We saved visiting the Bridge of Remagen ruin for the last day. I remember hearing my father talk about this and visiting it when I was a teenager. It felt a bit surreal going back again. It felt like seeing it for the fourth or fifth time rather than the second time, because I had heard my father’s story so many times and sat with him watching the movie about this event. 

The town was quiet with not lots of car traffic but lots of walkers and cyclists. As we walked towards the bridge we noticed a cross on the hill on the other side of the river. There were two flags flying we think German and American but it was too far to say for sure. Maybe it was a cemetery. The peace museum is closed for the winter but we could still be on the remains of the bridge. 

The stone pillars on each side of the river are still standing but nothing left of the bridge of course. The Germans had attempted to destroy the bridge. This from an article about the bridge. “Within a week of crossing the Rhine over the Ludendorff Bridge, seven US divisions had established themselves in strength east of the Rhine. On March 17, 1945, the Ludendorff, severely damaged in the fighting ten days earlier and weakened further from the strain of heavy traffic, collapsed into the Rhine. Having crossed the Rhine, the Allied armies prepared to drive into the interior of Germany.”

My brother and I both remember our father describing to us that he drove his jeep across to the opposite side, then when he was on the ridge he turned around to see the bridge destroyed. 

We stood on the remains of the bridge looking around. An emotion overwhelmed me as I thought of my father being in this place in a time of war, being able to come back and reminisce in a time of peace and now me coming back again. It was a bit surreal. I’m grateful that I had this opportunity. 

Afterwards we went and had a nice authentic German meal. Another great day. M

14 December 2024

Noël found a route for us to walk around Remagen through the forest. The route starts in town and then heads straight up. We walked through a lovely neighborhood and then found ourselves on a trail that was pretending to be a stream. Water was running down the hill. The way was very muddy, with thorns grabbing at our pants and trees having fallen across the path. You guessed it Noël was using AllTrails. I asked him what the rating was before we go any farther. It simply said average. 

Needless to say Noël found an alternative road doing the same thing but not on this path. It was a very steep climb but well worth it. While we were walking a very light snow started falling. We were in the forest full of Christmas Trees. And someone had fun leaving cute little Xmas decorations along the path. 

The end of our walk passed by St Apollinaris Church. It is beautiful and looks over the Rhine River and Remagen. There is a similarity to the Cologne cathedral, on a much smaller scale. 

Another fun day. 

I was super excited when  Noël wanted to go to Cologne. I had not been since I was a teenager. Noël doesn’t really like big cities. But since he didn’t have to drive he was looking forward to it. And there is the rub, we couldn’t find any public transportation. To be fair there are trains but they were fully booked, there are taxis but they were too expensive. So after an hour Noël said he would drive. 

We parked just across from the cathedral on the other side of the Rhine River. We crossed the Hohenzollernbrücke. It was destroyed during WWII. Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities. The bridge is covered in locks. 

The cathedral is magnificent. We were surprised that there was no fee to go inside. Many of the large cathedrals in Spain cost to go in. While we were looking around we heard an announcement that a service was about to start. And then there were bagpipes playing “O Come All Ye Faithful”. I’m not sure if it was the cathedral, the song, the bagpipes but I found myself getting emotional.

We went to two different Christmas Markets.  The one at the cathedral is supposed to be the largest. And it was crowded. It was almost impossible to see anything or move. We decided to get lunch and then went to the market in the old town. Really enjoyed that. And also got these cute cups with glühwein. 

A brisk walk back across the bridge and back to Oberwinter before sundown. Another really great day. 

Fun fact Cologne is over 2000 years old. It gave its name to eau de cologne. 

If ever in Germany Cologne is a gem. 

Driving from the flat landscape of Zeeland into the southern part of the Netherlands into Germany with the rolling hills  is always fun. 

We arrived in Remagen in the early afternoon and were able to immediately check in. We aren’t actually in Remagen we are in Oberwinter which is right next Remagen. Our accommodation is beautiful!!

Remagen is a special place for me, I remember my father telling me about his time overseas during WWII. Remagen was one of those places. He said he was in one of the last companies to cross the pontoon bridge before the main bridge collapsed. And he saw the Bridge at Remagen collapse. I visited with my family when I was a teenager. My sister and her family lived in Germany. 

Our first full day we hiked to two castles, Drachensfels and Drachensburg. Drachensfel is a Roman castle ruin. Drachensburg is a castle built in the late 1800s. As we climbed up to the castle ruins at the entrance we heard this low growling like a bobcat. I backed way back and Noël kept going cautiously trying to find the source. It was a box with a dragon in it (not a real one 😂) and you could put money in it and it would talk to you. In our way down some people were listening to the dragon speak. Don’t ask me what it said it was in German. 😂

From there we walked down to the other castle. It was quite ornate and has had quite a history. Exchanging hands many times. 

There was a cute cafe on the property so we stopped and had a little snack, super healthy-a large pretzel and fries. The mayonnaise came in a small ice cream cup. 

We had a really great day.