Barb and Baden’s Excellent Return to Germany – Part 2

germany 2009 part2 2

After spending 8 hours on board the ship we were finally glad to arrive in Köln (Cologne). We were pretty much beat and were looking forward to a good night's sleep to get ready for the next day as we were staying in Köln for a second day (Sunday) before departing on Monday morning with our rental car.

As it was Saturday night we noticed that there were lots of people out in the streets, mostly drinking, and as we were staying at a hotel in the old part of town just a block from the famous Kölner Dom (Cologne cathedral) we got the impression that we may be in for a less than quiet night. This prediction turned out to be to be pretty accurate as we had a bunch of drunken revelers outside of our window until about 2AM in the morning.

Odie Clone

One of the first things that I had on my list while we were in Köln was to buy some "odie clone". Odie clone is something that I remember from my childhood as my mother would talk about as some kind of medicine (you have to remember that I would have been about 6 or 7 years old at this time). It was only years later that I realized that what I was hearing as "odie clone" was in fact Eau de Cologne which is actually just a light perfume but can be used for headaches as well. The same as what I remember from decades ago, it comes in the distinctive green bottle with the the number 4711 on the front. Officially called Echt Kölnisch Wasser , it has been made in Köln since 1709.

One of the other items on my list to purchase in Köln was Kölsch beer. This type of beer, brewed locally in Köln, is has very light colour and does not have the typical bitter taste of other beers. Usually served in small glasses it seems to be a local favourite and probably explains the drunken revelry from the previous night. If you are ever in Köln you have to try Kölsch beer. It is quite possibly the best beer that I have ever had.

Stores Closed

On Sunday virtually all of the stores are closed and we expect the same tomorrow as it is a holiday. As shopping was definitely off the list we decided to take a train to the town of Aachen which is about an hour southwest of Köln by train right near the Belgium border. The stores being closed for two days had a collateral effect that it made virtually all of the places that we visited on Sunday and Monday much less crowded as it seemed that the locals were staying home for both of those days. While in some ways this was nice to have less crowds on the street, all things considered it would have been preferable to have the crowds and have the stores and all of the restaurants open.

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On the Road

It's Monday morning now and we have picked up our rental car and are heading to the first stop over. Of course driving the German autobahn is a highlight that I look forward to on all three of my trips to Germany. When we were planning the car rental we not only needed to get a car that could fit the three of us comfortably, with luggage, for the 8 days that we would be driving but perhaps more importantly be able to perform reasonably on the autobahn. Of course, my definition of perform reasonably may differ somewhat with yours.

While I always try to rent a BMW when we are in Germany it is never really possible to know what car you will get until you show up at the car rental office. Substitutions are the norm. In this case we were also given a substitute which turned out to be an Audi A6 which is a nice enough car and perfectly up to the task of getting us down the road at normal German driving speeds.

I'm written on this subject a few times but one of the most common misconceptions about driving on the autobahn is that there are no speed limits. There are many, many parts of the highways that have speed limits (as low as 80 km/hr) and even in the sections that do not have posted limits the traffic congestion limits your speed. However, all these things considered, when the speed limit sign says that the limits are gone and the road ahead is clear there's definitely a driving satisfaction that cannot be met in any other part of the world – legally that is. For the driving enthusiast, driving in Germany with the appropriate type of car is always the highlight of a German vacation.

From a practical perspective, driving at speeds between 140 and 200 km/hr has a another effect: the distances that you cover while driving are vast. Destinations hundreds of kilometres away are reached in very little time.

Of course there is a price to paid for driving at these speeds and the payment is made at the gas pump. Fuel prices are quite a bit higher in Germany than in Canada under normal circumstances and driving a big sedan on the highway at high speed certainly has its price.

One of the best things that we ordered with our car was the GPS navigation system. Being able to plug in your destination and be able to get instructions from the car is an unbelievable benefit. I can't count the number of times that we have gotten lost on previous driving trips and the obligatory ensuing arguments. A navigation system is now going to be a required standard item for us on any future car rental.

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Schwarzwäld

One of the most famous areas of Germany has to be the Schwarzwäld (the Black Forest to most people outside of Germany). We were heading south from Köln and we had planning on spending a few days in different parts of the Schwarzwäld and it was going to be quite a different feel to what we had experienced in the other German areas that we had come from.

Baden-Baden was the first town in the Schwarzwäld area the we stopped for the night. Barb and I had spent several days in Baden-Baden on our trip here in 2001 but when we drove into town I could hardly remember anything about it and nothing looked very familiar.

Of course as the names of towns goes, I can't complain about this one in fact it's about as good as you might hope for. Perhaps twice as good. 🙂 Realistically, the name Baden-Baden is not pronounced the same as my name as the "a" is pronounced in the Germany way like the "o" in pod. Also, any German town with a "bad" in the front of the name usually indicates that it is a spa town as I believe that bad means to swim or bathe in German.

Names aside, Baden-Baden is a town that appears to have a lot of wealthy people judging by the cars that are seen on the street and the number of high-end clothing stores.

We only spent one night in Baden-Baden and in the morning we moved on to our next destination of Freiburg which was only a short 90 minute drive (at normal Germany driving speeds, of course). Also, located in the Schwarzwäld, we are staying in Freiburg for two nights and from here will explore some of the other small towns.

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Schwarzwäld Kirschtorte

One of the things that I had high on my "must-do" list when coming to Germany was to have some Schwarzwäld kirschtorte. Yes, we're talking Black Forest cake.

One of the most unfortunate crimes that exists is that stores around the world sell an item that they call "Black Forest cake" that is so inedible that it has turned people off of this outstanding delicacy in record numbers. I too was not a Black Forest cake fan until my friend Frank did me the most generous service on our trip to Germany in 2001 and showed me what real Schwarzwäld kirschtorte was all about. My life has never been the same since.

Actually being in the Schwarzwäld, one must take it as a sacred mission to eat kirschtorte so that you can understand what the real thing tastes like. In the past 24 hours I am happy to report that we have had kirschtorte twice – each one better than the last. If our German trip were to abruptly end tomorrow, I would not be disappointed as nothing could get any better in the days to come.

Moving on

Today we spent the whole day driving through the Schwarzwäld visiting a few small, quaint towns. Titisee (pronounced: tee-tee-say) and Todtnau were the towns where we went to and both of them picture postcard locations. Titisee is located by the side of lake Titisee and is a bit on the touristy side but is one of those places that is a must-see if you are in the Schwarzwäld. Barb bought something that is called a Räuchermann that is now going to be part of our growing German Christmas collection at home. I won't bother trying to explain what a räuchermann is because the explanation would not be able to do justice to what this item is. Suffice to say that räuchermann means "smoking man" in English and that it is brought out only at Christmas time so it will be in the box for quite a few months once we get home.

As I finish writing this section I am reflecting on the dinner that we had tonight at a restaurant across the street of our hotel in Freiburg. The place where we dined is called the Zum Roten Bären . The interesting part about this is the fact that this places say that they have been open since 1311 (the oldest inn in Germany). Many of the buildings on our street in Freiburg have dates at least 500 years old and the concept of history in this part of the world really boggles the mind. Something that I appreciate on all of our trips to Europe.

Tomorrow we will be leaving Freiburg and will be heading even further south to the area around the lake known as the Bodensee where we will be for a few days.

Until then.

 

Baden