Bonn, Germany and Koblenz, Germany

Had a good sleep, could always use more, but I figure I can sleep later... There is so much to see!

We left Cologne and headed for Bonn, which was not too far at all - the autobahn and motorway's are connected so well, that even if you take a wrong turn, you can correct your mistake with a u-turn or a quick change of lanes that it really doesn't matter! Not that we performed said u-turns or lane changes... ok, well maybe a few times. But we've definitely got the hang of it!

Bonn was very much a college town. Very young, much like Cologne, however you could tell students were everywhere... Books in hand, sitting around cafe tables studying, and lots of shops and stores as usual. Our main reason for stopping in Bonn was to see the Beethoven-Haus, which is where famous composer Beethoven was born. The house was on a small side street, but prominently stuck out by the amount of tourists and Beethoven's face and name were everywhere the closer you got to it.

I really enjoyed this, having played some of his works of music during my youth while in orchestra. I was a bass clarinet player, however music resides in my soul and this was truly a great experience. We purchased an audio tour where you get to listen to the tour with headphones on... very interesting facts about Beethoven's life were told, including an example of what he would, or would not have, heard when people would talk to him, or when his music was played before large crowds. To blessed with such amazing talent, and then not to be able to truly hear the finished product - that must have been frustrating for him. The example of his poor hearing was much like being under water, but even more muffled than that.

Locks of his hair were under a glass case, including two plaster masks, one in life, and one in death. You were able to see many details of his face... Several pianos that he had been given, a collection of musical instruments including very old/early versions of clarinets, flutes, oboes, and other wind instruments were featured. My favorite though, were a collection of violins and cellos. The violins were worn and beautiful. One violin was turned backwards so you could see the Beethoven's original wax seal tht was placed on the back of the violin... Many other aritifacts were shown too, but these were my favorites.

We left the museum/haus and headed for the streets to explore. Similar to many other places we had been, but each place has it's own characteristics. We had iced coffee and some delicious pommes frites (french fries) and rested our feet before finding a farmers market where we purchased some delicious chorizo sliced thin, and stinky cheese... can't remember the name of the cheese, but it was good!

We also met some friends on the plane ride over that joined us on our tour - Pedro and Juan. They loved Bonn - There were Beethoven statues up and down the street, and one was reminiscent of the King, yes... Elvis! They have been interesting friends - very short little guys, but fun to chat with, especially when they get Lucha Libre crazy on the locals! They are sitting on the shoulder of the Beethoven statue - yes, they are tiny!

It was time to move on - time was running short and we needed to get to Heidelberg. Along the way to Koblenz we encountered gorgeous towns, beautiful countryside dotted with castles and vineyards - lots of vineyards. This was all during sunset, so it was quite enchanting.

We arrived in Koblenz and found the location of the split where the Rhine and Mosel rivers go their separate ways, an amazing view!

And right behind where I'm standing is this huge statue, or monument, that faces the split:

And the view from up there is below:

The Rhine flows to the right, and the Mosel to the left. The sun was just setting at this point and we soaked in the beauty of the countryside, then headed for Heidelberg. We drove for quite some time, arriving in Heidelberg very late, about midnight. We stayed at an Ibis as were exhausted that was not very far from the zentrum (center of town) which would have been a better choice, but when you are tired, you're tired. The front desk manager bought us each a drink... Mine a beer, and Claudia a glass of wine.

We turned in for the night and couldn't wait to experience Heidelberg.

This puts me just about a day behind at this point with my posts; Heidelberg then our journey to Baden-Baden where I am sitting in the hotel room now. We'll head for the Black Forest today! I'll hopefully post Heidelberg tonight!