I took a flight from KL to Frankfurt, transiting in Singapore. The flight was rather uncomfortable as I was squeezed in between and the air ventilation was not good. I had a hard time sleeping because it was rather stuffy.I arrived in Frankfurt on Saturday at around 6am. There was hardly anyone in the airport and the immigration check was very fast. I did not need to queue or fill in any forms. They just checked my passport and asked a few simple questions, that’s all!
After collecting my luggage, I headed straight to Frankfurt Airport station (the regional train station) which is within walking distance from the airport. I was amazed by the types of train they had in the station. From there I took a train to Cologne, staying in an old friend’s place (Special thanks to Christoph and his wife Lee for hosting me) for the first 2 days.
Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany and it was built by the Romans. The first day was rather cold because it was windy and I was not feeling well due to the lack of sleep. After taking some pastry and a hot shower at Christoph’s place, we departed to the city again by the city train. We stopped at the Heumarkt station and walked from there. Just beside the station there was a Christmas market and a skating ring. There are many stalls selling various types of food, including sausages, mulled/hot wine, Christmas cookies and cheese. There are also stalls selling Christmas decorations. The place was crowded. Around the same area, there were many more Christmas markets and they were all very crowded.
Note: Mulled/Hot wine is only available in Germany around November/December. It cost around 2.5 Euro each. Drinking mulled/hot wine can keep you warm during the cold season. Highly recommended.
After having a scroll around the Christmas market, we visited an art museum called Walraf-Richartz Museum. This museum has a huge collection of paintings by painters who are least famous. There is a story behind each painting. In the olden days, Germans like to draw portraits of their family members and then hang them at home. There are a lot of paintings of Jesus as well. It is interesting that they actually analyse the strokes, drawing styles, materials and colours etc to determine its authenticity. The photo frames are also very interesting because each drawing comes with its own frame. There are also a lot of studies regarding the preservation of the paintings and how to restore them to its previous glory.
Another interesting place is the Catheral. It is a UNESCO heritage built by the Romans. This is a must visit place for those who are visiting Cologne. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city. The exterior design looks rather complex but the interior design is very simple and majestic. The building is very strong, able to survive through the war and earthquake! It is very amazing how people in the olden days design and build such a huge building.
We spent the second day visiting the smaller cities near Cologne. The countryside was more relaxing. We visited a castle in Bruehl called Augustusburg Palace, which is also a UNESCO heritage. This palace was built by the commission of Clemens August, Cologne’s elector and archbishop in 1725. Its completion took around 40 years. The building has a simple structure but the interior design is simply magnificent. Many famous architects contributed to its interior beauty, making it one of the most glorious residences of its time. It is a prime example of German Rococo art. It is interesting that China’s pottery was a “hit” back in those days and commonly found on top of furniture.
We visited two Christmas markets on our little tour. One of them was at the countryside. The combination of old buildings, river, bridge and the surroundings really give me a magical Christmas feel. I finally understood what Christoph meant by “the Christmas markets in Cologne were not romantic”.
We had dinner at a very deserted restaurant located in the middle of the woods. The restaurant’s environment was very nice and warm. The pork knuckle was rather hard. Their homemade wheat beer was rather light. The mascot of the restaurant (a fox) made me excited the most.
On November 28 I departed to Heidelberg by train. It was a 2-3 hours train ride. From the window it was rather misty outside, signs of rain coming soon.P/s: I was fascinated by the cars here. Most of the cars on the road were BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen. I am not an expert or fan of cars but I just love their designs~
I shall continue the rest of the story in Part II… :)
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