germany
From the Netherlands, my family and I travelled via train to Germany.
Like many, Germany has been high on my family’s list of places to visit, especially during Christmas time when the markets are held.
Our first stop was Cologne (also known as Kӧln). By the end of the trip, this was by far our favourite German city! The colourful buildings, fascinating cathedral (or “Dom” in German) and amazing Christmas markets, topped it off for us.
As we strolled along the well known Rhine river, we came across the Hohenzollern Bridge (Hohenzollernbrücke), famous for its thousands of “love locks”. So, of course, we had to find a lock for our family immediately and place it on the bridge!
At sunset (which happened quite early on in the day… European Winter), the bridge looked so beautiful as the different coloured and shaped locks glistened in the afternoon sun.
A very special memory was made that day!
Now it was time for the long-awaited German, Christmas markets! The food, the people and the atmosphere was so magical and fairytale-like. My absolute favourite thing to eat at the markets was a marinated, barbequed pork steak on a roll. It was absolutely delicious! Another treat I enjoyed, like almost every day, was hot chocolate ;)
A fun activity to do with family and friends is to visit the Lindt Chocolate Museum (Schokolademuseum). As someone who absolutely loves chocolate, this was quite exciting. While we were there, we not only got a tour, but we were also able to create our own Lindt chocolate slab, by picking the main chocolate for the slab and its toppings. It was so delicious! The museum also contains a lovely café, filled with various mouth-watering treats.
One thing you have to see when visiting Cologne, is the Dom (cathedral). Photographs don’t do the building justice. It is incredibly large and has so much intricate detailing. It also contains a lot of history (It’s even survived war).
A great way to take in the views of the city is to hop onto a river cruise! We managed to get tickets, for a sunset, Christmas-themed cruise (as it was Christmas season of course), just in time.
Just look at that silhouette with the sunset in the background!
The exploring continues…
One of the smaller towns I loved in Germany, was Heidelberg. I thought it was the cutest little area, with the stunning, colourful architecture located right by the water and mountains. There are so many stores, so it is a great place for a shopping spree.
For the remainder of our time in Germany, we spent walking through more Christmas markets, trying German food and celebrating Christmas with each other. If you ever plan to visit Germany, I truly recommend going during Christmastime. The Christmas spirit is just amazing there!
Germany was our final destination in our 2019 European holiday and it sure was one to remember!
Click on the links below to read about the other places we visited in Europe on that trip.