Bonn Aachen

     After leaving  Köln I took the train to Bonn.  I had never been there.  The Bonn Hilton is beautiful and more than reasonable.  It has a beautiful terrace but I did not get to use it because the weather was not good.  There is not to much to see here in the way of sightseeing.  I did got to the Egyptian Museum.  The collection is small but it only costs 2€.

Bonn Hilton Terrase

Bonn Beethoven Fest

Bonn Rathaus

     This is more a walking- around- and- enjoying- a -leisurely- time city.  And I did enjoy walking around.  I ate some good food at a steak restaurant near to the hotel.  It is not in the center and I found it on TripAdvisor.  It is called Anno Tubac and is located in the Kolnstrasse.  It was like a lokal and I felt welcomed and really enjoyed being there.   I also had a few drinks at a place in the center called Sofia's.  Again, very welcoming and nice.
      From Bonn I went to Aachen.  In Aachen I stayed at the Mercure an Dom.  It is well located and the price was right but it was no Hilton.  There was not to much service and there was something weird about the mattress and the pillows.  But I had a good time anyway.  The main site is of course the Cathedral.  This was built by Charlemagne and has his throne in it.  A combination ticket for a cathedral tour and the cathedral treasure museum was only 10€.

Aachen Cathedral

Throne of Charlemagne

      My first night here I ate in a little Greek place called Büchel on the street of the same name.  Very good!  I sat and drank my wine and enjoyed.  The next night I ate at a Mediterranean place called Aix Mediterrane in the Rommelsgasse.  I loved it!  I ate a Dorade Royal which was the special.  This was a grilled whole fish and very delicious.  It came with a good sized salad and potatos.  I also drank a 0.5 l red wine.  They could not have been nicer to me.  and they gave me a Grappa at the end.  >I love places like this.
      I enjoyed my days in Aachen and would say to go there but there really is not much after the cathedral to see. so if you do not like simple walking around and eating and drinking this place is probably a day trip or a one-nighter.

Trier, Köln 2019

     After Straßburg I went to Trier Germany for two nights.  I stayed at the Mecure Porta Nigri which, remarkably, is across the street from the Porto Nigri.  That is the ancient Roman gate of the city.  Needless to say it is perfectly located.  I had a nice room with AC and the hotel has a nice bar.  I got to go into the Porta Nigri, which is interesting and offers a nice view.  I went to the Roman museum which has an interesting collection and presents it well.  It has the largest horde of Roman coins ever found!  We went to the cathedral and saw the chapel of the coat.  A coat allegedly from the 1st century so naturally they claim it belonged to Jesus.  We also saw the Basilica which originally was the throne room of the emperor.

Porto Nigri

Trier

Mercure Trier

     On day two we went on a one hour river cruise.  It was a sunny day and the short cruise was quiet and peaceful.  It is a small and quiet city.  Not so much to do but worth a stop.  The food and beer were typical German.

     Next it was on to Köln.  This was my third time here and I really like this city.  I also stayed for the third time at the Köln Hilton and I really like that hotel.  It is up the street and around the corner from the train station, which is in the middle of the city, so you can easily walk there.  We went to the Art museum, which has a good collection and we went to the Modern Art museum which was not good.  I am sorry but a canvas painted solid blue is not art.
      I got to eat at Toro Negro restaurant again and of course at the Hard Rock!  If you are there definitely eat at  Toro Negro in Salzgasse.  It is a Spanish steak restaurant and the food is excellent!  The Hard Rock is just fun.  Drinking the Kölsch beer at Früh is also something to do while you are there.  From Köln I went alone to Bonn, where I am now.

Straßburg, 2019

    On 29 August I left Weimar and took the train to Frankfurt to meet a friend for 7 nights of travel. 4 cities in. 7 nights!  Normally I don't do that but....  So in Frankfurt I stayed at the Steigenburger Frankfurter Hof Hotel and my friend stayed down the street at the Motel One Hotel (?).  My hotel is a beautiful, grand hotel.  I had a deluxe room and it was spectacular!  I was sorry to stay in that room for only one night.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture.  We only went out to eat that night and then a few drinks at my hotel because the next morning we were off with the train to Straßburg, France.
     Straßburg is a beautiful city and the capitol of the Alsace region of France.  In German it is Elsass.  We stayed at the Mecure City center and it was nice.  The rooms were not spectacular but nice and it had AC.  It was also perfectly located.  I went to the Bishop's Palace, Palais Rohan, and went through the 3 museums there.  They have a nice collection of Old Masters.  A semi-interesting Pre-historic-Roman collection and other Archeological things.  Interesting and certainly worth a look.  It is also very nice just to walk around the city because it is very beautiful.

Palais Rohan

Straßburg

                                           

I got to eat 2 dinners there and they were both great!  The first night was Aux Armes de Strasbourg in the Gutenburg Place.  It was French, very hearty and very good for a more than reasonable price.  Night 2 we had reserved at Le Gruber and a good thing it was packed. We both had escargot in garlic oil and then I had a terrine with meat and potato and carrots and a side salad.  I really enjoyed it all.