GERMANY: Bright Lights in the Big City (PART IV) Dresden

I didn’t know much about Dresden before we went, other than it was obliterated in WWII. So my expectations were low.

What I didn’t know, was that before World War II, Dresden was called “the Florence on the Elbe”.  It was considered to be one of the world's most beautiful cities, known for its rich art collections and baroque architecture.

But then, in February 1945, over a thousand Allied heavy bombers created a firestorm which engulfed the city's center and nearly wiped Dresden off the map.

GERMANY: Bright Lights in the Big Cities (Part III) Berlin

Berlin dates back to the 13th century. 

Fast forward and in the 1920’s Berlin was the third most populous city in the world!

Since then, Berlin has seen a lot of changes and once again it is the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and by population, with more than 3.85 million people (2023.) 

It is also  the European Union's most populous city.

GERMANY: Bright Lights in the Big City (Part II) Cologne

Cologne (Köln) spans the Rhine River and is one of Germany's oldest and fourth-largest cities. 

Cologne is very proud of their HUGE Cathedral.

The Cologne Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and host to the Shrine of the Three Kings.

It is one of the oldest and most important pilgrimage sites of Northern Europe.

The foundation stone was laid in 1248. 

GERMANY: Bright Lights in The Big Cities (Part I) of Heidelberg, Hannover and Hamburg

There are a lot of famous big cities in Germany.

So for no particular reason, I’ll start with the letter H for Heidelberg, Hannover and Hamburg

Heidelberg is known as the "City of Romanticism" because it was a popular destination for poets and philosophers in the early 1800’s. 

These poets and artists were inspired by the red-sandstone Renaissance castle on Königstuhl hill, the Baroque Old Town, and the hills surrounding the river Neckar.

FRANCE: Discovering Colmar

On a Saturday night in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, we were discussing over dinner what we were going to do the next day.

We took a look at Google maps to decide what options, out of endless options, we could choose from.

Colmar, France, located in the Alsace region of northeast France was less than an hour drive away.

Google maps said it's old town has cobblestone streets with medieval and Renaissance buildings. 

That sounds cute to me.

So, we got a wild hair and decided to do a Sunday drive to France to check out Colmar.

SWITZERLAND: Let's Drive To Zurich - on a Whim

We had some unscheduled time after we explored all the Ludwig castles in Bavaria. 

For something radically different, we took a look at a map, and discovered that Fussen, Germany to Zurich, Switzerland was less than 3 hours to drive!

So, being wild and crazy retirees with time on our hands, we figured "What the heck, let's go to Switzerland!"

No agenda, no plans, just a spontaneous jaunt.