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Luxembourg & Germany, May 2003
In February, all of the negative economic news surrounding the airlines and their futures made us think about all of the U. S. Airways frequent flyer miles that Cynthia had collected; the thought of losing 160,000 miles was motivation enough to consider a European trip soon. Having done more than one European trip that resulted in too much driving, we wanted to avoid over extending ourselves. Pat was interested in researching his ancestors in the vicinity of Luxembourg and Saarland, Germany, so we would start there and then wind our way to northern Germany to visit friends; Venice would have to wait until the next trip. We armed ourselves with 4 nights of free hotel nights from hotel points, a combination 7 train days and 4 car days Eurailpass and we were ready.
April 29 - We left Kansas City for Philadelphia and then from Philadelphia to Frankfurt. First class is without a doubt the way to go - extended chairs, good food, good drinks, your choice of movies. We arrived in Frankfurt and went to the train station in the airport; how easy the train travel is - within an hour and a half of our arrival we were on a train to Luxembourg via Koblenz, Germany. I hope the Europeans are smart enough to keep their train systems viable and not allow them to fade away as we have.
The train traveled
along the Rhine; I am always amazed at the vineyards that are planted on 75 to 80
degree inclines. On the train we talked to a 50ish German man across the
aisle that was recovering from surgery. He was going to recuperate at his
Luxembourgish girlfriend's home before they went on to Majorca where he
lived. Pat helped him with his luggage at Koblenz and he was fascinated
with the fact that Pat spoke German plus he had been to Midland, TX and loved
Texas. We ended up in the same compartment traveling from Koblenz to
Luxembourg and agreed to meet the next evening for a drink at the hotel where
we were staying.
Our first three nights were at our free Hilton hotel. The actual room rate was 398 euros, about $440! Champagne and fruit were on a table in our room. We had an early supper in the hotel the first night and were in bed by 7:00 PM, woke up at 11:00 PM, drank the champagne and went back to bed and slept until 8:00 AM. Frühstück (breakfast) at the hotel was 21 euros per person so we opted to take the bus to the city (city fountain*) to find something to eat. There was an elderly lady on the bus on her way to Mass in the city center. She told us it was May Day and most stores were closed, but she recommended a walk around the casements and offered to accompany us on our walk. We didn't take her up on her offer because we still needed a coffee jolt and Cynthia needed something to eat.
Then we walked along the casements. The lilacs were spectacular - they grew like wild trees. We found a museum open which proved to be very interesting. Luxembourg is country of numbered bank accounts and a lot of wealth. There was one section of the musuem that had cartoons of everyday Luxembourg - one cartoon had a beggar dressed in a tux in front of bank. His beggar's hat to collect the contributions was connected via hose to the bank :-)
We took the bus back to the hotel - Pat did a wonderful job of figuring out the bus system. We discussed the likelihood that Rolf and his girlfriend would show up for a drink - we didn't think they would be there - but we got ready and went down to the bar. There they were waiting for us. We had an interesting couple of hours of conversation - part English and part German. Lydia also speaks Luxembourgish. Of the four, only Rolf was a George Bush supporter - maybe because he liked Midland so much!
On Friday, May 2nd we decided to take a day trip to Metz, France. First stop was to buy Pat a windbreaker. The saleslady did not speak English or German but that didn't stop her - she found a great jacket for Pat. We visited the cathedral* built between 1220 and 1520 and like many Gothic cathedrals it is on the highest hill in the area. This cathedral is known for having 6500 square meters of stained glass which have been designed by famous artists from the 13th to the 20th century. We had fun picking out the windows that we thought Marc Chagall had designed. (The other artists we were not familiar with.) The ambience was enhanced by hearing an organ located high on the cathedral wall. We also visited the crypt in the cathedral which included a lot of city history.
SAARLAND,
GERMANY
We left our luxury hotel on Saturday and took the train to Saarbrucken via Trier. We had reserved a car for this leg of the trip because we wanted to visit some small towns. From Saarbrucken we drove to St. Wendel, got a brochure of the area including Fremdenzimmers (B&Bs). We headed to Werschweiler* and found a lovely room with the DuPonts. When Antonje DuPont heard that Pat was looking for his ancestors, she called a local historian and arranged for Pat to talk to him. Herr Benoist was very cordial but after many questions and much looking in books decided that the Karls had not come from Werschweiler*. One of the points he made was that there were no Catholics in that area at that time. He suggested possibly Wörschweiler in the area of Homburg. An interesting sidelight to the visit with Herr Benoist was visiting the very small hometown museum in his village. It was housed in the part of the second floor of the community center and contained a hodgepodge of village history and life. These little museums often are fascinating. After WWII a plebiscite was held in this area of Germany to determine whether the area would be French or German. That evening we ate outside in the marketplace of St. Wendel (the picture on the left in the link above.) While in Werschweiler we heard jets taking off - they were taking off from the US Army Base in Birkenfeld. At Frühstück the next morning, Antonje was watching TV and there were pictures of the tornado in Leavenworth County, Kansas.
The next day on the ancestor trail again to Wörschweiler - another small village in the area. We looked at a cemetery in the area but they are not very helpful because the graves are reused after a certain period of time - no ancient gravesites in Germany. Pat called the local historian and learned over the phone that no Karls had ever lived there. (Herr Benoist had called ahead so the local historian could do some checking.) After this disappointing news we drove on to Homburg to find something to eat. Pat is getting a bit blasé - he said "Oh here is another typical, quaint, picturesque German town with a füßgänger zone (pedestrian zone)."
The countryside was rolling hills and we saw a lot of brilliant yellow fields planted with Raps* which is made into what we know as canola oil, which was earlier known as rapeseed oil.
We turned in the car in Saarbrucken on May 4th and caught the train to Bonn. We went to the tourist office in Bonn and booked a hotel; we had our usual argument about how far Cynthia wants to schlep her luggage around. Our hotel was ideally located one block off the füßgänger* zone and within walking distance of the Rhein. Kastanien* (chestnut) trees were everywhere, some with white blooms and some with rose colored blooms. We later learned that there are two different kastanien trees - the one we saw is decorative and another produces the edible chestnuts. We walked around the füßgänger zone, admired the old buildings* and the cathedral* before finding a place outside to eat.
Tuesday we went to the Arithmeum - a unique and very interesting museum of discrete mathematics. The exhibits take you from early calculating devices to the modern day computer chip; there are several interactive displays. After lunch we went to the Beethoven Haus which turned out to be only mildly interesting. Beethoven was born in Bonn and lived there and in Cologne until he was 22; he then moved to Vienna and never returned to Bonn to live. Bonn makes a really big deal about Beethoven but reality is that Vienna is the place to visit to absorb Beethoven's life. Cynthia's tour guide expertise hit a low that evening; thinking we were headed to a picturesque area we took the U-bahn across the Rhine to find a restaurant. Turned out it was a very uninteresting area but we got decent food and good beer and a different experience.
Bonn is very close to Köln so we bought U-bahn tickets to go to Köln (Cologne) . It was a bit confusing which type of ticket we should get - there were several options including tickets for a given "zone". Traveling on the U-bahn is basically on the honor system. Tickets are only checked occasionally but if you're caught with no ticket or an invalid ticket there is a stiff fine.
We had been to Köln before so we bypassed visiting the well-known cathedral* and visited the Roman-German Museum . Köln was a large, sophisticated Roman settlement and most of the contents of the museum are from the archeological digs in Köln. The collection is excellent and has a broad range of exhibits that are well presented; the mosaic* floors particularly are spectacular. After our wonderful educational experience we walked down to the Rhine and had a wonderful cultural experience drinking beer* at an outdoor restaurant. Winter in northern Germany is often gloomy and cloudy so the Germans make the most of their sunny days when spring comes.
By the time we were ready to take the U-bahn (subway) back to Bonn we had decided that we probably bought the wrong type of ticket - our tickets were actually just for traveling within Bonn and did not include going to Köln. We decided if tickets were checked we would play dumb and Pat could not speak any German. The car was crowded so C took a seat by a young man and P sat across the aisle. We sped along and were relaxing as we got closer to Bonn when 5 officers got on the car and started checking tickets. They were not friendly, sweet officers. By this time we thought we were back in a Bonn zone and safe but were not sure. The young man showed his ticket and one of the officers had some harsh words to say, took the young man's name and address and he had to pay a fine. I showed my ticket, as did P and we were okay! We paid 5.6 euros for our tickets and later figured out that if we had bought the correct tickets it would have been 24 euros.
Back in Bonn we had supper outside. I was fascinated by the commode in the WC; after flushing an arm comes out from the base of the tank and disinfectants as the toilet seat turns around.
Rhine cruises are a very popular tourist attraction in Germany. We had never taken any cruises and decided to take a short one from Bonn to see what it was like. If the weather was agreeable as that day, I would take a long cruise - it was delightful. From our cruise boat*, a huge catamaran, we saw more of Bonn. Before the capital of Germany was moved to Berlin after German reunification, Bonn was the capital of West Germany. We could see all of the former government buildings as we cruised along the shore. We got off at Königswinter, about a 45 minute trip. We took a Germany's oldest rack railway* to Drachenfels Crag which is at the top of the mountain and provides a panoramic view* of the Rhine valley. There is a middle-ages castle ruins* and this is the place where supposedly Siegfried killed the dragon. That evening we attended an organ and tenor concert at the 12th century Münster-Basilika St. Martin. Baroque organs should be heard in this setting; there is something about the sound that makes it very special. Pat was not very thrilled about the tenor part...
May 9th we took the train from Bonn to Münster to visit our good friends, the Albertsmeiers. Pat figured out the bus route from the train station to their apartment; Hanne offered to pick us up but Pat wanted to take the bus. Next time I'll call Hanne! We love visiting Münster, mainly because we enjoy seeing Hanne, Klaus, Daniel and Birta, but also because Münster is so interesting and has so much to offer. We walked (we always do a lot of walking in Münster!) to a South American restaurant where we met Anna and her daughter Hanne. The speciality of the restaurant is individually serving you about 8 to 10 different types of meat which they carry on skewers and carve thin slices for your plate. Hanne and Klaus had clued us in to not fill up on the beginning meats because the beef tenderloin is the last to be served.
After dinner we
walked to a "lokal" for drinks. There is no American equivalent
to a lokal - they are small to medium size places to get a drink, usually a
beer. They're very relaxed and none of the feeling of a bar. 10 to
12 college-age boys, dressed in traditional clothes with blue shirts, red
kerchiefs and wooden shoes, came into the lokal playing brass
instruments. It turned out they were from a nearby musical academy -
Havixbeck - and were publicizing an upcoming concert and collecting
money. They also enjoyed a couple of beers on the house.
The next day we went to the Landesgartenschau
(State Garden Show) in the area - it was a beautiful day and it was fun to walk
through the exhibits* and listen to the Peruvian musical group* playing outside.
We bought a well-designed tree branch clipper. We ate a local
Münster restaurant - the Albertsmeiers have lived in Münster all of their lives
and know all of the interesting and good places to eat.
On Sunday we headed to a sandstone workers
museum* outside of Nottuln. (Pictures of Hanne
& Cynthia* and Hanne & Klaus*
in the museum garden). From there to the Blaudruckerei (Blue Linen Printing Factory)
that Hanne had heard about in Nottuln. There was a pub at the Blaudruckerei so
naturally we had a beer. Hanne asked the owner if we could take a look at
the linens even though it was Sunday. The owner graciously obliged and
Hanne and went with him to the linen showroom. All of the linens are
hand-blocked - the linen was divided up into printing areas according to
the design and then blocks, about 12" square, were applied to the
material. I bought a tablecloth that had several "blocks"
on it - the one in the link picture is the one I have. The 7th generation
owner realized I was from the United States and asked if I had ever heard of
Kansas City! He spoke very good English. It turned out that about
10 years ago an American from Carrolton, MO (just east of KC) had come to
Nottuln looking for his ancestors and found that the owner of the Blaudruckerei
was his relative. The owner has been to visit the relatives in Carrollton
several times, including helping with hay harvests. It was a small world
moment! That evening we ate at Klute's, a historic brew house. It
was good beer and good food.
Lingen (Ems)
May 12th we left Münster temporarily, rented a car
and drove north to visit the Kirsts in Lingen. Sylvia and Harald have built
a lovely home in Lingen. They arranged for us to stay at the Hotel Märchenwald, a new
hotel with huge rooms - not common in Europe. It was a short walk
from the hotel to their house through a woodsy
area*. Sylvia, an excellent cook, had an elegant meal.
Harald and Pat were assigned to peel the Spargel (white asparagus) and
potatoes on the patio. Both Sylvia and
Harald* have lived in the US and speak excellent English so Pat had a rest
from translating.
The next morning after walking around Lingen*,
we had lunch with Sylvia and Harald. From there to the Kernkraftwerk
(Nuclear Power Plant) visitor's center. There is some controversy in
Germany about the continued use of nuclear power but this plant is still in
operation. We then drove to an area that at one time supplied a totally
different type of energy - the Moor
Museum where peat was cut for fuel. The outdoor part of the museum included
the big machines used to cut the peat mechanically. During WWII prisoners
worked the peat fields. We ended the day with a good meal at the hotel.
A lot of restaurants/pubs now have computer systems, but this place still
did it the old-fashioned way by coming at the end of the meal and writing on
the beer coaster all of the drinks we had ordered. I saved the coaster which
for the four of us has the prices all around the perimeter and then some in an
inner circle. The wait people have great memories in order to be able to
do that.
Münster Again
On
May 14th we headed back to Münster, turned the car in, took the bus to the city
center and ate at the Ratskeller. We met Hanne who took us to the hotel she had arranged for us. In
the evening we all met at a lokal close by and later drove to a small village
composed mainly of restaurants. One of the joys of this area is that
every restaurant is unique - there are no chain restaurants except
unfortunately the occasional McDonalds or Burger King.
To Düsseldorf via train
the next day and visited a 20th century museum of art - what a collection.
Klee, Magritte, Picasso, Leger, Mondrian, Kandinsky*,
Warhol*, Johns, Pollack, Dali, Beuys.
Whether you like it or not or call it art or not, it is interesting
stuff. One work of Beuys had oranges that had to be changed weekly.
I wonder when some curator will eventually say "why are we doing
this!" We then found a well-known
bar* where natives and tourists, suits and sports clothes go to have a
beer. People were inside and out drinking the brew - there were about 40
men and women all with black suits having a midday beer. In the evening
we ate at the Kiepenkerl
- a Kiepenkerl was an intinerant that walked from town to town repairing pots
and pans. Anna and her older daughter Julia met us there - it was really
nice to see "the Hundt women" again.
Friday, May 16th we walked around Münster city center including the historical Lambertikirche* and then met everyone at the
Picasso museum. The museum is primarily lithographs and sketches by
Picasso but also included book illustrations and sketches by Chagall, Leger,
Braque, Ernst and Matisse. It was interesting to see other sides of the
artists’ talent - we're used to seeing a few examples in an art book which is a
very small part of their overall work. From there to a Greek restaurant
where the Albertsmeiers are well known and then on to Havenfest (harbor party).
A street was blocked by police as we were walking to the harbor. It
turned out that the police were clearing the way for about 4000 inline skaters
to go by. Bands, food, beer and lots of people.
Roman
settlements covered a lot of Germany west of the Rhine; the Romans recruited
locals to work with and for them. A turning point in German history occurred
when Varus (Hermann in German) defeated a Roman army in a sneak attack; three
Roman legions were destroyed. The exact location of the attack
was only determined about 15 years ago and has been turned into an outdoor
museum. (Klaus, Daniel, Hanne & Cynthia*)
The visitor walking through this outdoor museum with the help of signs and
carefully placed structures can visualize the
setting* that allowed the rebel Germans to surprise the Romans.
Hermann and his feats achieved mythic status in Germany at one time.
We stopped by the Felix
Nussbaum Museum. The building was designed specifically for the Nussbaum
collection and enhances the impact of his work. Felix Nussbaum started
out as a promising painter but is best known for the paintings he produced
while in a WWII concentration camp. These canvases are very sobering to
view but well worth seeing.
Our last tourist activity was to see an exhibition of works of Albrect Dürer.
Probably his most well known wood block print is the "praying
hands". To see so many works of Dürer all in one place was fantastic
- the detail he was able to obtain from a wood block is amazing.
We closed out the day by having a beer in the füßgänger zone of Osnabrück.
The next day we had to leave for Frankfurt via train*
and back to the real world. You could watch the engineer*
on the train through a glass partition - he's going about 150 miles/hour.
Fortunately all of our travel went smoothly.
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