Country #3--Germany

We are still cruising along on the Rhine River the next morning.  Our destination for the day is Bonn.  But first we sail past the city of Cologne.  No stopping here on this voyage; glad we were able to visit Cologne on another river cruise in 2016.

A big attraction in Cologne is the magnificent Cathedral.

We were all up on the top deck watching as we passed by.

We sailed on.  The river is quite wide at this point.

And soon we arrived at the port in Bonn.  In post-Hitler years, Bonn was selected as the capital of West Germany.  Since the two Germanys became one again in 1989, Berlin has taken back its position as capital.

The city of Bonn is very modern city and the home of a prestigious university.  Our ship is docked next to the Kennedybrucke (Kennedy bridge).  It was renamed this just 10 days after President Kennedy's death in 1963.

We start our guided walking tour with Manuela.  She points out the street light with the outline of Beethoven on it. 

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn in December, 1770.

We walk to the Munsterplatz, which is the market square.  Here we see Bonn's Rathaus (town hall).  It is all pink and gold rococo style dating back to the 18th century.

The twin staircase leads to the mayor's office.  The building was once the site of all official government business when Bonn was the capital of West Germany.

It was on this staircase that John F. Kennedy delivered a speech on June 23, 1963.  In his speech the President explains that he and the citizens of the United States feel privileged to have been involved in West Germany's positive transformation.

Our program director, Manuela reads his speech to us from the top of the staircase.

On May 10, 1933, a huge book burning took place in front of the Rathaus.  Books were burned that showed a different opinion than that of the Nazis.

This memorial consists of a bronze plaque and 50 bronze books in the pavement in front of the Rathaus.

Here's a closeup of Sigmund Freud's book

 

 

The Munsterplatz is coming alive with vendors setting up to sell produce, meats, nuts, flowers, etc.

But it's still fairly early in the day so the square is pretty quiet.

On one side of the square is Bonner Munster, the cathedral, It is one of the best examples of a Romanesque church on the Rhine River.   The site was once a Roman temple and a Christian church before the cathedral was built between the 11th and 13th centuries, making it one of Germany's oldest cathedrals still standing.  Hard to see the beauty of it as it is currently undergoing renovation.

Bonn is the birthplace of the great composer, Beethoven, and a monument to him also sits in Munsterplatz. 

 

 

Nearby is the HARIBO store, which stands for Hans Riegel from Bonn.

And what did HARIBO invent?

You guessed it...

And Manuela gifted us each with a sample.

We then had time to make our own discoveries in Bonn.  We walked through the Munsterplaz again and then headed over to Beethoven-Haus.

Beethoven's birthplace in 1770.  He spent the first 22 years of his life in Bonn.  The house is now a museum that has the largest Beethoven collection in the world with original scores and instruments.

On the way back to the ship, we walked by the University of Bonn, which is among the world's leading research universities.

The grounds of the university has beautiful parks filled with trees showing off the fall colors.

As we sailed that evening, we passed by the Remegan Bridge Peace Museum.  We all stood on the top deck of the ship as our Program Directors told us the story of the bridge.

The bridge was built during the years of World War I in order to be able to bring more troops to the western front.

It achieved its fame in World War II when soldiers of the 9th US Panzer Division were able to take the bridge after multiple demolition attempts failed on the German side.  General Eisenhower is said to have commented on "this miracle of Remagen" with the exclamation "the bridge is worth its weight in gold".  The bridge was the only bridge still standing across the Rhine.  It allowed the Allies to pour across the Rhine and head straight to Berlin, thus shortening the war.

The towers are what remains of the original bridge and now houses the museum.

We ended the evening with a Crew Homeland presentation.

Several members of the crew told us a little bit about the countries that they call home.

To continue reading, scroll down and click "Newer Post".  Next we will start cruising on the beautiful Mosel River and go inside one of the many castles.