Sightseeing in Nordrhein Westfalen

Some of you must be wondering if all I did in Germany was muse about transportation and politics. Not at all. I hope my next two posts will convince you otherwise.
My first destination was the town of Rheinbach 18 km west of Bonn and 50 km south of Cologne. Its history goes way back as the Romans built an aqueduct through the area to supply Cologne in 80 AD.



I had come to visit friends I'd first met five years ago when Carola and her eldest daughter Anne came to Paris as part of a choir exchange with my choir. We sang a concert together in Paris in 2004 and another in Rheinbach in 2005. We’ve kept in touch but this was the first time I’d been able to go back.
I arrived Monday evening just in time for choir practice. It was fun to see everyone again -- and to sing music I didn’t know in a language I don’t speak. After practice, there was a small party in honor of two choir members who had just had babies. A good first evening.



The next day was bright and sunny. I took the train to Bonn, where Anne is a student now. We had lots to catch up on. While we did, we walked through the botanical gardens,


then,strolled to the edge of the Rhine for a drink at a rustic outdoor café in a park




Afterwards, we had dinner outside near the train station. Too soon,it was time for me to return to Rheinbach and for Anne to study for her exams.
Wednesday, Carola doesn’t work so we had all day together. In the morning we rode on a great bike path that wound through apple orchards and berry fields


to a town called Adendorf. There, we visited some pottery works and shops.


Carola loaned me her bicycle – easier to manage – for the ride back. I felt much more competent but was still exhausted when we arrived home. I enjoyed myself but fourteen kilometers is a lot for someone who usually does 0!
That afternoon, Carola took me (by car!) to visit another town called Ahrweiler in a nearby wine-growing region. We wandered around until nearly dusk.

This statue of a grapepicker has his back to the vineyards and faces one of the gates of the walled town.






Lots of the buildings had statues like this. It reminded me of Florence.

We drove home along winding roads through other picturesque villages with vineyards all around.


Back in Rheinbach, Bernhard and Carola took me for a leisurely good-bye dinner at an outdoor restaurant. It was a little cooler than the night before but someone came to each table offering blankets for our laps. “Like an airplane!” said Bernhard. Yes but cosier. And the food was better, too.
The next day I was off to Bavaria. I didn’t get to see Cologne this time but waved goodbye to the cathedral from the train.