Düsseldorf
In may 2023 I returned to Germany by train to continue my journey. The next stage will lead me from Düsseldorf to Heidelberg. Paddy covered part of the route in a barge. As a result, he only saw the stretch from Cologne to Coblenz from the water. I decided to cycle all the way, also to be able to visit intermediate cities such as Bonn.
Photo left: Königsallee in Düsseldorf.
"After a first faraway glimpse, the two famous steeples grew taller and taller as the miles that seperated us fell away."
Photo on the right: the towers of Cologne Cathedral can still be seen from a great distance.
Cologne
Photo on the left: the Cologne Cathedral and the railway bridge Hohenzollernbrücke (1911) .
The oldest parts of the cathedral were built in the 13th century. Towards the end of the 15th century, the construction of the Cathedral slowly came to a standstill. This was partly because fewer pilgrims came to Cologne. In 1814 the original 13th century building plans were recovered and the enthusiasm to complete the church grew. It was not until 1880 that the construction was completed with the finishing of the two towers (157 m high).
Paddy finds a barge with which he travels from Cologne to Coblenz. He had already met two members of the crew a few days earlier in one of the many sailors' bars on the quays in Cologne.
"The gables of the Rhine-quays were gliding past and, as we gathered speed and sailed under one of the spans of the first bridge, the lamps of Cologne all went on simultaneously. In a flash the fading city soared out of the dark and expanded in a geometrical infinity of electric bulbs."
I decided to cover the route that Patrick embarked by bicycle. That's why I also passed through Bonn, the birthplace of Ludwig von Beethoven, where I paid a short visit to the city center.
Photo above on the left: birthplace of Ludwig von Beethoven (Bonngasse 20 Bonn, 1770).
Photo above on the right: Postamt (post office) in Bonn with a statue of Ludwig von Beethoven.
"The country sped downstream at a great pace and the Siebengebirge and the Siegfried-haunted Drachenfels began to climb into the sparkling morning and the saw-teeth of their peaks shed alternate spokes of shadow and sunlight across the water."
Photo on the right: Siebengebirge.
Photo below on the left: Drachenfels.
Photo below on the right: Schloss Drachenburg.
Contrary to what the name suggests, the Siebengebirge consists of approximately 40 hills and mountains. High on one of these rocks above the Rhine valley near Königswinter lies the ruin of the Drachenfels. The Drachenfels is considered the most climbed mountain in Germany. Since many Dutch people also came there, especially in the years 1950-1970, it is also mockingly referred to as the highest mountain in Holland.
According to the Siegfried legend that Patrick mentioned, Drachenfels Rock was home to a dragon which was kept at bay with daily human sacrifices. A knight named Siegfried killed the dragon in his cave to free the citizens of the neighboring town of Königswinter. To become invulnerable, he took a bath in the dragon's blood. However, like the Greek legend of Achilles, he was missing a spot on his back that would later lead to his downfall.
"The walled town of Andernach was bearing down on us. The engineer snored in his bunk, Peter was smoking at the tiller and I lolled in the sun on the cabin roof while Uli sent flourishes and grace-notes cascading from his mouth-organ."
Andernach
Photos below: the city of Andernach.
Coblenz
"Two or three bridges and half-a-dozen castles later, after a final hour or soof snow-covered slopes, we were losing speed under the lee of the Ehrenbreitstein. This colossal and extremely business-like modern fort was a cliff of masonry bristling with casemates and slotted with gun-embrasures. The town of Coblenz rose from the other shore with a noble sweep." ... "The whole manoevre was for my sake as the others had to hasten on. [...] When we were going slow enough, and close enough to the embankment, I jumped ashore."
Photos below: The 19th century fortress of Ehrenbreitstein.
"A point like a flat-iron jutted into the river and a plinth on its tip lifted a colossal bronze statue of Kaiser Willhelm I many yards into the air among the sparrows and the gulls."
Photos below: the equestrian statue of Wilhelm I in Coblenz.
At the place where the statue of Wilhelm I stands, the two rivers Rhine and Moselle meet. This location in Coblenz is called 'Deutsches Eck'. The statue is impressive with its 14 meters height. The current statue is not the one Patrick saw. The Americans shot the original one into pieces during the last days of WW II. In 1993 the statue was re-erected at its original site at Deutsches Eck.
"Two great rivers, rushing blind down their converging canyons, collide under the tip of the flat-iron and the tangled flux of the current ruffles and dwindles downstream till the Rhine's great silted volume subdues the clearer flow of the newcomer. The Moselle!"
Photo above: even today you can still see the difference in clarity can be seen between the waters of the Moselle (left) and the Rhine where they meet at the Deutsche Eck.
About Coblenz, Paddy says that one of the changes he observes compared to the German villages and towns he previously visited is that the wine cellars had taken the place of beerhalls.
Photo on the left: one of the many 'Weinstubes' in Coblenz.
"it was under a mesh of Christmas decorations that I was sucked into the Liebenfrauenkirche next day"
The Liebenfrauenkirche is located at the highest point of the Old Town. The Liebfrauenkirche was the main parish church of Coblenz from the late Middle Ages until the French Revolution. The Liebfrauenkirche is considered a highlight of medieval church architecture in Germany.
During the heaviest air raids on Coblenz on November 6, 1944, the church was heavily damaged. The church burned down, but the vaults and walls remained intact. The reconstruction of the church started from 1950 and lasted until 1955.
Photo on the right: Liebenfrauenkirche Coblenz.
"Coblenz and its great fortress dropped behind and the mountains took another pace forward."
Photo below: last view of Coblenz with the large fortress of Ehrenbreitstein on the other bank on the right.
"At Stolzenfels, where I stopped for something to eat, a neo-Gothic keep climbed into the sky on a staircase of vineyards.."
This once ruined fortress from the 13th century, Stolzenfels was gifted to the Prussian Crownprince Frederick William in 1823 and turned into a palace of great beauty. It is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Photo on the left: Stolzenfels Castle on top of the slope.
"Soon after dark, I halted at Boppard. It was lodged a little way up the mountainside so that next morning a fresh length of the river uncoiled southward while the Sunday morning bells were answering our own chimes upstream and down."
Photo below: Boppard.
"A huge answering buttress loomed on the other bank and on its summit, helped by the innkeeper's explanation, I could discern the semblance of the Lorelei who gave the rock it's name."
The Loreley or Lorelei is a 132 meter high rock along the right bank of the Rhine near Sankt Goarshausen. At this point the river makes a sharp turn, creating a strong current, hence the many shipping accidents here. Atop the Loreley is said to be a golden-haired nymph who distracts the boatmen with her song.
Photos below: The Loreley in Sankt Goarshausen and the sharp bend of the Rhine to the east.
"[...]. A few of these eyots were sockets for towers which could bar the river by slinging chains to either bank and holdiong up ships for toll or loot or ransom. Dark tales abound."
Close to the Loreley lies Burg Pfalzgrafenstein on an island in the Rhine. This castle was used from the beginning of the 14th century to levy tolls on the Rhine, a lucrative occupation for the counts of the Pfalz in those days.
Photo on the left: Burg Pfalzgrafenstein.
Bingen am Rhein
"The siren of a barge unloosed a long echo; and the road, scanned by brief halts, brought me into Bingen at dusk. The only customer, I unslung my rucksack in a little Gasthof."
Photos below: Bingen am Rhein.
"I crossed the river to Rüdesheim, drank a glass of Hock under the famous vineyard and pushed on."
Photo on the right: Rüdesheim am Rhein, seen from Bingen.
"... the same vapours of oblivion have coiled upstream, enveloping Oppenheim, Worms, and Mannheim on their way. I spent a night in each of them and only a few scattered fragments remain: a tower or two, a row of gargoyles, some bridges and pinnacles and buttresses and the perspective of an arcade dwindling into the shadows. There is a statue of Luther that can only belong to Worms; but there are cloisters as well and the blackletter pages of a Gutenberg Bible, a Picture of St Boniface and a twirl of Jesuit columns."
Paddy's description of this part of his journey gets a bit foggy. I found a few parts of his memories of this stretch in the cities of Oppenheim, Worms and Mannheim.
Photos above and on the left: gargoyles on the Catherina church in Oppenheim Gargoyles are often sinister representations of devils or monsters that serve as rainwater drains. This is important to prevent rainwater from flowing down the facade.
Worms
"There is a statue of Luther that can only belong to Worms.."
The statue that Patrick saw is that of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther in the centre of Worms. It was designed in 1868. Luther expressed his protest against the Catholic Church in 95 theses which he nailed to the door of the church in Wittenberg. In 1521 Luther was asked to come to parliament in Worms. He was asked to withdraw his positions, which he refused. In response, Charles V issued the Edict of Worms, banning Luther from power.
".. a picture of St Boniface.."
There are several church buildings referring to St Boniface in the area of Worms and Mannheim. The most important is the baroque St. Bonifatius Church in Worms Abenheim (photo on the left).
Paddy has a memory of 'a row of gargoyles'. As discussed above, there are, among others, gargoyles in the Catherina Church in Oppenheim. Worms Cathedral however has an impressive row of gargoyles, it is likely that this is what he remembered.
Photo below: Detail of the row of gargoyles at Worms Cathedral.
Paddy also mentions 'a twirl of Jesuit columns'. This may be a reminder of a visit to the beautiful Jesuit church (photo below) in Mannheim that was built between 1733 and 1760. During the Second World War, the church suffered severe damage from air attacks. After the war it was rebuilt in its historical style using original parts.
Ludwigshafen and Mannheim
"The cloud lifts at last in the middle of the Ludwigshafen-Mannheim bridge."
The original bridge between Ludwigshafen and Mannheim was blown up by the German Wehrmacht on March 20, 1945 during World War II. The bridge was rebuilt in the 1950s and named Konrad-Adenauer-Bridge in 1967.
Photo below: Konrad-Adenauer-Bridge between Ludwigshafen (left) and Mannheim.
'On the far side of the bridge I abandoned the Rhine for its tributary and after a few miles alongside the Neckar the steep lights of Heidelberg assembled'.
Photo on the left: along the Neckar between Mannheim and Heidelberg.
Heidelberg
'It was dark by the time I climbed the main street and soon softly-lit panes of coloured glass, under the hanging sign of a Red Qx, were beckoning me indoors. With freezing cheeks and hair caked with snow, I clumped into an entrancing haven of oak beams and carvingand alcoves and changing floor levels.'
Paddy arrived at the Red Ox the day before New Year's Eve (December 30, 1933). He was warmly received by the owners, Herr and Frau Spengel, who invited him to be their guest. In the few days he spent there, Patrick becomes friends with the son of the owner, Fritz Spengel. It's very special that the Spengel family still run the Red Ox today. The building dates from 1703 and the family has owned it for over 180 years.
Photo below: The Karl Theodor Bridge over the Neckar.
Photo below on the right: Signboard of the Red Ox, Hauptstraße 217 in Heidelberg.
"I pestered Fritz Spengel, the son of my hosts, with questions about student life: songs, drinking ritual, and above all, duelling, which wasn't duelling at all off course, but tribal scarification".
The Red Ox ('Zum Roten Ochsen') is a symbol of college life in old Heidelberg that functioned as the headquarters of the Franconia student league. There is still a large amount of paraphernalia on the walls that remind of the rich history of this remarkable inn. Besides the beer steins, horns and signatures carved all over the wooden furniture, there are countless drawings, sketches and paintings. Some of them are reminiscent of student life, such as the sketches on which duels are fought. Patrick himself can also be found on one of the sketches on the walls of the Red Ox.
Photos below: the interior of the Red Ox has hardly changed since Paddy walked here in the 1930s. Heidelberg had been spared by the Allies, except for a bridge.
Photo below on the left: the traditional, strictly regulated fights between members of different fraternities of student life in Heidelberg.
Photo below on the right: picture of Patrick Leigh fermor in the Red Ox.
"That afternoon, with Fritz and a friend, I climbed through the woods to look at the ruïns of the palace that overhangs the town".
The medieval castle of Heidelberg is built of red Neckartäler sandstone and rises eighty meters above the Neckar valley. The first parts of the castle date from around 1300 and became the residence for most of the Prince Electors. Most of the castle was destroyed by lightning in 1764 leaving it permanently uninhabitable. In those days many citizens of Heidelberg used the castle stones to build new houses.
Photo below on the left: at the top Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle) as seen from the Hauptstraße.
Photo below on the right: Clock Tower of the Heidelberg Castle
"'Guess what this gate is called!' Fritz said, slapping a red column. 'The Elizabeth, or English Gate! Named after the English princess.' Of course! I was there at last! The Winter Queen!"
Frederick V of the Palatinate is known as the Winter King, because he was king of Bohemia for only one winter, from 1619 to 1620. His wife was the daughter of the king of England: Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen. The Bohemian army lost the battle on the White Mountain near Prague (1620), forcing Frederick and Elizabeth to flee and eventually go into exile in The Hague.
It is said that Frederick built this gate for Elizabeth as a birthday gift and is said to have been built in a single night. The stone foliage hides many animals, such as frogs, lizards and squirrels.
Photos on the left and below: the Elizabeth Gate in Heidelberg.
