We traveled to Bonn to bid farewell to Tony and Alison. Leo did his very best to heighten our spirits and entertain us during the train ride.
Alison met us at the station for a tour of downtown Bonn. We recommend the smoked “Butterfisch” (Rock gunnel) and “Nordsee-Krabben” buns at the fish stand on the main market. We enjoyed a stroll through the Botanic Garden by the 18th century, Baroque Poppelsdorfer Schloss (aka Clemensruh Palace).
In the evening Tony made an inspirational, one vegetable, no-meat Asian stir-fry. It tasted unbelievably good. Back in Bielefeld Jan and I have made several green bean stir-frys (with meat), each time with a new take on the sauce.
Together with Alison, our backpacks ready for a day at the spa, we decided to visit the Baroque Schloss Brühl (aka Augustusburg), in a small town near Cologne.
A current exhibition on the high-level government receptions and dinners that were held here from 1949-1996 made it possible for us to roam freely through the palace and take an illegal picture of Leo on Queen Elisabeth’s Clean-O-Mat, a toilet with a douche and blow dryer. When the Queen visited Schloss Brühl in 1965 her royal protocol required the installation of this special toilet. Interestingly, the toilet remained installed until 1978, when Queen Elisabeth returned and her new protocol required the installation of a normal toilet, which is still in place today.
The next day we got an early start and thanks to Alison caught the boat to take us up the Rhein to Königswinter. Up on deck Leo was at first wary of and then fascinated by the large body of dark green water. We had sun, rain, sandwiches and umbrellas.
Königswinter with it’s hotel promenade along the waterfront has been a tourist destination since the late 18th century. The town seemed surprisingly empty for a nice summer day and I wondered if the romantic Rhine, next to the Oktoberfest the embodiment of German for foreign tourists, has fallen out of vogue.
In Königswinter we took the Drachenfelsbahn, a 125 year old rack or cog railway, to the summit of the Drachenfels (literally: Dragon Rock). According to the Nibelungen, this is where Siegfried, crown prince of Xanten, slayed the dragon and bathed in its blood to become invulnerable. This landmark of the Siebengebirge is crowned by the ruins of the 12th century castle Drachenfels. We enjoyed the view.
“The castled crag of Drachenfels
Frowns o’er the wide and winding Rhine,
Whose breast of waters broadly swells
Between the banks which bear the vine,
And hills all rich with blossom’d trees,
And fields which promise corn and wine,
And scatter’d cities crowning these,
Whose far white walls along them shine,
Have strew’d a scene, which I should see
With double joy wert thou with me.”
- Lord Byron, 1818 (the whole poem)
After Alison left us to go to work at the Deutsche Welle, we headed downhill to Schloss Drachenburg, appropriately dubbed the “Rhine- land’s Neuschwanstein”.
This Disney-esque castle, a romantic work of art from the period of promoterism (Gründerzeit), was built around 1883 by Stephan Sarter, the son of a Bonn-based restaurant owner, who became wealthy as a stock broker.
The castle reflects the lifestyle of the upper classes at the end of the 19th century. I really liked the sitting room with a beautiful view of the Rhine valley.
After several days in and around Bonn the town is growing on us. Especially the walk from Tony and Alison’s place down town and back along the Rhine.
At the “Bahnhöfchen”, a waterfront cafe, they won’t serve you a pizza before 6 pm, but they’ll make you a good “Pfannkuchen” anytime.
(I recommend a “Schinken-Pfannkuchen” with apples.)
These and other seemingly arbitrary rules about when/where you can order certain food and drink are abundant in Bonn. As when Alison tried to order a coffee out on deck during our boat ride. It was not possible, presumably because the cheap chinaware might break. But to our surprise others on deck were able to order Wine served in real wine glasses. Perhaps these are the defenses of a quiet, middle-sized town against the sudden onslaught of foreigners brought about by hosting the nation’s capital from 1949 until 1990?
In the evening, after failing to catch our train home, we finally “did the boat”:
The boat, a prominent eye-catcher just off the Kennedy bridge, is the Chinese Restaurant “Ocean Paradise”. Don’t go for the food, but enjoy the view, especially when the boat takes off for a little spin.
See all of our Bonn pictures. Tony and Alison posted some pictures as well.
Now Tony and Alison are back in the US. Germany feels empty without them.
