Germany by Rail – A grand Tour

The old town south of the cathedral has quite a high Kölsch brewery density, medieval alleys and the historic Cologne town hall. Nearby is the fragrance museum in the Farina House, which is inexorably linked to the famous perfume “Eau de Cologne”. The Italian perfumer Johann Maria Farina created the scent that reminded him of oranges, lemons, grapefruit and berg­amot, cedrat, the flowers and herbs of his home­land. The reopened “Dufthaus 4711” awaits you in Glockengasse, with a fountain from which Kölnisch Wasser bubbles.

The former port of Cologne is today a modern city district with apart­ments, gastronomy and culture. Next to the old build­ings such as the harbor office, the crane houses were built, which tower over the harbor like over­sized cranes. There are also two extraor­d­inary museums: the Sports and Olympic Museum displays exhibits from 3000 years of sports history. Right next door is the Choco­late Museum. During their tour, visitors follow the path of cocoa from the planta­tion to the choco­late factory. The three meter high choco­late fountain may whet the appetite for more.

The Roman-Germanic Museum shows archae­o­log­ical finds from the times of the ancient Rome. Among the most important exhibits are the Dyon­isos mosaic from the dining room of a Roman villa and the tomb of veteran Lucius Poblicius. Both can be seen from the square in front of the cathedral through a glass pane. The Ludwig Munic­ipal Museum contains the Ludwig couple's collec­tion, which has attracted worldwide atten­tion. Art objects of the 20th century are on display – from Picasso to Roy Licht­enstein and Gerhard Richter.

The Reep­schläger once made ship's cables and ropes here, for which they needed a long, straight track. Today, the almost one kilometre long stretch is Germany's most famous red light district, where nightclubs, bars and discos alternate with each other. These include Café Keese, the window­less pub “Zur Ritze” with its own boxing cellar, fast food and leisure clubs with billiard and table football. For the Beatles their world career began near the Reeperbahn, where they performed in the “Star-Club”, “Kais­erkeller”, “Top Ten Club” and in the “Indra”.

The historic ware­house complex in Hamburg harbour is the largest of its kind in the world. The Speich­er­stadt was built between 1883 and 1927 south of the old town on the former Elbe islands and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ware­houses in neo-Gothic brick archi­tec­ture are founded on thou­sands of oak piles and are connected to the water on one side and to the road on the other. Mostly coffee, tea and spices were stored on five “floors” one above the other. Today there are carpet traders, agencies and museums here, including the Speich­er­stadt Museum, the Customs Museum and the Spice Museum. The largest model railway in the world, the Miniatur Wunder­land, is also housed here.

The Michel, as the church is called by the Hamburgers, is consid­ered the most important baroque church in northern Germany. It is dedicated to the archangel Michael, who victo­ri­ously defeats Satan as depicted by a large bronze statue over the main portal. The 52 meter long and almost as wide church room holds 2,500 visitors and is flooded with light because the clear windows allow the outside light to pass through. The front rows of benches are partic­u­larly ornate and intended for the Senate at ceremonies or funerals. The church has no less than five organs. Concerts take place almost daily.

During the National Socialist era, the building at Bendler­s­trasse 11-13 was the seat of the General Army Office. There was the centre of resistance against Hitler within the Wehrmacht (armed forces). The attack carried out by Colonel Graf von Stauffenberg in the Wolfss­chanze on 20 July 1944 was planned and orga­nized here.
The perma­nent exhi­bi­tion Memo­rial to the German Resistance in some of the former offices commem­o­rate the resistance fight­er­s and the memo­rial in the court­yard  reminds of the offi­cers executed there.

Using the Bran­denburg Gate as an example it is possible to illus­trate the city's history: Built in 1791 the gate was designed with the Quadriga as Triumphal Arch through which the glorious Prus­sian soldiers were to march into the city. When Napoleon defeated Prussia a few years later, the Quadriga was deported to Paris and returned only in the wars of liber­a­tion. Ever since that time it was consid­ered a monu­ment with national symbolism. On 30 January 1933 after the seizure of power, the Nazis staged an eerie torch­light proces­sion through the gate. Twelve years later the heavily damaged bombed gate became the sector boundary between the eastern and western parts of a city that was lying in ruins. The walled gate also became the symbol of the walled city and the front of the iron curtain that divided Europe from the Baltic Sea all the way to the Mediterranean. Thus, the Cold War ended logically on 9 November 1989, with a cheerful spectacle and cele­bra­tion on the Wall at Bran­denburg Gate.

The largest Jewish museum in Europe offers a perma­nent exhi­bi­tion with an overview of two millennia of German-Jewish history – depicting highs and lows of the rela­tion­ships between Jews and non-Jews in Germany. In addi­tion, there are several tempo­rary and changing exhi­bi­tions each year. Even the building in itself is worth a visit. The baroque Kollegien­haus was symbolically extended in 1999 after a design by Daniel Libe­skind with a zigzag-shaped building and a tita­nium facade.

The heart and tourist magnet of Dresden is the rebuilt Frauenkirche in the centre of the old town. The monu­mental Protestant church building is the old and new landmark of the city. Built between 1726 and 1743, destroyed on 13 and 14 February 1945, it has been rebuilt since the 1990s with the help of a large amount of dona­tions. In 2005 the new conse­cra­tion took place.
Also the place at the church, the Neumarkt, was recon­structed. After the Second World War, the most important inner-city square next to the Altmarkt with the symbolic ruins of the Frauenkirche remained almost untouched for half a century. Then a lively building activity set in, quarter by quarter the typical baroque gabled houses were rebuilt.

Behind the Resi­den­zschloss the proces­sion of princes connects the Neumarkt with the Schlossplatz. The rulers of the House of Wettin are depicted as a cavalcade on a 100 meter long mural made of Meissen porce­lain tiles. Between 1872 and 1876 the gigantic work of art was painted. However, the colors on the outer wall quickly faded and the pictures were trans­ferred to porce­lain tiles. This required 24,000 indi­vidual tiles.

The Renais­sance building was first erected in the late 15th century as the new power centre of the Saxon electors and kings and was rebuilt after a fire in 1701 under August the Strong. After its destruc­tion in the Second World War, it was recon­structed in 1985 as a museum complex of the Dresden State Art Collec­tions. Since then the castle has housed the Histor­ical and the New Green Vaults, the Kupfer­s­tich-Kabi­nett, the Rüstkammer with the Turkish Chamber and the Münzk­abi­nett.

The medium intensity hike leads from Bad Schandau to the Schrammsteine and on to Hohe Liebe. After climbing the stairs through the Schrammtor, you will find dream­like views, wildly romantic gorges, natural monu­ments and fairy­tale houses. There is an inn on the way in the Schrammsteinbaude. (round trip: 14.9 kilome­ters, 4:30 hours, up and down: 440 meters)

The square with the New Town Hall is Munich's pulsating heart. The carillon in the town hall attracts thou­sands of visitors. As the inter­sec­tion of the east-west axis between Isartor and Karlstor and the south-north axis between Sendlinger Tor and Schwabing, it is an ideal starting point for sightseeing tours through the Bavarian capital. In the pre-Christmas period the Christmas Market takes place here.

The Gothic cathedral and city parish church “Zu Unserer Lieben Frau” dating back to the 15th century is the landmark of the city. The nave is 109 meters long, 40 meters wide and 37 meters high and is said to accommo­date 20,000 people. The 100 meter high towers with the so called “Welschen Hauben” are based on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. From the south tower of the Frauenkirche one has a magnif­i­cent view over the city. The footprint in the entrance hall is called the Devil's Step. The devil himself is said to have stood here because he had bet with master builder Jörg von Halspach for his soul. The church regu­larly gives organ concerts, has several choirs and its own cathedral singing school.

The Viktu­al­ienmarkt is the culinary centre of Munich. On 22,000 square metres you will find every­thing from fresh fruit and vegeta­bles and unusual cheeses to exotic spices. There are also snack and coffee stands and a cosy beer garden with a maypole. Munich's star chefs are also taking advantage of the wide range of prod­ucts on offer, and, in addi­tion to gourmets from all over the world, they are also welcome customers at the Viktu­al­ienmarkt.

With the mountain railway you can go up to the Königstuhl and enjoy the fantastic views over the city and the Rhine plain up to the Palatinate Forest. The lower cable car, one of the most modern mountain railways in Germany, starts at the Kornmarkt in the old town and goes via the Castle to the Molkenkur. From there, you take one of the oldest electrically oper­ated mountain railways to the Königstuhl.

The baroque Karl Theodor Bridge is one of Germany's oldest bridge build­ings and was first mentioned in 1248. There were many previous wooden build­ings, but they were repeat­edly destroyed by drifting ice floes. It was built in its present form in 1788, but towards the end of the Second World War two pillars were blown up by the Wehrmacht to stop the advancing Allied troops. Already in 1947 the bridge was completely recon­structed. At the southern end of the Old Bridge stands the medieval bridge gate with its 28-metre-high double towers. Orig­inally it was part of the city fortifica­tions. Bridge duty was paid at the gate, in case of danger it could be closed by a trap gate.

The castle ruin high above the old town of Heidelberg is one of the most famous ruins in Germany and the city's landmark. The forti­fied castle from the 13th century was converted into the magnif­i­cent resi­dence of the Palatinate Electors in the Renais­sance. After the destruc­tion of 1689 and 1693 by the French, the castle was restored only hesi­tantly. In 1764, a devastating fire after lightning struck sealed all efforts. The building was abandoned and the ruin was used as a quarry for the new Schwet­zingen Summer Palace and later for the citi­zens of Heidelberg. At the end of the 18th century, the picturesque ruin was discov­ered by literary figures as a symbol of transience. During the Napoleonic Wars it was reinterpreted as a patri­otic monu­ment.

The name comes from a time when all students had to study the seven liberal arts, which were combined under the subject philosophy, before starting their studies. It was prob­ably not so much the scho­lars as the students who discov­ered the path as an ideal place for romantic walks and undis­turbed togeth­er­ness. For the first 700 meters the lower half leads steep and winding through one of the most expen­sive resi­den­tial areas in Heidelberg. Then it cont­inues on nearly even grounds . The Philoso­pher's Garden offers the best view over the Neckar to Heidelberg's old town, the Königstuhl and the castle, but also out into the Rhine plain.