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| The famous cathedral of Cologne |
From Luxembourg we headed towards Germany. The term technology has an inherent relation
with Germany. Having over 2 millenium of history Germany still stands as one of
the greatest tourist attraction for entertainment. We were taken to Trier which was our first halt.
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| House of Karl Marx in Trier |
Trier is a beautiful city situated on the banks of Moselle River.
It’s a place of historic buildings.
While passing the beautiful roads we saw some landmarks like Palace of Trier
and the Cathedral of Trier.
We came to a very interesting place- birth place of Karl
Marx. His native home is now a museum. It’s maintained by the Government and
displayed for public interest. The father of socialism and communalism was born
in this house in 1818. After the Nazi party came into power in 1933 the house
was turned to a printing house. It took 10 Euros per person to pay a visit
inside the museum. We enjoyed the visit as it was not very crowded.
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| Porta Nigra - the medieval gateway to city |
One of the greatest attractions of Trier city is the Porta
Nigra. Derived from the Latin word which means black gate, porta nigra stands
as an emblem of the powerful Roman Empire. Built with grey sand stone between
186 and 200 AD this used to serve as the entrance to the town. Our guide told
that Napoleon ordered reconstruction of the Porta nigra and thereafter the
black color was retained.
Then we proceeded towards another German city – Bonn. It’s
famous for the university. We visited the house of the famous musical enigma- Ludwig
van Beethoven. We visited the house which is .preserved as a museum. The entry fees
were 5 Euros per person.
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| University of Bonn- an exclusive learning center |
We had some time and took a stroll around Bonn. A beautiful
city and tidy roads and road side restaurants proved to be quite inviting to us
for a glass of wine. The city more than 2000 year old proved to be one which
offers the best ambience to tourists far as his interest to dining and
photography are concerned. The city can offer your accommodation starting from
55 Euros a night to even 3000 Euros. But our tour operator booked a 4 start
hotel for us and we had a very comfortable stay.
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| Pipes sold at market |
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| Fresh fruits |
The road way being very accessible we headed towards another
city Koblenz. An ancient city situated at the confluence of the Moselle and the
Rhine River stole our hearts for the vivacious environment it offers. We were suggested to take a stroll along the
banks of Rhine river but we were offered a great German lunch at a traditional
restaurant. The tour operator booked our seats quite in advance so that we
don’t have to wait for long but carry with our rest of the journey. We had a
view at the Koblenz cable car.
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| Traditional German lunch |
The lunch was truly sumptuous. We ordered beef with mushroom
gravy, potato chips and the traditional red wine. Just after the lunch we headed to have an
experience of the Rhine cruise. The weather was sunny and the temperature sore
up but nothing could restrict us from having the deck view of the German
countryside.
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| View of the country side from the deck of cruise on Rhine river |
We could see various cathedrals and houses. We viewed the
Ehrenbrestrein fortress. It’s a land of
casinos and beer gardens. The city hosts various festivals at different times
of the calendar year which attracts a lot of tourists. The cruise was wonderful experience. We
thanked the crew for a great service.
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| Young talents entertaining audience near the cathedral |
Then we headed towards Cologne. It’s another 2000 year old
city spanning across the river Rhine famous for the cologne cathedral, a twin
tower signifying the gothic architecture of medieval Europe. We stopped near
the cathedral and took some snaps. The term cologne comes from this city might
have originated from here.
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| Ludwig museum preserves some rare arts |
We headed to see the Ludwig museum which boasts to showcase
some of the greatest 20th century arts by Picasso and signifies the
romano-germanic influence. Something that attracted me was a wall with bullet
scars in it. It’s the wall of Berlin that was taken down by angry protesters.
The fall of the wall of Berlin marks the end of East and West Germany and the
term Germany, a unified nation comes to the picture that signifies strength and
unity. I touched the wall to feel the history attached to it.
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| Berlin wall remains on display |
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| Touching part of history on the wall |
At last we were dropped to a 4 start hotel in Frankfurt. The
modern business capital of Germany, Frankfurt boasts to be the head quarter of
various multi nationals today.
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| The busy market center of Frankfurt |
It has history; it experienced tough time and one of the
worst chapters of history. It witnessed some brutal torture to mankind which is
remembered even today. It has sheltered and produced one of the best brains in
technology thereby making the world best and luxurious cars. It’s got one of
the best universities and centre of learning for various scholars. I loved
Germany and the various shades of life it has to offer. It’s too short a time
to explore the country and its picturesque beauty. I wish I could again come to
Germany and explore its treasured assets.
