finer place than the old city of Dresden.

This is quite possibly one of the finest riverside views anywhere. — Brühl’s Terrace, quite possibly the finest riverside view anywhere.

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