The Rhine, Main & Moselle
Cologne - Cochem - Trier - Bernkastel Kues - Koblenz - Nijmegen - Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Emmerich
You can't always have everything in life. On the Rhine you can: a relaxed trip from city to city and a relaxed holiday with lots of nature. In Cologne you just wave to the cathedral. A short tour to Cochem sparks Mosel romance, on the way to the old roman city of Trier and the castles of Bernkastel-Kues are a temptation. If you want to see the Rhine from above again, it is best to take the cable car that takes you to the Ehrenbreitstein fortress in Koblenz. From Koblenz we will go to the picturesque Nijmegen - and shortly afterwards to the EYE Film Museum in the port of Amsterdam. From the mooring directly behind the main railway station you can discover the city of the canals on foot. If you fancy a multicultural experience with all your senses, try the international cuisine for which Amsterdam is so famous. Rotterdam impresses with its modern architecture and its enormous harbour, where goods arrive from every corner of the globe.
"Dear Kitty...": Everyone knows the words with which Anne Frank‘s diary entries begin. The Anne Frank House in the Prinsengracht is where the Jewish girl lived in hiding with her family for more than two years during World War II. In 1944, their hiding place was betrayed and the family was deported to various concentration camps, in which Anne eventually died. Today it houses the Anne Frank Foundation and its museum.
The museum buildings is a mix of the neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance style. The Rijksmuseum opened in 1885 and its internationally revered collection features some of the nation’s most famous works, including historic art by Vermeer, Frans Hals, and perhaps most notably Rembrandt’s "The Night Watch", which takes pride of place in a beautifully lit hall allowing visitors to enjoy every tiny detail.
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) is one of the most famous Amsterdammers of all time. The painter, who was born in Leiden, spent most of his life in the canal city. In 1639, he bought this house in the former Jewish quarter. Financial problems forced him to re-sell the property in 1660 and he moved into a rented apartment. In 1908, the house in the Jodenbreestraat was restored and converted into a museum, and in 1999 an annexe was added. The new addition houses the world‘s largest collection of Rembrandts etchings, engravings and drawings.
The Oude Kerk (Old Church) is both the oldest church and the oldest building in Amsterdam. It dates back to about 1300 and is incongruously located in the red light district. The Oude Kerk has been renovated and expanded multiple times over the centuries. Its original interior was lost during the Reformation, but it has still kept its handpainted wooden roof and stained glass windows after all these years. Rembrandt‘s wife Saskia is buried in the Oude Kerk.
Discover the world‘s largest collection of works by Van Gogh: The exhibition follows the moving and tragic life of the painter from the Netherlands to his time in Paris and the South of France until his death in Auvers-sur-Oise. The highlights include the "Sunflowers" and "The bedroom".
The 48 hectare large park was created in 1877 as the first public park in Amsterdam and is named after the Renaissance poet Joost van den Vondel. A group of well-off citizens established an "Association for the Construction of a Park", as they wanted to create a green lung south of the canal ring in their new residential area. The park is home to a selection of restaurants and cafés, including the Blauwe Theehuis, Café Vertigo, and Groot Melkhuis. You can also find an open-air theatre and a rose garden with more than 70 types of roses in the park.
The cube houses are located in the Old Port and are one of the most spectacular creations of modern architecture in the Netherlands: the tilted cube-shaped stilt houses were designed by Piet Blom and built between 1982 and 1984. Its design represents a village within a city, where each house represents a tree and all the houses together a forest.
The oldest port of Rotterdam is the one kilometre long Konigshaven from 1873, which is located on the left bank of the Meuse. The Konigshaven is followed by the port area of Feijenoord with the inner harbour, the Spoorweghaven and the Maashaven; followed by the small ports of Charlois. The Nieuwe Maas flows directly through Rotterdam and it is the lifeline of the port city. The northern and southern parts of the city are connected by numerous bridges and tunnels, including the Erasmus Bridge, which opened in 1996.
In 1996, the new Erasmus Bridge was put into operation, which connects the district Kop van Zuid with the city centre. Thanks to its bright white and the asymmetric shape the new landmark of the city is very majestic. The bridge is nicknamed "The Swan". Under strong wind conditions, the steel cables of the bridge begin to swing and to vibrate. Some are even reminded of a harp then.
This art museum houses the art collection of FJO Boijmans and Daniel George Van Beuningen. It was expanded many times and with its bright, modern rooms it is one of the most important museums in the Netherlands. You can find a collection of European paintings from medieval to contemporary art: Rembrandt, Brueghel the Elder, van Gogh and Dalí are just a few, many great painters from different countries and epochs are displayed as well.
The Grote Kerk is located on the Grote Kerkplein and was built in the 15th century. The church stands on very marshy ground. Heavy oak beams were laid crosswise and deep in the ground and four-metrethick walls form the foundation. Nevertheless, the slight inclination of the 1.5-metre-wide church walls could still not be prevented. The church is a Protestant church in the style of Dutch Late Gothic with wide and high side aisles and a wooden and painted barrel vault.
The landmark of the city, the Imperial Castle, can be reached on a scenic route through the vineyards. Built around the year 1000, the facility was destroyed in the War of the Palatinate Succession. In the 19th century it was rebuilt according to old plans by a wealthy Berlin privy. From the castle, visitors can enjoy a fantastic view over the Moselle Valley. Maybe you will be able to see the falconer presenting aerial displays.
The "Enderttor" (Ender Gate) dating back to 1322 with remains of old town fortifications is an ideal starting point for a small walking tour of the old town. Narrow lanes lead to the market square with old gabled houses, the Baroque Town Hall (1739) and the market fountain. From there, take the stone steps to the "Klosterberg" with the former Capuchin monastery (1623), which today houses the town’s cultural centre.
The market square of Bernkastel is surrounded by up to 600-year-old half-timbered houses, including the Renaissance-style town hall and the enchanting "pointed house" with the upper floor overhanging the ground floor on three sides. In the middle of the square you can find the Saint-Michel fountain with the sword-wielding Archangel from the 17th century.
The Moselle Wine Museum was established in the former commercial buildings of the St. Nicholas Hospital. The Moselle region is the oldest wine region in Germany. The modern Multimedia Museum provides a comprehensive overview of the history of viticulture. In the Vinotheque, which is located in the vaulted cellar, you can taste some of the area’s representative wines during a wine tasting.
In 1465, Nicholas of Cusa founded a hospital in his home town for men in need from all walks of life. The powerful construction of the hospital is located in the Kues district. The founder himself supposedly remarked that he had built a "precious, costly construction", which cost him – according to himself – not less than 10,000 gold guilders. Today, the hospital is still in use as a stylish retirement home. The late Gothic complex consists of a cloister and a courtyard, around which residential buildings are grouped.
The basilica, Emperor Constantine‘s erstwhile throne room, is the largest surviving single-room structure from the Roman Empire and was built in 310. The Romans wanted the architecture to express the magnificence and might of the emperor. Today, the basilica is used as a Protestant church. In the early 17th century, the electors built their Electoral Palace directly next to the Basilica, and it is considered one of the most beautiful rococo palaces in the world. Today it houses a state authority.
The Sternstraße leads you directly from the Main Market to the westwork of Germany’s oldest bishop church. It is said that the devil was so irritated by the beauty of the cathedral, that he hurled a stone pillar to the ground. The broken column, the "Domstein", can still be admired in front of the main portal today. In 325, Constantine the Great built a church on the demolished walls of the palace for his mother Helena. From the 10th century on, the cathedral was structurally changed several times. It is connected to the gothic Church of Our Lady by a cloister.
The colonisation by the Order of the German Knights in 1216 at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers gives this place its name. A statue of the Emperor William I was erected here in 1897. In 1945, the statue was badly damaged by an American artillery shell, which blew the bronze horse and the Emperor from the base. Koblenz fought vigorously with itself whether the Emperor should be replaced and finally a replica was placed back on 2 September 1993, which has attracted visitors from all over the world. The German Corner was turned into a monument to German unity from 1953 until the reunification in 1990.
The mighty Ehrenbreitstein Fortress rises 118 metres above the Rhine, opposite the Old Town and the Moselle estuary. It emerged from the castle of the Lords of Helfenstein, which Elector Richard von Greiffenklau converted into a fortress. It was blown up in 1801. The present fortifications, much esteemed for their pure neoclassical architecture, were built by the Prussians between 1817 and 1828. From the fortress plateau, visitors can enjoy a magnificent view of the Old Town, the Rhine and the Moselle, as well as of the German Corner. The interior of the “Festung Ehrenbreitstein” (Ehrenbreitstein Fortress) houses a memorial to the German army, a youth hostel and the “Landesmuseum” (Koblenz State Museum).
The Romanesque Church of Our Lady (12th–15th century) features a Gothic choir and baroque tower and is located at the highest point of the Old Town. Its history goes back to a late antique hall of the reign of the Emperor Valerian (346–375). This basilica with five-axis pillars was built between 1170 and 1250. The new construction of the Gothic chancel had begun in 1404, while the baroque domed towers date back to 1693.
This park is known throughout the Netherlands thanks to a song by Frank Boeijen, a popular singer who was born in Nijmegen and still lives there. The park's biggest attraction is its 30-metre tall tower, also known as the "Kruittoren" ("Powder Tower"). It was built between 1425–1426 as the first part of the city walls, and at one time gunpowder was stored in it. Today the tower is topped by a 16-cornered wooden cover and is used as an art studio. On the lower floor is "Grandma's Kitchen Museum". The park also includes a deer garden and an aviary
In the Netherlands there is naturally a museum dedicated to the bicycle – and it is located in Nijmegen. The Nationaal Fietsmuseum Velorama is also incidentally the largest bicycle museum in Western Europe. The museum opened its doors in 1981 on the Waalkade, and was initially a private collection of old and new bicycles belonging to its founder, G. J. Moed. In the spring of 1998, the museum building was rebuilt, thus creating more space for the collection.
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