On the plaza behind the Cologne Cathedral was amgical man blowing the most amazing bubbles.
Category: Photography
Hahnentorburg (Hahnen Gate)
There are 12 gates through which you can enter the city of Cologne. Hahnentorburg is the most popular.
The gate features 2 semi-circular towers. In between you can see Cologne’s Coat of Arms. As was the case with much of Cologne, the gate was damaged during WWII and later rebuilt.
On the day I visited, there was a flea market going on with many vendors set up along the path to the Gate.
Locks of Love
There is an arched bridge that spans the Rhine River in Cologne. Hohenzollern Bridge has become a “Love Lock” bridge where couples lock a padlock onto the bridge and throw the key into the river to show their love and devotion.
Exploring The Marktplatz: Bremen Cathedral
The medieval market place in Bremen features many old and interesting buildings. In addition to the Rathaus, The Cathedral of St. Peter has 1200 years of history. Among it’s many treasures are the remains of the old choir stalls built in 1630. The oldest portion of the cathedral dates bate to the 11th century.
Exploring The Marktplatz: The Guild Hall
Schutting sits across from the Rathaus. Built in the 1530s, it also had the first coffee shop in the German territories. Currenlty it houses the chamber of commerce.
The Flemish Renaissance building features the Bremen Merchants’s coats of arms and the Holy Roman Imperial Eagle.
Bremen’s Knight Roland
Bremen is an amalgam of the old and the new. The historic square or Marktplatz features a huge statue of the Knight Roland, which symbolizes the rights and priviledges of the Hanseatic City. Hanseatic refers to a medieval merchant’s guild. Roland was a protector of the trade group.
The Brementown Musicians
One of my favorite Brothers Grimm fairytales was The Brementown Musicians. Even though the title characters never made it to the town, you can still visit them in Bremen.
In the classic tale, a donkey, a rooster, a dog and a cat escape their respective abusive farmers and set out to become a famous group of musicians in the free city of Bremen. Along the way, they see a lit cottage and peer in the windows to see a band of thieves counting their ill-gotten treasures. They decide to scare the thieves and take over the cottage as there own. Once the thieves are chase off, they spend the rest of their days in the cottage, never making it to the city.
Next to the Rathaus or City Hall in Bremen is a scuplture depicting the musicians. Be sure to rub the Donkey’s leg for good luck.
In front of the Rathaus is the Hole of the Brementown Musicians. Toss a coin into the hole and hear one of the animals. Just look for the signs.
All around the town are representations of the musicians.
Ackbar Returns
After a full 15 months of travel from The US to Canada to Panama Canal to Germany to The Netherlands to France, Ackbar and I have returned home and now it’s time to sort through thousands of photos and memories. We spent a month in Papenburg, Germany from April to May of 2022.
Papenburg, Germany is situated on the Ems River in Lower-Saxony. For Disney fans this is where the Meyer-Werft Shipyard is located and the Disney Cruise LIne ships – Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish have been built. Each ship starts it journey along the Ems to the North Sea on it’s way to new adventures.
A charming city of canals, windmills and sailing ships, Papenburg is a delightful escape from Germany’s more metropolitan cities. With a population of about 40,000 people, the city has a very laid back feel. There is something for everyone here, fine dining, shopping, culture events and historic sights.
The Rathaus is Papenburg’s City Hall. Located on the Haupkanal, this Neo-baroque building was built in 1913.
One of six sailing ship replicas on display in the canals of Papenburg, The Freiderike is situated outside the Rathaus. These stand as a symbol of the area’s rich shipbuilding tradition.
Meyer’s Mill, erected in 1888 is between the canal and the city park.
Muhle’s Mill is near the city center.
We can’t talk about Papenburg without talking about the many wonderful restaurants. Be sure to brush up on your German as many of the residents do not speak English. Despite the language difference, we managed to dine at these restaurants on multiple nights and eventually made friends with the owners who remembered our favorites.
Wirsthaus am Zeitspeicher has excellent wienerschnitzel
https://www.wirtshaus-am-zeitspeicher.de/
Adriatik had an amazing filet
https://www.restaurant-adriatik.de/
Olympia had the most delicious Beef Stroganoff
https://www.olympia-papenburg.de/
Bellini served Italian favorites, I highly recommend the Filet Gorgonzolo with Pasta.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063545115044
Mediterra served us a memorable meal in their upstairs dining room.
https://www.mediterra-papenburg.de/
Papenburg has a convenient train station where you can roam around Germany and Europe. We visited Koln and Bremen from here.
A Galaxy Not-So-Far Away
If you ever wanted to feel what it was like to be Luke Skywalker, look no further than Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Every inch of this land, is full of eye candy and Easter eggs. Build your own lightsaber or droid, rub elbows with other fans at Oga’s Cantina or fly the Millennium Falcon. This land is the stuff that 12 year-old me could only dream of.
One of my favorite Easter eggs is this transport parked on top Cookie’s restaurant. The 3 cargo containers are labelled with the year of the Original Trilogy’s release. “77” for Star Wars: A New Hope, “80” for The Empire Empire Strikes Back and “83” for Return of The Jedi”. Keep your eyes peeled for even more hidden details.
Travels With Ackbar 