Back again

Back from our holidays in Germany.
Had a fantastic time, ate a lot, drank a lot, walked a lot and spent a lot. For possibly the first time, I stopped to consider that we were happily spending the equivalent of some peoples' weekly budget on an evening meal, but Dianne pointed out that we had worked and saved so that we could do these things, and we were damn well going to.
I know better than to argue with the 'boss'.

Weather was great - coolish, but clear and bright. We spent the first part of the holiday in Frankfurt and the surrounding area. We stayed in a small hotel on the edge of the financial district, but an easy walk to the botanic gardens and the main shopping areas. Dianne is heading off to Porto with daughter no.1 in summer, and she took the stores (Karstadt, C&A, Kaufhof etc.) by storm in the search for lightweight clothing. Her quest was successful and by some miracle, she was still able to close her suitcase for the return journey!

Spent half a day at Frankfurt zoo, but although I support zoos, this one was disappointing. Being in a city, space is limited and I think it would be much better to have fewer large animals with larger enclosures. It is however a very popular attraction and not too expensive.

For the second part of the holiday, we moved to Mainz where we had a great room overlooking the Rhine in the Hilton. Although the room and the view were great, it was impossible to keep the room cool enough for a good nights sleep and breakfast wasn't nearly as good as in the little Frankfurt hotel!

The border between Hessen and Rhineland-Pfalz runs along the Rhine and there are no crossing points between Mainz and Koblenz. Mainz gave us a great opportunity to visit Koblenz and the small Rhine towns by rail. A day ticket covering Rhineland-Pfalz and Saarland and allowing unlimited travel on the regional railway and S-bahn for 2 people was only 28 Euro.

These trips were purely for sightseeing, but it was disappointing to find that the cable car climbing over the Rhine up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, was not open yet.

I love Mainz itself, having lived and worked there.
Most of the city centre is therefore modern and largely the same as I remember it, but the suburbs have changed
beyond recognition. Blocks of apartments looking like giant sugar cubes are springing up all over the place.

I'm glad to see that " Schinderhannes" our favourite German restaurant is still there. The name is of an infamous thief who was executed in Mainz in 1803. If you eat there, fast for a couple of days beforehand. The food is excellent, the price reasonable and the portions are truly massive.

We've been to the Rhine/Main/Saar many times and we saw little need to take many photos, just a few for our friends and family.
I've selected a few and I'll post more soon.
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One night in Feb 1945, allied bombers dropped over 1500 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the city, killing over 1200 people and destroying 80% of the centre.

This church is preserved as a memorial to the event. To me, it seemed to be a bit 'apologetic'. This was in contrast to the anti-semitism and support for the Nazis that still existed when I lived there...

Re: Back again

Welcome back GW. That was a very interesting read.

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Glad you had a nice time GW. We've had quite a few holidays in southern Germany as our son lives in Reutlingen. We're going again in June for 4 nights.He and his partnerusually take us around a bit sightseeing. We've now had quite a few holidays in Bavaria among the high mountains......great.

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Hello George welcome back.
It sounds like you had a really good time

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Great posting George brings back lots of memories for me in the 70s. Love Germany, great country particularly Mainz and Koblenz and the little places along the Rhine.

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Welcome back GW. I went to that part of Germany on a coach trip and loved it.

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Welcome back Grumble. Sounds like you had a lovely time

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Its a beautiful place for sure - thanks to Alan I know that
Welcome back

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Glad you had a good trip... We also love Germany the beer and the food!
OH has been going there since he was a small child even so there are pockets of nastiness, a few years ago in Munich he was spat on and called Jude ( Jew).

We wont let those people put us off what is in general a fantastic country full of lovely people.

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No bridges between Mainz and Koblenz, but several car/passenger ferries such as this one at Boppard.



Boppard Promenade...



Deutsches Eck where the Rhine and Mosel meet at Koblenz.
Unfortunately cable car (with glass floor) not yet open for the season.



And for the furry creature lovers..... In Frankfurt city park