10.05.08 Germany Day III

On our final day in Germany, we started our trip back to Maastricht early with a 3 hour train ride to Düsseldorf.  Our main purpose in Düsseldorf was to try Schweinshaxe also known as Eisbein (or pork knuckles in English).  Someone had recommended a place that was good so we went in search of it. 

Slow cooking

We ended up ordering two different types of pork.  I got one that was more tender.  I think it was boiled.  It comes with sauerkraut and I ordered a side of potatoes to go with it so I wasn't just eating pure meat.  The potatoes were incredibly smooth and the pork was really tender.  Mmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. 

The others ordered another version, one that has a crispier skin.  Their version tasted like Chinese roast pork (Siew Yoke) that you get from a Chinese BBQ place.

The portion was way too much for me.  I could only finish about half, but I asked if I could pack it and I brought it back with me to Maastricht and ate it the next day =)

We wandered around a bit in Düsseldorf, but there wasn't too much to see.  We looked at the Rhine river and then walked up the biggest shopping street in Düsseldorf. 

Our original plan was to go to Köln and see the cathedral, but as soon as we got on the train to leave Düsseldorf it started pouring and we decided not to stop.  We were all exhausted anyways.  This was an interesting trip into Germany.  Traveling through the countryside of Germany, with its hills, green fields and farms here and there, I could almost will myself to be back at home.  Very different compared to the flatness that is the Netherlands.  We spent a lot of time on a train traveling from place to place, but we also saw a lot of the country and smaller aspects of Germany not normally seen. 

 

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10.04.08 Germany Day II

Day two of my Germany trip was spent in Kassel, the centre of the German Fairy Tale route.  The city itself looked very modern, very different from the smaller villages we had visited the previous day.  This is because during WWII may of the buildings were destroyed and after the war, they did not restore/rebuild.  Kassel, if you look at it on a map, is truly in the centre of Germany.

In the morning we headed to Wilhelmshöhe Park (website currently only in German, but Google Translate does a pretty good job), reputed as Europe’s largest hillside park with 240 hectares extending into a nature reserve.  It has a large variety of trees (over 600 types!!).  I’m not sure why they call it the largest hillside park though – maybe its because it over looks the city?

We first headed to the Löwenburg (literally Lion's Castle) which is a replica of a medieval castle.  Apparently there is a museum inside, but we didn't go.  We just wandered around the castle and its gardens.

We then headed to main icon of the city of Kassel, the Herkules Farnese.  This too is a replica with the original in Naples, Italy. 

 Looking up the Herkules Monument (on the rare occasion of sun)

We walked all the way to top for a view of the city.  It was a loooooooong way up.  Some 500 steps later, we were greeted with this:

I was so exhausted by the time we got to the top.  We couldn't really see anything.  The city was too far away and it was overcast.  The Herkules at the top was under construction (I'm starting to notice a trend of everything being under construction around Europe), but it did leave the impression that it was big.  You look up from the base and the statue (and scaffolding) is all you can see.

In the summers, there is quite an elaborate water display, with water traveling down from the Herkules monument, through various waterfalls, before reaching a fountain at the base of the hill.  The water comes from natural sources (rain and melted ice) and is diverted to the nearby river Fulda after the display.  We were one weekend too late to see the water show. 

  Teufelsbrücke (Devil’s Bridge) - one way for water to travel down the hill 

After our walk in the park, we headed to the Brother's Grimm museum (only in German) in Kassel. 

When we arrived we saw so many people dressed up and then we realized it was a wedding party!  Apparently its quite common for the museum to have a wedding take place there.  The museum was mostly a collection of artwork of the stories collected by the Grimm brothers.  A lot of it was in German and it was fun trying to guess which story the artwork came from.  I soon realized I didn't know much about these fairy tales!  There was also a section dedicated to the lives of the two brothers which was pretty interesting.  Most things in this area were explained in English as well so we weren't just wandering around.  The weirdest section of the museum was dedicated to manga!  They had artwork on display from a manga that is based on the stories.  The manga was for sale in the museum shop but was only in German.  The museum also had a temporary display of musical instruments.  In one room there were tons of violins.  I saw one that looked a lot like my brother's.  I started telling my friends about how my brother's violin is of German make and mine is French... and they just looked at me.  I stopped talking about it pretty fast >.<"  We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I don't have anything to show.

We spent the remaining part of the day wandering Kassel's shopping streets and sampling local foods.  It was a pretty good day.

 

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10.03.08 Germany Day I

The theme of this trip to Germany was the Grimm Brothers.  There is a German Fairy Tale route, following in the footsteps of the two brothers.  The Grimm Brothers are known for their collection of stories such as Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and many other well known stories.

The day started off early, with a bus ride to Aachen which I had visited earlier in September.  From Aachen we took a fast train to Frankfurt.  We were running late so we didn’t have an opportunity to see anything in Frankfurt instead heading straight away to Steinau an der Straße where the Grimm brothers spent their childhood.  Walking into this village, I really felt like I was in another world.  It looked so different from anything I had seen so far and was very quaint.  Much to our annoyance, it was a public holiday (which we didn’t realize until we arrived here) and everything was closed.  There is a relatively large museum featuring the Grimm brothers, but we weren’t able to see it. 

Brother Grimm Street in Steinau an der Straße

Wandering around the streets, you can tell that the Grimm brothers play a large role in this village.  There are numerous monuments and activities that are related to them.

 Can you see the frog and the prince?

 House decorated with scenes from various tales

After wandering the village streets we headed back for the train, to our next location, Alsfeld.  Here we looked at a statue of Little Red Riding Hood.

Whoever planned the train trips and locations to stop in didn’t do a very good job.  We went really out of our way just to see this one statue.  It took us almost 2 hours to get back on track to Marburg.  There was no direct public transportation from Alsfeld and Marburg so we had to back track a bit.  By the time we got to Marburg it was starting to get really late and dark.  I think we were headed to see Rapunzel’s tower, but we had to turn back before we got there (or else miss the train).  The one thing we did see was the Elisabeth Church. 

Finally we made it Kassel where we were staying for the next couple nights.  For an overview of all the ground we covered this first night, I made a map.

 

See more pictures here.

Aachen, Germany!

This past weekend, I headed to Aachen, Germany, just over the border. It was a 45 minute bus ride, so not too far. The city really reminded me of Maastricht.

There seemed to be some sort of festival going on. There were masses of people out, stalls set up with yummy looking food, a ferris wheel and tons of musical entertainment set up around the center of the city.

Ferris wheel gave us an opportunity to see the city from up high. It went pretty fast! And the "gate" where you get it isn't secure at all. Once when I was up in the air, I grabbed it and was stunned to see it open! Sooo scary!

Ferris wheel!

The view of Aachen

Most of the music, if it had vocals were classic American songs. Well known and in English. Despite the crappy weather, and the continued threat of rain, there were masses of people around, listening to music, tasting beer and just having a good time.

We visited the Aachen Cathedral (the actual site is in German only). Construction was started by Charlemagne, and his remains are in the church. Many kings and queens were anointed, crowned and enthroned here. The church became an important place of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages, on par with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Following in this tradition, the church continues to welcome pilgrims every seven years. The next one is in June 2014! This church is also an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

The best (non-blurry) picture I took >.<" You can't see it behind everything, but on the right hand side of the picture are the remains of Charlemagne.

The church was really pretty inside. Everything was gold in colour and shimmery. It is very different from all the other churchs that I've visited so far. I'm not too sure what the difference is - I don't know too much about religion and everything that goes with it...

Looking up towards the chandelier and Charlemagne's throne (difficult to see)

What weekend would not be complete with a marching band? There were so many out, with the music of various groups mixing together, all trying to get your attention. The silver "bulb" in the background, actually blooms and water sprays out. Its pretty cool!

And finally, a familiar sight! Starbucks! The first one I've seen in Europe (unless you count the one in the airport, but I hadn't gone through customs yet - so technically still in the states...). The menu was in all English, which I thought was weird. Maybe its some head office regulation... I didn't try anything, but maybe next time!

Aachen was a cool city. There wasn't too much to see (perfect for a day trip), but the city was very much alive. Best things it that its pretty close to Maastricht and easily accessible =)

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