Germany – Frankfurt and Cologne

Happy Saturday! I thought I should start sharing my travel photos before the lazy bug hit me. We booked a trip to Europe about a month ago. It was the first time both of us travel to Europe and we were definitely very excited. Our first stop is at Germany because we alighted at the airport in Frankfurt.

We reached Frankfurt am Main (Romer Market square) very early in the morning.

The most beautiful square of “old Frankfurt”. The Römer, which means Roman, has been the city hall or Rathaus of Frankfurt am Main for 600 years. The exterior features of the set of buildings reflect a wide breadth of Frankfurt and Germany’s history.

Frankfurt Cathedral

Kleinmarkthalle is an indoor market with international and local food products. As you enter, you are greeted with big flower stands on the right side and a long row of butchers on the left side.

The stalls are fabulous, carrying exotic fruits and veg that you might have never seen before. They may many kinds of potatoes, many kinds of tomatoes, lots of unusual mushrooms, including fresh black or white truffles, and fresh herbs of every kind. It is a gourmet cook’s dream!

We embarked on a scenic Rhine cruise along Rhine river in Rhine valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From St Goar, we cruised parst terraced vineyards and medieval castles. We alighted at Hotel Bellevue at Bad Orb to have lunch!

Continued our trip to Cologne. Here’s a shot of Cologne Central Station and Cologne Cathedral.

Cologne Cathedral. So beautiful isn’t it? Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Apart from its exceptional intrinsic value and the artistic masterpieces it contains, Cologne Cathedral testifies to the enduring strength of European Christianity.

They were having Sunday Mass.

German cardinal of the Church, Joachim Meisner.

And… we prepare to conquer the tower! But must buy a E$3 ticket first.

533 Winding stairs all the way to the top! We did it! I didn’t pant as much as I thought I would! Maybe next time I can climb vertical marathon already! haha!!

It’s actually quite scary when you reach the top. Especially when I am scared of heights. The tip is, do not every look down. Look straight ahead and enjoy the magnificent view and everything will be okay!

To reward ourselves, dinner was at Brauhaus Em Kölsche Boor (Eigelstein 121, 50668 Köln) which is about 15 mins walk from the cathedral. Each of us has a pork knuckle each! Please pair with their German black beer, very smooth!

This concluded my trip to Germany. We only have about a day there so this is what we did. The weather was colder than we expected (to think that I still bring tee shirt! haha) and we walked around shivering. Will share with you Holland next weekend! Holland is my favourite so far! 😀