There's More Than Cologne in Köln!

The World Renowned Dom in downtown Cologne

My wife and I took an overnight to Cologne, Germany.  Meeting old friends, seeing an old city for the first time.

I expected the usual:  old buildings, a cathedral, beer, sausages, and a view of the Rhine River.  What I didn’t expect was to be enchanted.  Cologne, or Köln (Kul-n) in German, sports the past like an old and favorite dress, yet has a young and vibrant feel.  People, young and old, stroll the cobblestone streets, stop for a beer at an outdoor pub, view the flowers and the majestic Rhine, and while away the time in some wonderful cafés.  The old city, Altstadt, is a walking wonderland of things to see and do.

Cologne is used to being both old and new and certainly adept at starting over.  An ancient tribe founded the city; then came the Romans in the first century and stayed for over four hundred years.  They built sewer systems, palaces, and baths, all of which are slowly being uncovered and displayed to the public.

The Roman World

Hard to believe this city was 95% destroyed in World War II.  On the night of 13 May, 1942, the first thousand plane raid hit Cologne.  90% of the population fled.

Between Roman times and the National Socialist era, a lot of folks took turns hammering this center of commerce that straddles the famous Rhine River.  Most, noticeably the French under Napoleon Bonaparte and later the French after the First World War, tried to make Cologne a permanent part of France.  The Brits had a lot to do with squashing both those misguided efforts.

Museums abound in this city, and two of my sudden favorites are the Ludwig and the Wallraf.  Art from every age, but I usually key-in on the late nineteenth and twentieth Century.  Impressionists.  Cubists.  Both museums feature names you’ll recognize, no matter your preference.  From Reuben and Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, and Pollack, you’ll find them here.

Picassos Inside the Ludwig Museum

The large painting is an Edvard Munch inside The Wallraf Museum

For me, viewing art is not only a question of time, but of the ability to mentally digest what I’m seeing.  A museum is such an elaborate banquet of designs, styles, colors, and subjects.  Seeing all of it in one fell swoop is like trying to eat your way through the full menu at a Michelin Three Star restaurant.

My brother has taught me well. For every hour in a museum, there must be an hour on either side at a pub.  Ale cleanses the mental palate and renews your spirit for living.

Thankfully, Cologne is dedicated to enjoyment of beer, as evidenced by a word found few other places in Germany:  Kölsch.  This pale beer, with a taste much like a smoother lager, has found its way down thirsty throats for centuries.  Even today, Kölsch is strictly controlled through an agreement between members of the Cologne Brewery Association, known as the Kölsch Konvention.

The thing to remember when you park yourself at a café and order a Kölsch, is that tall, slim glass in front of you will be refilled again and again, until you either mumble to the waiter that “I dink I gad genuf…,” as the beer dribbles down your shirt, or you put your beer coaster over the top of your glass.  In Cologne drinking beer is serious and the waiters carry special little trays (Kranz or wreath) of little glasses of beer, designed both to cut down on the spillage and to serve dozens of customers at the speed of slosh.

Ok, you’ve had your beer and your museums and taken a look at the mighty Rhine River, but there’s at least one thing left.  You can’t leave this famous city without a glimpse inside the magnificent cathedral.  You’re thinking, “This is my second week in Europe and if I see another freaking cathedral, all this beer is going to trickle its way down my legs and between the cobbles on the street!”

Slow down.  This is not just another cathedral, but one of the most famous and majestic in all of Europe.  It’s full name is Hohe Domkirche St Petrus, or in English, High Cathedral of St Peter.  Best known as simply the Dom.  I’m not going to spoil the fun by giving you a full rundown.  Besides, you need more beer to really appreciate this edifice that’s been around in one form or another since the 13^th Century.

Inside the Cathedral 

But, I will answer a couple of questions before you even ask:  Yes, the Dom was hit in World War II, but no it was not destroyed.  One reason is the suggestion that it made an excellent visual checkpoint for bomb runs into other parts of Germany.

And, who can think of speaking of Cologne without mentioning Eau de Cologne?  Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian, launched the citrus-scented original here in 1709 and the collective cologne business has flourished ever since.  Yes, there is a cologne museum and cologne shops galore.

Don’t’ know about you, but I think all this sightseeing calls for another beer.  Now, if that waiter would just hurry up!

Ribeauville: Another Jewel of the Alsace

Coming out of Rodern and still craving adventure, we trolled the country-side.  Still too early in the spring to put the top down on the Bimmer, but still fun on the narrow, winding roads that twist through the vineyards.  Vineyards.  With that simple word, most would picture a plot of land, maybe even a large plot.  But this is the Alsace.  Everything that’s not a road or a village is a vineyard.  Neat and cultivated rows of vines stretch like thin black ribbons, as far as you can see, across the flatland, and smoothly rolling with the low hills, until finally caressing the slopes of the mountains.

A road sign with an arrow reads:  Ribeauville.  Never been there.  Not yet. 

We leave the vineyards and roll into a town right out of the middle-ages.  For the avid sightseer, nothing beats the Alsace. All you need are some jingle in your pocket, and a sporty car.  Throw predetermined destination aside.  Just drive.  Be prepared to tap the brakes and park at the slightest provocation.

Keep a notebook and pen at hand, along with at least a pocket camera.  You’ll want to jot down the names of towns, the names of wines, general impressions.  Without a bit of a hint, memories melt.  The Alsace is a Disney-set on the grandest of scales.  Small villages.  Towns.  Cities.  All of them pop up with astonishing regularity. Each a jewel worthy of movie-star sunglasses, a casually swung scarf, and café-au-lait at a sidewalk café. Linger as if you belong and the tourists that pass are oh so passé.

In one small town, of which I will write more on another day, we stumbled into a remarkable chocolate shop.  Found out later, it was named one of the five best in France.  That’s the way life is when you allow yourself the time to meander aimlessly.  Expect the unexpected, such as:

A stork guards its nest, high on a steeple

Down below, an Aston Martin

Ribeauville was like that chocolate shop on a grander scale.  Half-timbered buildings.  Cobblestone streets.  Cafés whose tables and patrons spill out onto the old walking street.

The town, which is located 10 miles (16 km) north of Colmar and 47 miles (75 km) south of Strasbourg, kneels at the feet of the Vosges Mountains.  Heard of the Vosges?  More than a name, it’s the birthplace of the famous Rhine River. Across the border is the equally famous Black Forest.

Ribeauville’s history fades back to the 8^th Century.  Here’s an interesting tidbit:  the local king/prince/BMOC was the protector of wandering minstrels.  They paid protection money, of course.  That went on until the late 17^th Century, when the noble family died out.  So these day, street musicians are on their own, but seem unconcerned by the change.  We heard a middle-aged woman, standing in front of a candy shop (confiserie), croon a wonderful version of La Vie En Rose.  Tune into youtube while you browse the Ribeauville photos (below). The song will make your eyes and heart well up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6TvCo9r3GM

Lots to do in the ville.  Old churches: St Gregory and St Augustine.  Castles: St Ulrich, Girsburg, and Haut Ribeaupierre.  As with most castles, these dominate the heights overlooking the city and through the centuries were built, destroyed, and rebuilt.

Or, you can do what we did and simply wander the remarkable streets.  Find a bread shop (boulangerie), pastry shop (patisserie), or just a friendly café.  Sit.  Watch the world go by and marvel at your good fortune.

A City On the Rhine - Basel, Switzerland

Basel is at the center of continental Euope 

The fabulous Rhine

One of the last ferrys in Basel

Downtown Basel on a Saturday

Courtyard of the Kunstmuseum - No photos inside

Jean Tinguely - Water Machine Sculptures

The famous 14th Century Rathaus

Small flower shop in the Old City

First and last stop - Swiss Federal Railway train station (SBB)

Weekend destination: Basel Switzerland, about 3 1/2 hours by train.  One of the great joys of Europe is that almost anywhere in Central Europe may be reached on a weekend.

France is next-door.  Switzerland is only a little further.

Basel, a city on the Rhine River?  Really?  When you think of Germany, you think of würst, schnitzel, beer, wine, and the Rhine River.  You sure don’t think of Basel, Switzerland.  But, Germany doesn’t own the Rhine.  This longest river in Europe goes on for 1232 kilometers (766 miles) and begins in the Swiss Alps, before flowing through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, and out to the North Sea.  Notice something strange?  The Rhine, like another famous German river, the Mosel, begins somewhere else and flows north.  Everywhere it flows, it’s important for commerce.  Basel, Switzerland is no exception. Two of the world’s five largest pharmaceutical companies, Novartis and Roche, were founded in Basel.  There’s also a significant watch making industry.  Business is flourishing, with many materials shipped by airfreight, but much more carried by Rhine barges.  Basel’s central location on the Rhine is perfect for continental business.

But, when you’re a tourist, commerce is dreary, except for shopping.  Plenty of that in Basel, but the prices may make you attract a crowd when you wheeze for a defibrillator.   Lots of $200 shirts and $500 shoes lurking in windows like hookers in Amsterdam.  Restaurant prices may also make you squirm and swear to stick to your diet.  A simple lunch of the day for four, along with bottled water, one beer, and one glass of wine ran to $100.  Hotel room was a more palatable $140.  How simple is a simple lunch?  So simple I didn’t take any photos.   I hate to chat about prices, but what do you chat about when you can’t even afford a foaming $15 beer?

Ah, I have an idea.  Let’s chat about museums!  Basel has over 30 of them, including the world famous Kunstmuseum, filled with paintings and sculptures from the 15^th Century to the modern era.  Virtually every name worth knowing is represented. Being a fan of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, my eyesight grew dim before it was over.   The thought of a $10 cup of coffee (milk and sugar provided free of charge) perked me right up.

Makes you wonder how the average barista, store clerk, or burger flipper can afford to live here.  Short answer, they don’t.  They live in Germany and make a short commute.  After all, Basel is known as “The Three Country Corner,” where France, Germany, and Switzerland connect.

Basel’s old town is a delight. Strolling the cobbled streets is a study in medieval architecture, with half timbered houses, and guildhalls.  Lots of little stores to gawk at and discrete little coffee shops.  Suddenly, you come out into the Marktplatz (market place), where fruits, vegetables, and flowers are sold every day, but Sunday.  Along one edge of the Marktplatz you’ll find one of the most magnificent old City Halls (Rathaus) in all of Europe, in use since the 14^th Century.

So, now we come to the bottom lines:  What language do they speak in Basel?  German, mainly, but you’ll hear English, French, and Italian everywhere you go.

Next question:  What monetary unit do they use in Switzerland?  The Swiss Franc. Current exchange rate is about $1.10 per SF.

One final question:  Are the natives friendly?  You kidding me?  They smile like cannibals in a nudist colony every time you pull out your wallet.