The Koln (English Cologne, Germany) Cathedral is the kind of place that could make an atheist believe in God. From the outside, the church is massive. It is built in the same Gothic style as the more familiar Notre Dame, but is considerably larger. The exterior is darkened with time and pollution, which only lends to its impressive character. During the time of our visit in July of 2005 There was some scaffolding up, masking parts of the 2 steeples at the front of the church. Don't miss the details of the buttresses and gargoyle shaped rain spouts on the exterior.
Stepping into this building literally took my breath away. The vaulted ceiling immediately draws your eyes up, and up some more. Far above, darkened arches meet the white ceiling. The interior is cool and air, and decorated with stained glass and stone. At the front of the church is the reason for all this grandeur; The relics of the 3 magi drew huge numbers of pilgrims. They are encased in a shimmering gold Sarcophagus, which itself is housed in a modern glass box with recessed lights and probably a modern security system.
The whole experience is very inspiring, even for someone who is not a catholic, nor even a proper christian. I would recommend this as one of Germany's top sights not to be missed.
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Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Pergamon Museum, Berlin
The Pergamon Museum in Berlin Germany is an incredible museum. Most history museums have vases and jewelry from various historical sites, and while Pergamon does have that, it also has the sites themselves. This museum was designed and built specifically for the collections it contains in the early 1900’s, though to me the exterior looks rather more modern.
I will save the best items for last, though they are showcased at the very beginning of the museum. The museum covers several major time period/regions in its collections. There are Greek works, Babylonian artifacts, and some Islamic work as well. There are quite a few Classic Greek statues here, and also some of a genera I didn’t know existed, depicting, in the same style, more natural poses, such as a boy examining his foot, and even a dog licking itself. Of course, the Classic Greek statues were beautiful. We were able to listen to English information about many of the works, by keying in a number into a handheld audio guide. In this area there was also a case of glass work, which is impressive both because it is so well preserved, and because it is so beautiful. The Babylonian sculptures were less realistic, but equally interesting. One of my favourite pieces was a clam shell, the inside of which had been intricately carved into a low relief mural. In the Islamic section were several architectural pieces, including portions of a palace wall.
The real highlight of this museum is that, as I have said, it has the archaeological sites as well as the artifacts. The very first chamber you enter contains the massive Greek Pergamon Alter. It takes up a single, very large room. Steep ancient stairs go up to the alter top, and high relief sculptures depicting epic battles circle the room outside the alter. You can indeed climb the stairs to the top of the alter, to view an amazingly complex mosaic in the floor (the mosaic is not original to this alter) each piece in the mosaic is about the size of a pencil eraser. There is more. There is an old market gate, with sand colored columns rising up to support the two tiered structure, and finally, there is the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. If you saw the movie Alexander, you have seen a representation of this gate. As Alexander enters the city of Babylon, he looks around at this incredible blue gate, and blue walls that go into the city. This is what we saw. It is the gate, and several sections from the wall, forming a sort of “Victory Way” for returning heroes, and in Alexander’s case, the conquerors. I am thrilled to have seen something that such a great historical figure would have laid eyes on with wonder himself.
This museum took several hours (5 or 6 if memory serves) to peruse using the audio guides, but was well worth the time. Admission was relatively inexpensive, and the museum was built for the items it displays, and has been doing so for nearly 100 years, so you can count on it being there when you visit. This is a must. A+
I will save the best items for last, though they are showcased at the very beginning of the museum. The museum covers several major time period/regions in its collections. There are Greek works, Babylonian artifacts, and some Islamic work as well. There are quite a few Classic Greek statues here, and also some of a genera I didn’t know existed, depicting, in the same style, more natural poses, such as a boy examining his foot, and even a dog licking itself. Of course, the Classic Greek statues were beautiful. We were able to listen to English information about many of the works, by keying in a number into a handheld audio guide. In this area there was also a case of glass work, which is impressive both because it is so well preserved, and because it is so beautiful. The Babylonian sculptures were less realistic, but equally interesting. One of my favourite pieces was a clam shell, the inside of which had been intricately carved into a low relief mural. In the Islamic section were several architectural pieces, including portions of a palace wall.
The real highlight of this museum is that, as I have said, it has the archaeological sites as well as the artifacts. The very first chamber you enter contains the massive Greek Pergamon Alter. It takes up a single, very large room. Steep ancient stairs go up to the alter top, and high relief sculptures depicting epic battles circle the room outside the alter. You can indeed climb the stairs to the top of the alter, to view an amazingly complex mosaic in the floor (the mosaic is not original to this alter) each piece in the mosaic is about the size of a pencil eraser. There is more. There is an old market gate, with sand colored columns rising up to support the two tiered structure, and finally, there is the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. If you saw the movie Alexander, you have seen a representation of this gate. As Alexander enters the city of Babylon, he looks around at this incredible blue gate, and blue walls that go into the city. This is what we saw. It is the gate, and several sections from the wall, forming a sort of “Victory Way” for returning heroes, and in Alexander’s case, the conquerors. I am thrilled to have seen something that such a great historical figure would have laid eyes on with wonder himself.
This museum took several hours (5 or 6 if memory serves) to peruse using the audio guides, but was well worth the time. Admission was relatively inexpensive, and the museum was built for the items it displays, and has been doing so for nearly 100 years, so you can count on it being there when you visit. This is a must. A+
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Neuschwanstein a Mad Man's Fairytale
Neuschwanstein was built by mad King Ludwig II on a mountaintop beside his parents home, Hohenschwagau. Hohenschwangau was built upon the ruins of the original swan castle, so Ludwig decided to name his new swan castle.
The castle, built in the mid 1800's, is probably the most famous building in the entire country. It is located near the southern border of Germany, in beautiful Bavaria.
We arrive in the little town at the base of the two castles late in the afternoon. Though the castle was already closed for the day, we made the hike up the hillside to see it anyway. The main front doors were closed, and we had the place to ourselves, in that golden light before sunset. What impressed me most about the castle was sheer size. The main tower is about 260 feet tall, and the rest of the building is not too much shorter than that. The exterior is smooth white limestone, with red brick around the gate. Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland was inspired by this massive structure. We returned to the town for dinner, and went to bed anticipating a visit to both castles in the morning.
Unfortunately, it was on this night that I became seriously ill. It would seem my husband hadn't been nervous on our wedding day, but legitimately sick, and contagious. I could barely walk 30 feet, much less make the climb to the castle, and keep up during the tour. So we left for our next destination, there was nothing else we could do. Fortunately, over the next day, we were able to compress some of our activities, and we made the hard decision to forgo a half day trip to Austria. 24 hours found a much recovered me, and Jake returning to Neuschwanstein
This time we would not be denied, and soon found ourselves standing within the now crowded area of the gate house. Our tour guide here, and at Hohenschwangau, had the most horrific accents. I do not even believe they were German, but Slavik. They were next to impossible to understand, but we managed. Unfortunately, due to Ludwig's being declared insane, and his mysterious death, much of the rooms were never finished. What is completed is incredible. There are 3 rooms of highlight. First is the music hall with a stage, surrounded by carved benches, with the background of the stage being an elaborate forest scene. Second is Ludwig's bedroom, with an ornately hand carved canopy bed, which if memory serves took a team of carpenter's years to complete. Finally is the throne room. It has a huge vaulted ceiling, a wonderful mosaic floor, and a chandalier shaped like a crown. The one thing this room is missing is a throne, which was never completed.
I loved this place. Don't miss Hohenschwangau either, it has less spectacular rooms, but a little more history than this castle, which was barely occupied. A+
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Meersburg
Meersburg is a small town on the shores of the Bodensee, also known as Lake Constance. It's a beautiful and quaint little lakeside town, and our hotel was right next to the coast. After we got settled in our little room, we walked along between the lake and the many restaurants there, trying to decide what to eat. We finally settled on a little pizza place which was attached to our hotel, the Hotel Seehoff, which was cheap and perfectly located, by the way. Well, we ordered a salami and pepperoni pizza, but when they brought it to us there was no pepperoni at all, just thick cut salami and these long green peppers. That is how we discovered that in Germany, those peppers were pepperoni, and as far as I can tell they don't have what we know as pepperoni in America.
In the morning, we both woke up about 4am, because we were still getting used to the German time zone. So we got up and walked out on a little concrete barrier and watched it get lighter in Switzerland, and Austria, which also border the lake. Then we took a little walk around the town, as the shops began to open, though there were no tourists about. Finally we returned to our hotel for a standard German hotel breakfast. It consisted of rolls, meat, cheese, coffee, tea, orange juice, cereal, and fruit. After we had eaten we climbed stairs though the trees, up to the second level road, where the Altes Schloss Meersburg (old meersburg castle) was located. This castle is an old (628 a.d.) defensive castle, made of heavy stone, with thick walls. It has lots of medieval style armor, weapons, and furniture. It also has a couple of neat features. There is a rookery for the falcons, there was a tunnel that was once dug down to the lake to sneak supplies in during a siege, which was latter converted to a "put 'em there and leave them" dungeon, and in the towers, there are pieces of the floor which lift up to reveal the stairs downward. I assume this is also defensive, but really have no idea. It's very much a medieval, Camelot style castle, and the fee to get in was only a few Euros, if I remember right. After we had explored the castle, we took the long way back down to our car, along the sunny cobbled street. We bought an ice cream cone, and got back to our car, ready for the next part of our trip. The town is adorable, and the castle's very nice, and has a different feel than many of the other castles we visited here, and though there are some towns which draw more tourism along the coast of the Bodensee, this one has all you could want, with maybe a few less people. I would give this place an A
Meersburg is a small town on the shores of the Bodensee, also known as Lake Constance. It's a beautiful and quaint little lakeside town, and our hotel was right next to the coast. After we got settled in our little room, we walked along between the lake and the many restaurants there, trying to decide what to eat. We finally settled on a little pizza place which was attached to our hotel, the Hotel Seehoff, which was cheap and perfectly located, by the way. Well, we ordered a salami and pepperoni pizza, but when they brought it to us there was no pepperoni at all, just thick cut salami and these long green peppers. That is how we discovered that in Germany, those peppers were pepperoni, and as far as I can tell they don't have what we know as pepperoni in America.
In the morning, we both woke up about 4am, because we were still getting used to the German time zone. So we got up and walked out on a little concrete barrier and watched it get lighter in Switzerland, and Austria, which also border the lake. Then we took a little walk around the town, as the shops began to open, though there were no tourists about. Finally we returned to our hotel for a standard German hotel breakfast. It consisted of rolls, meat, cheese, coffee, tea, orange juice, cereal, and fruit. After we had eaten we climbed stairs though the trees, up to the second level road, where the Altes Schloss Meersburg (old meersburg castle) was located. This castle is an old (628 a.d.) defensive castle, made of heavy stone, with thick walls. It has lots of medieval style armor, weapons, and furniture. It also has a couple of neat features. There is a rookery for the falcons, there was a tunnel that was once dug down to the lake to sneak supplies in during a siege, which was latter converted to a "put 'em there and leave them" dungeon, and in the towers, there are pieces of the floor which lift up to reveal the stairs downward. I assume this is also defensive, but really have no idea. It's very much a medieval, Camelot style castle, and the fee to get in was only a few Euros, if I remember right. After we had explored the castle, we took the long way back down to our car, along the sunny cobbled street. We bought an ice cream cone, and got back to our car, ready for the next part of our trip. The town is adorable, and the castle's very nice, and has a different feel than many of the other castles we visited here, and though there are some towns which draw more tourism along the coast of the Bodensee, this one has all you could want, with maybe a few less people. I would give this place an A
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Salt Mines
My husband and I visited the salt mines near Berchtesgaden while on our honeymoon in Germany in 2005. The reason we chose to do this was because he had gone there as a kid, when he lived in Germany, while his father was stationed there for the U.S. Army. This was an experience I will remember. You go into a building at the entrance to buy your tickets and suit up. After buying your ticket, the boys and girls go into different rooms to "dress out". Basically, what you wear is baggy pants, and baggy shirt, something like the style of karate outfits, but much baggier. Then you get a leather pad, which you belt around you so that it covers your rear.
Once we were all dressed up, we were ready to go. We had to wait a bit for our tour to begin because we had to wait for the trolley. The trolley is a little child size train that has a bench that you must straddle. I suppose needs for personal space vary from culture to culture, but this definitely violated my personal space. It was tolerable though, but you do have to scrunch up with all the other passengers.
So, we all cram together on this car, straddling the seat and crammed front to back But that's OK, because it's like a ride, and the little car takes off down the mine shaft, which is fun and mildly scary. I was ducking my head in moderate concern, and I'm only 5'2''. finally, we arrive at the end of our ride, at the first slide. The slides are the reason we all have leather butts. They are basically double wooden banisters that sit low to the ground. you straddle them (this time with loved ones only) pick up your feet, and take off. Remember being a child when slides were still made of metal? do you remember the dangerously tall slide, with the steep stairs, and you almost lost your stomach at the bottom? This is like that, but taller, faster, and not so hot. The pads protect you from splinters; however, you only ride 2 slides in the mines, so I largely suspect the pads are for the miners' personal amusement.
At the bottom of the slide we realize that this tour isn't in English. The conductor, who is a little intimidating with a gruff voice, is talking only in German. There are however, several wooden soldiers standing about, and one of them looks like a Buckingham palace guard, there is also a British flag over his head. with a speaker. So we go stand by it. This isn't a tourist place that a lot of Americans visit, so the only other people who speak our language are a very nice older Australian couple. So nice in fact, they tell us to come see them when we come Australia. They give us their address and everything, though I had nothing to write it down with. Every now and again through the tour, a speaker would tell us about the mining. At the bottom we rode a little boat across a little lake which was fun. You can do the same thing here in the Southern U.S. at the Lost Sea in South East Tennessee. From the lake it was on to a space violating inclined rail, with two boxes they fit everyone on the tour into. Finally, it was back onto the space violating trolley.
At the end, they gave us very small containers of the salt they make there, and of course, offered to sell us larger amounts. Having already spent our money on other souvenirs, we politely declined. Then we got on to ride back to the surface. Along the way, something went wrong, there were strange rumblings, then the sound of metal bending, then finally, Bang! an explosion, and light up ahead. Of course it was just a joke, and if it was my mine, I couldn't have resisted either. They language can sound harsh, but these people have a good sense of humor.
Even though this isn't something I would have picked out myself to do, I had a great time. I have to give it an A, but I will moderate that to an A- because when seeing a foreign country there are so many new and interesting things to do and see, and this doesn't really qulify as a must do.... but it is a good way to spend a few hours.
Once we were all dressed up, we were ready to go. We had to wait a bit for our tour to begin because we had to wait for the trolley. The trolley is a little child size train that has a bench that you must straddle. I suppose needs for personal space vary from culture to culture, but this definitely violated my personal space. It was tolerable though, but you do have to scrunch up with all the other passengers.
So, we all cram together on this car, straddling the seat and crammed front to back But that's OK, because it's like a ride, and the little car takes off down the mine shaft, which is fun and mildly scary. I was ducking my head in moderate concern, and I'm only 5'2''. finally, we arrive at the end of our ride, at the first slide. The slides are the reason we all have leather butts. They are basically double wooden banisters that sit low to the ground. you straddle them (this time with loved ones only) pick up your feet, and take off. Remember being a child when slides were still made of metal? do you remember the dangerously tall slide, with the steep stairs, and you almost lost your stomach at the bottom? This is like that, but taller, faster, and not so hot. The pads protect you from splinters; however, you only ride 2 slides in the mines, so I largely suspect the pads are for the miners' personal amusement.
At the bottom of the slide we realize that this tour isn't in English. The conductor, who is a little intimidating with a gruff voice, is talking only in German. There are however, several wooden soldiers standing about, and one of them looks like a Buckingham palace guard, there is also a British flag over his head. with a speaker. So we go stand by it. This isn't a tourist place that a lot of Americans visit, so the only other people who speak our language are a very nice older Australian couple. So nice in fact, they tell us to come see them when we come Australia. They give us their address and everything, though I had nothing to write it down with. Every now and again through the tour, a speaker would tell us about the mining. At the bottom we rode a little boat across a little lake which was fun. You can do the same thing here in the Southern U.S. at the Lost Sea in South East Tennessee. From the lake it was on to a space violating inclined rail, with two boxes they fit everyone on the tour into. Finally, it was back onto the space violating trolley.
At the end, they gave us very small containers of the salt they make there, and of course, offered to sell us larger amounts. Having already spent our money on other souvenirs, we politely declined. Then we got on to ride back to the surface. Along the way, something went wrong, there were strange rumblings, then the sound of metal bending, then finally, Bang! an explosion, and light up ahead. Of course it was just a joke, and if it was my mine, I couldn't have resisted either. They language can sound harsh, but these people have a good sense of humor.
Even though this isn't something I would have picked out myself to do, I had a great time. I have to give it an A, but I will moderate that to an A- because when seeing a foreign country there are so many new and interesting things to do and see, and this doesn't really qulify as a must do.... but it is a good way to spend a few hours.
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