Our Europe Trip Continued... Frankfurt/Cologne/Bonn

    If you haven't yet, go read my blog post about our 24 hours in Paris (Paris in 24 Hours). It will give you a more detailed explanation of how we arrived in Europe.

   This blog post is going to be about the 2 nights we spent in Frankfurt and the surrounding areas. If you are looking for ideas of what to do in Frankfurt, keep reading!

    We arrived in Frankfurt on Friday, April 4th around 7:00 p.m. We rode the ICE train from Paris to Frankfurt. Once we got to the Frankfurt (Main) Hbf Station, we got some supper from the train station before we walked to our hotel. (Tip: The area around Frankfurt's train station is not the greatest. There is a police presence, but just be aware of your surroundings.) 

    We stayed at the ibis Frankfurt Centrum. It was a nice place for the 3 of us and within walking distance of train station. It also seemed to be in a somewhat safer, quieter area than right near the train station.

    On Saturday, April 5th, we left our hotel around 7:00 a.m. to get breakfast at the train station and to catch our 8:15 train to Cologne. The train ride was a little over an hour, and it was very busy for a Saturday morning. Many families were on the train, as well as a loud bachelor party that was in the same train car as us. I guess Cologne is a popular destination on the weekend! (Tip: I wish I had read more about this ahead of time, but some trains have reserved seats. The train that we were on had some seats that were reserved and some that were not. We didn't quite understand how that system worked, and how we could tell which seats were reserved. We got very lucky that we didn't take anyone's reserved seat, I guess! Make sure to read up on the German trains!) 

    Arriving at Kӧln Hbf around 9:30 a.m., we began our walking route of the city. I will post a link of the route I created on Google Maps that we followed, along with our stops and some history about each stop. The entire route is about a 20 minute walk, not considering times at each stop. Here is the Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZCmjqKnFRQhqPjbi9.

Cologne Walking Tour

• Stop #1: Cologne Cathedral. From the main train station, it is about a 5 minute walk to the famous cathedral. It is massive and towers above everything else in the area. On their website, it stated that it would be 8€ per person for admission. When we arrived, they did not charge an admission, but they were accepting donations. At the end of our trip, we all agreed that the Cologne Cathedral was an amazing site to see and a must do for anyone visiting the area. (Tip: Arrive early! It was not very busy when we arrived around 9:45 on a Saturday morning. When we were leaving around noon, it was much more busy and there were a lot more people.)

        The Cologne Cathedral, or Kӧlner Dom, is Cologne's greatest tourist destination and Germany's largest cathedral. It attracts about 6 million people each year. The construction on the cathedral started in 1248, but it stopped in 1560 because of a lack of funds. Being half-built at this point, it sat this way for almost 300 years. It was even a horse stable and prison for Napoleon's prisoners during this time. The cathedral was finally finished in 1880 when King Friedrich Wilhelm IV helped with the funding. It survived the WWII bombs and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Photos don't do it justice! I highly recommend visiting this cathedral!

• Stop #2: St. Peter's Fountain. St. Peter's Fountain, or Petrusbrunnen, is located just outside the entrance to the cathedral. The fountain is no longer dry, but it still keeps the nickname "Drügge Pitter" (dry Peter). The neo-Gothic fountain was donated to the city of Cologne by the Prussian Queen and later German Empress Augusta. It was completed in 1870. The 8 meter high structure honors Saint Peter the Apostle, the patron saint of the Cologne Cathedral. The nickname of "dry Peter" goes back to the fountain's first location where it did not have an adequate water supply. The present location now has a water connection, but it still keeps its nickname.

• Stop #3: Pixie's Fountain. The Pixie's Fountain, or Heinzelmannchenbrunen, was donated by the Cologne Beautification Association around 1899. It commemorated the 100th birthday of the artist August Kopisch, who was the author of the ballad "Die Heinzelmännchen zu Kӧln". The fountain depicts a scene of the poem's dramatic turning point when the Heinzelmännchen tumble down the stairs after tripping over the dried peas that were scattered there. People who are familiar with the poem know that the Pixies stopped working for the residents of Cologne and disappeared forever after they were discovered.

• Stop #4: Roman Sewer. The Roman Sewer, or Romischer Abwasserkanal, is a sewer system dating back to the Roman times. There are not many buildings or structures that still remain from the Roman times, so this was a quick stop to see one! I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of this stop.

• Stop #5: Great St. Martin Church. The Saint Martin Church, or Groẞ St. Martin, was severely damaged in WWII. Long before that, the site was located on an island in the Rhine and contained several warehouses. The church was built of top of these warehouses and incorporated their remains. The upper parts of the church were reconstructed after WWII and are an example of Rhenish architecture from between 1150 and 1250.

• Stop #6: The Rhine. While you are by the Great St. Martin Church, stop for a moment to walk over and see the Rhine. You will be right beside the river and will have a view of the Hohenzollern Bridge. You will also have a great view of Cologne from the river.

• Stop #7: Old Market/Alter Markt. This area of Cologne is known for its pubs, restaurants, and other shops. It resembles what Cologne looked like during the Middle Ages. I recommend stopping for lunch at Peters Brauhaus. We had some delicious, authentic German food and beer there. While in that area, you will come across the Jan von Werth Monument. It is actually a fountain that dates back to 1884. Jan von Werth was one Germany's most famous cavalry generals during the Thirty Years War. There is a story that goes with the scenes depicted on the fountain: Griet rejected Jan's marriage proposal because he was a servant and not good enough for her. Sad from the rejection, Jan met with an army recruiter who was in Cologne at that time. Many years and battles later, Jan returned to Cologne with his troops and saw Griet at the market. She was selling fruit at a farmer's stand. Jan tipped his hat and said, "Griet, who would have thought!" Griet replied, "Jan, who could have known!" Jan then got on his horse and rode away. He did not forgive her for that rejection even years later. In 1918, authorities attempted to melt down the monument to make cannons, which they did with many other monuments and bells during that time. However, the fountains stone structure allowed it to survive. The bombs that fell during WWII miraculously did not damage to the monument.

    That completes our walking route in Cologne! After the Alter Markt, we made our walk back to the train station. We hopped on a train to take us to Bonn. It was about a 30 minute train ride, and we arrived in Bonn around 2:00 p.m.

    Like Cologne, I created a Google Maps walking route for us when we were in Bonn. Here is the link for that walking route: https://maps.app.goo.gl/S5jQsZVgWXpDcZiM6. It is about a 20 minute walk, not taking any stops into account.

Bonn Walking Tour

• Stop #1: Bonner Munster. The Bonner Munster is a catholic church built on the graves of two martyred Roman soldiers. These two soldiers were later named to be the city's patron saints. The church was completed in 1248 and is almost 1,000 years old.

• Stop #2: St. Martin's Fountain. The original Martinsbrunnen was constructed in the 18th century and was later destroyed during WWII. The current fountain is named after Saint Martin of Tours, who is a popular saint known for his acts of charity. The fountain depicts Saint Martin sharing his cloak with a beggar.

• Stop #3: Beethoven Monument. The Beethoven Monument, or Beethoven-Denkmal, was unveiled on August 12th, 1845 to commemorate Beethoven's 75th birthday. It has been restored a couple of times. There is a Beethoven Festival held in Bonn every year. The yellow building in the background of the photo is the Altes Postamt (Old Post Office).

• Stop #4: Beethoven's House. Beethoven's House, or Beethoven-Haus, is the house where Beethoven was born. It is now a museum. The museum is 14€ per person, but it is a really cool museum. If you are interested in learning more about Beethoven, I would recommend that you visit.

    On your way to and from Beethoven's House, you will walk through a shopping district area. When we were there, it was very busy with lots of people! There was so much to see and do! We also came across the remnants of an old castle wall with some pretty cherry blossom trees.

• Stop #5: Thalia Bonn. Thalia Bonn is a bookstore in the historic market area. The draw of this bookstore is the building. It is located in a old theater. We walked through it really quickly, but it was still a cool store to check out. I unfortunately did not take an photos of the inside.

• Stop #6: Old City Hall. The Old City Hall, or Altes Rathaus, was built in the 1730's. Many famous politicians, including JFK, waved to crowds from its staircase.

• Stop #7: Electoral Palace. The Electoral Palace, or Kurfürstliches Schloss, can be traced back to the 12th century when it was a castle. Over the centuries, it has been used for other reasons. It was the residence of the Electors of Cologne until the 19th century when it became the main building for the University of Bonn. It now houses the Faculty of Humanities and Theology. There are lecture halls, seminar rooms, offices, and a library that fill the historic rooms. The gardens and courtyard are open to the public, and it is a popular spot for students and tourists. It is very big, but here is one photo to give you an idea or what it is like!

    It isn't included on the Google Maps route, but if you have time, you can walk over to the Rӧmische Badeanlage. There are informational prints hanging at the exhibit for you to read, but it appears to be a landmark from the ancient Romans. We didn't have time to walk over and check it out, but it sounded interesting!

    Our train ride back to Frankfurt took about 2 hours. We were very tired when we got back, so we didn't have time to walk around Frankfurt. I created a Google Maps walking route of Frankfurt with some notes that I will include, even though we didn't do it. Here is the walking route: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yiie4BVQ4Ft42A3n6. The entire route takes about an hour, not accounting for stops.

Frankfurt Walking Tour

• Stop #1: Westhafen Tower. The Westhafen Tower was near our hotel. It is a glass-covered tower made up of 3,500 glass triangles. It was built between 2001-2003 and is an office building. It has 30 floors and is 122 meters high.
• Stop #2: Hercules Crane. The Hercules Crane, or Herkuleskran, is located along the river on the walking route. It is a historic harbor crane that was used back in the 19th century. It was used to load goods and supplies from cargo ships.
• Stop #3: Iron Footbridge. The original bridge was built in 1849. After it was destroyed during WWII, it was rebuilt in 1946. It is a popular photo spot for views of Frankfurt.
• Stop #4: Romerburg. Romerburg is a famous town square that tourists visit. The original buildings were destroyed during the war, so the reconstructed timber buildings are supposed to resemble 14th/15th century buildings. There is a popular Christmas market here during the winter. In the center of Romerburg is the Fountain of Justice, or Justitia Brunnen. It is one of the most visited landmarks in Frankfurt. The fountain played an important role at emperor coronations, and a large public festival would be held. During those festivals, the fountain would be filled with wine instead of water for the people of Frankfurt to enjoy. It survived the WWII air raids with little damage.
• Stop #5: Frankfurt Cathedral. The Frankfurt Cathedral, or Frankfurter Dom, is one of the few structures to survive the 1944 bombings. Some people call it Frankfurt's first skyscraper, standing at almost 95 meters high. After 1200, the church received a skull relic of St. Bartholomew, which is now a part of the cathedral treasury. 

And there you have it! An itinerary for 2 nights in Frankfurt. We didn't have near enough time to explore everything there is to see and do, but I feel like we saw the main sights. Adjust to fit your itinerary and schedules, and enjoy!