Bill Ward - All - Travel - Travel: 2001 - Germany (2001)

Mosel River

After I finished up my work there, I went down to the Mosel river, taking the train to Trier.

Next: Trier
Previous: Bus

Additional Mosel pictures:

The city of Trier is as far as you can go up the Mosel and still be in Germany. It's right on the border with Luxembourg.

Mosel River links:

Mosel information: mosel.de (in German).
Mosel Live: mosel-live.de (in German).

Trier

I spent the evening exploring the city of Trier. The Porta Nigra, a remnant of one of the gates to the city from Roman days, is one of the great landmarks of this historic city. There is also a great market square (the Hauptmarkt), which dates back to ancient days as well.

Next: LEGO Meeting
Previous: Mosel River

Trier links:

Trier's official home page (or, English version).

Rhine by Boat

From Bingen, I rode the Köln-Düsseldorfer ship from Bingen to Koblenz. The day started out with partly cloudy skies, but got progressively cloudier and wetter, and by the time we reached Koblenz it was pouring down rain.

Next: Düsseldorf & Ratingen
Previous: Bingen

Rhine by Boat links:

The Köln-Düsseldorfer company operates boats on the Rhine and Mosel rivers.

LEGO Meeting

On Sunday, I went back up to the Düsseldorf area, to the city of Mönchengladbach, to meet up with some fellow LEGO� fans. Holger, Jan, and Jojo are LEGO train enthusiasts who discovered at a recent meeting of their LEGO train club that there were not nearly enough buildings and other accessories to go along with their trains. So when we met, we built some LEGO train buildings and other similar items. I built a pedestrian overpass, so the LEGO minifigs can get from one platform to the other without being run over by the trains. It was the first time I've worked in collaboration with other LEGO builders, and I think it was very successful.

Next: Köln
Previous: Trier

LEGO� links:

My LEGO Pages, featuring this and other models I've built. I also have a LEGO Links page there.
More pictures of this day's work, posted by Holger, can be found on Brickshelf (click "Up" to see more of his creations).
LEGO's official home page.
The international LEGO Users Group Network.
I met these German LEGO fans on the 1000steine.de website (steiene means "bricks"). There is a discussion forum, where I posted: "any German LEGO fans want to meet me?".

LEGO� is a registered trademark of The LEGO Company which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site.

Köln

I spent the night in Mönchengladbach, and then took the train to Frankfurt, by way of Köln (Cologne). I passed the morning looking at the magnificent Köln Dom, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, and the largest in Germany.

Next: Frankfurt Airport
Previous: LEGO Meeting

Köln links:

Köln's official home page (in German).
The cathedral's official home page (in German).

Frankfurt Airport

I met with another LEGO fan in Frankfurt in the evening, and spent the night in a hotel in Bad Homburg, a spa town which is only 20 minutes by train from Frankfurt. I didn't get a chance to visit the spa, but will definitely make that a priority for my next European adventure. From the descriptions and brochure, it sounds like a great place.

On Tuesday morning, I went straght to the airport (flughafen - think "flight haven" in English) for my flight home. I took some pictures in the terminal - they have baggage carts that are designed for use on the escalators, which I thought was quite clever.

Next: From Airplane
Previous: Köln

Frankfurt Airport links:

Frankfurt's official home page (in German).
Frankfurt Airport's official home page (in English).

Bacharach: Burg Stahleck

The castle above the town, Burg Stahleck, is now a youth hostel. I hiked up the hill to the castle and admired the view. The path to and from the castle offered some great scenery as well.

Next: Bingen
Previous: Hotel Kranenturm

Burg Stahleck links:

Hostelling International home page.
German youth hostel organization home page.
The Burg Stahleck page at the German youth hostel web site.
Information in German about Burg Stahleck.

Düsseldorf & Ratingen: Bus

While in Düsseldorf and Ratingen, I rode their excellent bus system extensively. I took a few pictures inside the bus, and of a bus stop that would surprise most Americans.

Next: Mosel River
Previous: Hotel am Hallenbad

Bus links:

VRR (the local bus/rail system) home page.

Düsseldorf & Ratingen: Hotel am Hallenbad

For the business portion of my trip, I stayed at the Hotel am Hallenbad (in Ratingen, a suburb to the north of Düsseldorf).Next: Bus
Previous: Düsseldorf & Ratingen

Hotel am Hallenbad links:

The hotel's home page.

Düsseldorf & Ratingen

To do the business portion of my trip, I took the train from Koblenz to Düsseldorf, staying in Ratingen, a suburb to the north of the main city. The next five days (Monday through Friday) were spent working, but in the evenings I made side-trips to Düsseldorf. One thing I particularly enjoyed about Düsseldorf was the fine Japanisches Restauranten - it seems that Düsseldorf has a large Japanese community, and as a result several great restaurants and sushi bars. I also went up to the top of the Rheinturm, a telecommunications relay tower with a viewing platform and rotating restaurant.

Next: Hotel am Hallenbad
Previous: Rhine by Boat

Additional Düsseldorf / Ratingen pictures:

I took some pictures of the hotel I stayed in, Hotel am Hallenbad.
The bus systems in Germany are very modern and efficient. I took some pictures inside the bus, and of a bus stop with an ad that would surprise most Americans.

Düsseldorf / Ratingen links:

Düsseldorf's official home page (in German).
Ratingen's official home page (in German).
Rheinturm webcam (in German).