After leaving Cologne, we made our way back to Weissenthurm to meet up with some friends for dinner. As
Cologne is only an hour north of Andernach, we had plenty of time prior to meeting at the Pfeffermuhle restaurant to finish our exploration of the ancient town.
One of the aspects of taking a trip along the Rhine is that each town will have at least one castle and some type of wall or fortress that remains from the Middle ages. While the Rhine is far too long for me to post any type of a map to show you the various "castle" stops, I scanned portions of a map to give you the general idea.
These maps comprise less than 60 miles of the Rhine
In reality, this is a very small portion of the route we would be traveling over the next few days but from Cologne to Andernach, you can see that there are a number of castles in that stretch.
For today's post I am going to stay within Andernach, though. As I mentioned in my post The First Day, I had spent my first afternoon seeing some of the city and it's charm, but there was more to see.
As we pulled into town we parked next the the giant fortress wall that remains fairly intact around the town. Considering the town is over 2000 years old, the old town is full of historical remnants. While the wall and castle were built in the 12th Century, much of the wall and towers still remain in fairly good shape.The castle was destroyed by the French in 1689. That would be when the French also put the "dent" into the Round Tower, that I talked about in The First Day post, as well.
One of the things that I found interesting, is how the people of Andernach incorporated the wall into building homes. There are homes that are built to back up into the wall.
A portion of the remaining wall
As we walk toward the castle remains
Cute little windows in an ancient wall
Does living in an Medieval Tower cost more than in a Medieval wall?
Wonder how many tourists stare into this person's window.
From this angle you can see how the homes are built into the wall.
Looking back at the wall from the castle ruins.
One of the remaining walls and keep of the castle.
Walking along the Rhine toward the Bastion
A toll booth on the River Rhine
Very classy toll booth, don't you think?
Thought Number Two: Remembering the Places We've Been
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What happened to "Day Number One"?, I hear you cry. Well...the long and the short of it is that after my departure on Saturday to come to Germany, I have spent a lot of time in airports and on airplanes but have had a hell of a time getting on the Internet. Luckily (or not ...depending on your point of view) I can draw and manipulate my pictures off line enough to do some cartoons for you.
So....just to catch you up to speed:
I arrived at 11:45 AM in Frankfurt yesterday which is 4:45 AM according to my tired butt's time (and real time zone differences). After maneuvering through customs and retrieving luggage I was headed for my first stop of Andernach, Germany. Andernach is super cute and very quaint. For those of you that aren't regular readers, my husband has been working here for the last 3 months so he is feeling pretty much at home here. I have been here about a minute and a half and haven't gotten acclimated quite yet.
Not speaking the language on top of the fact there is no Diet Coke available is offering me a bit of a challenge.....oh and do we need to mention that in Germany they never, ever, puts ice into beverages? I am drinking what appears to be German bottled ice tea without the availability of any ice. I find it interesting that ice can be put in the picture but when you ask for ice, you are considered a crazy person.
We dropped in on a Christmas Festival, visited an old fortress, and got settled into our German Guesthouse where we spent last night. Hubby is sleep asleep this morning because it is 4:00 AM and I am awake with an Internet connection. YAY!....
BUT for now...I am going to get cleaned up for the day. I have plenty of pictures of things that I will try to post as time and computer connections allow.
Middle-aged (if I become a centenarian) living a middle-class life in the very middle of the country and continually struggling with the pros and cons of every topic. Seriously, conflicted.
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