Euro Trip - Part 5

Day 8 :

Went first to the Rhine falls this morning ... The Rhine ( Rhein in German ) river is one of the most important rivers in Europe stretching for 1300 km and is a very important trade facilitator

The Rhein falls as such is not a very steep or big falls .. Juz pretty looking




But the cool thing is that they have viewing points on a rock which splits the falls ( denoted by the flag flying ) and a staircase to get up there .. So we got on a boat and proceeded to that spot .. While we were on the boat it started raining .. Rainfall on Rhein falls :-)

Anyway we got onto that rock and climbed up .. and the view was indeed spectacular .. seing a waterfall from above it was pretty cool




Went to another view point after that from where u can see the falls side - on . .After a few more pics here went back to the main dock and back onto the bus

From here we officially entered Germany and into the Black Forest .. This is so called because the density of trees in the forest is so thick that sunlight cannot penetrate through the tree tops and reach the forest floor .





This is a huge forest and is clearly visible from the air as well , as we noticed while flying over Germany .. Also obviously visible was the Swiss Alps .. But i digress ... We went to the small town of Titisee in the heart of the Black Forest for lunch .. The local meal .. Steak , Salad and potatoes and some local beer .. Germany is well known for its beer .. They have over 1200 breweries in Germany and the regulations for these was laid down way back in the 1500's


After this we went to the Drubba Cuckoo Clock factory ..The black forest is the place of origin of the Cuckoo clock .. In the winter months when it becomes too cold for farming , the farmers of this region resort to making Cuckoo clocks from the wood found in the Black Forest .. We were shown a demonstration of a small part of and an explanation of the making of the Cuckoo clocks .. They had many varieties for sale as well there ranging from simple clocks which emit the cuckoo sound to musical clocks that perform a whole host of actions in tune to the music which cost exhorbitant amounts .. We bought a small clock with just the cuckoo and also an umbrella cuz it was starting to pour

After that we proceeded to the town of Heidelburg .. Heidelburg is known mainly for its famous university renowned for its printing technology and its castle .. Its castle is situated on a hill from where one can get a nice view of the city .. We proceeded to go into the castle and look around




Apparently the castle had a Huge Wine vat which was as big as an entire room .. But it was closed when we went :/ ... Here, inside the castle also, they were making arrangements for a concert to be held :o .. After spending some time here we drove to our hotel .. Travelled by the famous Autobahn ,the highways of Germany, where there is no official speed limit .. The drivers are cautioned to drive around 120 kmph though .. After dinner at the hotel Ramada , we walked around the place a bit and made fun of the long German names :)





Day 9 :

Started off with a cruise on the river Rheine on a huge cruise boat .. Apparently the Rhine is a deep enough river that pretty huge and long cargo ships , which i thought were in operation only in the seas were plying these waters





Also the water of the Rhine was not like the green in Switzerland but more greyish like namma ooru water .. Every 2 mins or so we could come across a castle built on some hill in this region




As there was quite a chilly wind blowing on deck , we went down below and spent the rest of the ride there .. Also saw monument to a legendary lady who used to sit on a hilltop and sing .. The sailors , mesmerized by her beauty and voice would forget everything else and crash into the rocks .. Also saw lots of caravans and trailers on the banks as this was a popular getaway place

Came back to shore and drove to Cologne ... This is the birthplace of the famous ' Eu De Cologne ' .. First we went to the Cathedral in Cologne .. This is built in the Gothic style of architecture with lots of spires n stuff and lot of sculptures on the walls .. Beautiful to look at though it is covered in black grime




Apparently during World War 2 , 14 bombs were dropped on this by The allies and still it survived without any major damage .. My theory on this is that 14 bombs were dropped , but none of them exploded :D

Went inside and saw the huge pillars holding it up built layer upon layer .. Also they had lots of stain glass painted windows inside



The grandeur and size of these old European churches is quite stunning




Bought a bottle of Eu de Cologne in a shop nearby , had lunch and left Cologne and drove to Belgium


We first drove to Brussels , the capital of Belgium and went straight to St Michael's Square , where ,again preparations where on for a concert



Strolled around a bit and saw some of the things Belgium is famous for... Chocolates , especially the Godiva ones .. Lace works and lace tapestry stores ..Also Tintin Snowy and Captain Haddock painted on a wall and at the bottom , the signature of Herge , their creator who hails from Belgium .. And of course saw & ate some Belgian Waffles



They have so many varieties of Waffles and toppings and on a chilly day such as this , it was bliss to eat one of those hot waffles

Also saw the statue of the mannequin Pis - the symbol of the city of Brussels




The story behind this is that one day the young prince went missing .. After searchin for a lot of time , the King said that whenever and wherever the prince was found , he would erect a statue depicting exactly what the prince was doing at that time .. As luck would have it, the prince was found in a street cornet , urinating , and hence the statue


Also saw statue of a famous Army general which it is rumoured ,if u rub , will bring u good luck



Also saw a glass roofed building which kept the entire interior warm and was full of shops




Left brussels after this and drove to our hotel , The Hilton Scandic , with a photo stop at the Atomium along the way



This was built in 1950's to commemorate the Trade fair held in Brussels that year and is obv, in the shape of an atom .

The hotel was in Antwerp , famous for its diamond cutting .. Had local dinner that night ... Soup , Fish , rice and salad .. Went for a walk after dinner and if you thought German names were long ....