Our first whirlwind stop today was Trier, a German town with an old church (go figure) but also the remains of an old Roman walled fortification, known as the Porta Negra and home before his expulsion, to Karl Marx. A lot of the towns we will be visiting suffered heavy bombing in the Second World War, and while they look old, they have been rebuilt to look the way they previously had. Many of the German towns we visited also had Holocaust monuments erected - the German people seem to have a lot of shame in that regard and do a lot to acknowledge their part and the importance of owning it and learning from it.
From Trier we drove to Koblenz, where we enjoyed a traditional German meal of pork knuckle, tomato soup, and ice cream, before catching the cable cars across the Rhine to the fortifications of an old castle. Back across the river you can see where the Moselle and Rhine combine (hence the town name - Koblenz) with a giant statue of Kaiser Wilhelm looking out across the blending rivers. Just behind his statue is an art installation commemorating the Berlin Wall and the history behind its rise and fall. I also tried a soft drink only available in Germany, Austria and Belgium - Mezzo Mix. It’s a blend of Coke and Fanta. While I didn’t mind the flavour, I’m not upset we can’t get it at home - it was ok, but not Jaffa-like enough without a chocolate taste in the mix.
Final stop for the day - Frankfurt am Maim - where I discovered the first of my lovelock bridges - with thousands of padlocks paying tribute to relationships that won’t be broken! A beautiful old church or two (St Martin’s was my preference this time), and an old town square that again had been through a pretty big rebuild.
Interesting that we were there on a Sunday, which is typically a day that most shops and stores would close. They had warned us a fair bit, but I did think it was funny that the places that were open were pretty much the tourist traps - and they were effectively full!
No dinner options near the hotel tonight so they stopped the bus at a truck stop and we had a choice of KFC or Maccas. Now in Australia those two are considered fast food. My KFC order took 20 minutes to process as there was one person taking and fulfilling all orders while one was cooking. Thankfully I ordered first - some of our group waited 40 minutes for their meals.
Nice enough hotel again, although as this was an official airport hotel, it was huge and my room was right at the back - it was a five minute walk from the elevator landing to my door!
Tomorrow we are off to Bonn, Cologne and finishing in Amsterdam - all new towns for me and I can’t wait.
