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.
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.
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.
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.
When he was younger, he was considered
quite handsome and was very popular.
But, as he got older he became “a bit quirky”.
He rarely appeared in public or attended any government
functions.
He slept most of the day and stayed awake all night.
He created a fantasy world for himself inside his castles.
And then, he died mysteriously at 41 years old, and, to this
day, no one is sure exactly how he died in a lake.
John and I were looking forward to doing a lot of hiking in the Bavarian Alps and the Black Forest in southwest Germany.
We had some challenges with the weather. It didn't want to cooperate.
Turns out this has been the wettest weather in Germany since 1881.
Which would explain why everything is so green and lush.
We did get some hikes in, and, we got to experience the local hospitality with "honour system" beer tubs and schnapps tasting.
A man from Munich
is called a “Münchner”, and a woman from
Munich is called a “Münchnerin”.
I am not sure what kids from Munich are called, but the word “Munchkins” comes to my mind.
Munich is famous for its beer, their annual Oktoberfest celebrations and several of the largest
breweries in Germany.
We’ll get back
to beer and the breweries later.
How can something new be old? Or something old be new?
Well, the medieval old town of Frankfurt was one of the best-preserved old towns in Central Europe.
But, in March of 1944, it was almost completely
destroyed in a WWII bombing raid.
In 2012, after decades of rubble, the city started the recreation of the historical old town. It was completed in 2018.
The new old town now combines historical architecture with modern design to blend with the remaining historic buildings.
