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A few hours in Frankfurt let me check out the highlights
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Last month, my husband I visited our daughter in Germany for a week, and although we didn't spend a lot of time in Art museums, the architecture and history left me feeling like I had feasted on culture for the week. Here are some of the favorite cities we visited.
Heidelberg is a lovely old city with red roof buildings and a rich history. Much of the town is pedestrian only which makes it perfect for exploring its shops, restaurants, three gorgeous churches, and one of the oldest universities in Europe. The castle on the hill is easy to see from anywhere in the city. You can make the short but steep walk to it, or take the furnicular up. The castle was built in 1218 but suffered destruction from lightning strikes, fires etc. and each time it was rebuilt with new additions and updated styles over the next 400 years. One of my favorite parts of the castle was the apothecary museum, which walks you through the history of medicine.
Mainz is home to the Gutenberg and his famous printing press with movable type. Around 1455, Gentenberg printed 180 copies of the Bible. These were just commissioned pages that the buyer had to have someone illustrate and bound. About 48 copies of the Gutenbuerg Bible still exist today, and you can see a few of them here. As printmakers, my husband and I loved the demonstration of creating a mold, smelting lead to make the type, and then actually printing on a press that is a reproduction of the original Gutenberg press. Kirschegarten is a charming neighborhood in Mainz that translates to cherry orchard. All the half timber houses there were built in between the 1500's to 1800's. We stopped there for lunch. I would have loved more time to explore that city.
Strasbourg is in France, but it was just over the border and has actually gone back and forth as a German city to a French city many times. The cathedral is gorgeous and it's just a block away from the river tour is a great chance to get the history and sites from a unique view! The European Parliament is also in Strausbourg. La Petit France was an area of the city that was where all of the people who had contracted syphilis were quarantined. This is the cutest part of the very walkable. This city is famous for it's Christmas markets and decorations, but I loved seeing the flowers everywhere. Try to find some traditional Alsatian food while you're there. It is delicious!
Trier is a gem of a place just minutes from the Luxembourg/ Germany border. It is called the Rome of the North, and contains many ancient Roman treasures such as the largest standing Roman hall (now the oldest church in Germany), an ancient ampitheatre and an elaborate bath house complex (Keiderslauten). The underground tunnels provide a little relief from the summer heat. I ducked into every church I could find, as the doors are always open, but don't expect air conditioning. One of my favorite stops was the Lindt chocolate store, where you are greeted with samples and all sorts of unusual flavor options to buy a little pick-me-up.
Trier's Porta Nigra would have probably been dismantled like the other city gates for the the stones to be repurposed, had it not been for a hermit who lived inside the port for years. Later, this Roman gate was made into a church and named after that man. Trier Cathedral is one of the nine Midevil and Roman monuments that make Trier a UNESCO world heritage site. The courtyard has two churches in one and it feels like something out of a fairy tale!
And if you are looking for a place where there are virtually no tourists, look to Kaiserslauten, where there is a really special Japanese garden, and a short hike through the woods to explore free castle ruins (Burg Hohennechen)
and a nice view. Nanstein Castle isn't far from there, and though it cost a small fee, it comes with a set of headphones for self guided tour, and some fun exhibits. I love how the castle is built right into the red rock cliff.
