How We Explored Germany’s Historic Rhineland in One Afternoon

Places can often paint a much different picture when viewed at a later hour. As we had a relatively early flight leaving Dublin (at 6:50 AM), we had to be up at the unseasonable time of 4 AM to catch a bus to the airport. Unfortunately, no matter how picturesque or charming a city may seem during the bright daylight hours, everything seems so much more grim during the very late evening/early morning. Long gone were the streets that were once filled with babbling tourists and quick walking locals. Instead we were now greeted with empty cobblestone streets and brisk whispering winds.

As we stood at the bus stop waiting for our 4 AM ride, we slowly took in our surroundings of plastic sheeting and wire fences and soon realized that this stop was no longer in service. With Apple Maps having failed us, we desperately studied the small laminated sign that proclaimed that the replacement stop was just a street over. Racing through the dark and quiet city attempting to find our new stop, multiple online searches and panicked shouts later; we were ultimately directionless and demoralized as we still could not find the replacement bus stop. As we stood on the corner lamenting our fate, we heard the soft sound of a door creaking behind us and soon saw the blinding fluorescent glow of a safety vest pop into view. Without much thought, we rushed the unassuming utility worker and began to voice our desperate cries of frustrations. Fortunately for us, this man would be our true savior for the day (and possibly trip) and without even a moment of hesitation, pulled out his own phone and began leading us down the dark, desolate Dublin lanes. After leading us for several minutes, he found the replacement bus stop, wished us good luck, and slipped back into the night. After a silent bus ride to the Dublin airport and a relatively quick flight over the Atlantic, we soon found ourselves in Dusseldorf, Germany. Before the ink was even dry on our passports, we were racing down the tracks to our next destination, Cologne. Cologne was high on our list due to their fabled colossal cathedral which supposedly housed the bones of the 3 biblical Wise Men. Immediately exiting the train station greeted us with this behemoth formation that seemed to touch the clouds and beckoned us near.

Not to be outdone by its outside appearance, the inside of the cathedral was truly just as breathtaking. Massive cut stone columns casted dark shadows contrasting the warm glow protruding from the towering bright stained glass windows. Standing within the vast Cologne Cathedral, we began to truly believe that we were in the midst of a remarkable feat of human ingenuity. Taking centuries and requiring generations of skilled builders to construct it all, we felt incredibly blessed and fortunate we were able to experience it.

It was hard not to feel nanoscopic within this great hall as everything felt so much larger than life and seemed to dwarf reality. Like a moth to a flame, we were soon drawn to a large car-sized golden chest that lay at the back of the cathedral. Inside this ornate shimmering case lay the Shrine of the Three Kings, which supposedly housed the bones of the fabled Magi/Wise Men.

After touring the rest of the cathedral, we decided it was time to say our goodbyes to Cologne and head to our next destination for the day. As we turned to leave the cathedral, we were met with a rain/wind storm of biblical proportions. Even though the train station was just a short stone’s throw from the cathedral, it felt like a true hard fought battle as we were dragged about the courtyard from the sails of our now tattered umbrellas. Drenched and chilled, we finally found asylum in the nearby covered train station. Unfortunately for us, our relief did not last for very long as we would run into our first major hiccup on the trip.

The challenge of traveling through our first non-English speaking country would quickly present itself as the digital departure board had switched the platform and we had failed to notice. We would have been completely oblivious to this change and would have easily missed our train without the help from our kind savior. As we stood completely unaware of our impending delayed doom, a small man approached us and in a deep French accent asked if we spoke English. This man happened to be a stranger in Germany (much like ourselves) and happened to be taking the same train that we intended. He had ultimately noticed the overhanging board had updated and wanted to know what it meant. As the three of us began frantically typing in Apple’s Translate app, we soon realized our mistake and were now sprinting through the station to our new platform. Narrowly boarding the train with only a few precious seconds to spare, we were soon charging down the train tracks to our next stop, Aachen. Aachen made our itinerary fairly early on due to its long since past position of being the seat of the Holy Roman Empire. Much like Cologne earlier in the day, we were eager to see Aachen for its cathedral as this was the place where the legendary ruler Charlemagne was crowned and later laid to rest. Though the Aachen Cathedral did not contest Cologne’s, it was still an awe inspiring piece of architecture and history.

Ultimately, we were left slightly disappointed with the cathedral’s interior as we were unable to view the throne or tomb and even barred from taking photos. After an unexpectedly short time in the dark cathedral, we ventured back out into the bright, warm sunlight to explore what else Aachen had to offer. Our small stroll ended up leading us to a large outdoor market before throwing us up right in front of their old town hall.

After taking in some more sights, our stomachs soon took charge and we found ourselves in a small restaurant laying directly in the shadow of the Aachen Cathedral (Restaurant Rose am Dom). Being our first experience ordering while in Germany, we were vastly intimidated. Fortunately, our clumsy English responses from the waitress’s German greeting resulted in her handing us menus displaying a large UK flag.

After our exotic meal had concluded, we scrambled back to the train station and intended to depart to Hannover, our final destination of the day. As we stood craning our necks to stare at the massive digital departure board, we felt a nearby looming presence and for the second time that day, were approached by a stranger asking for navigation help. Unfortunately, this interaction did not go as well as the previous one back in Cologne. As we proceeded to give the man advice on which platform and train to take, he became infatuated with our origin story. Our short background later, he refused to believe we were truly Americans and instead was convinced we were from Mexico. With a now ongoing argument about our true home land, we started to accept that this man was not all mentally aware. We let out a few brief meager laughs to ease tensions before the stranger flashed us a toothless grin and proceeded to join us in our laughter and eventually went on his way. After mulling on that interesting interaction the whole train ride, we eventually arrived in Hannover late in the evening. After checking in our hotel (Hotel Zendrum), we decided to take a much needed rest, therefore officially ending our second day of the trip.

To see the previous day’s adventure, click here.

To move onwards with us along our journey, click here.