Bad Münstereifel
I tweeted a picture during our morning in Bad Münstereifel, commenting that clearly we were homesick already for Beijing because we had to seek out a walled town in Germany.
More after the jump
This fairly well preserved Medieval town was the perfect destination for the kids and me. Myles loved studying the walls and towers. We walked around the outside, in what was once the moat but is today a nice path. Myles stopped at least once to sketch one of the round towers.
Inside the walls the town streets were full of postcard-perfect half-timbered houses. One of the taxi drivers that ferried us between the two German towns mentioned that he was a lifelong resident of Bad Münstereifel. The home in which he grew up and still inhabited was over 400 years old.
Because of time constraints and our not having a map, we did not get to see the largest church, one that had been built by Benedictines and referred to as the Collegiate Church. We did get to see a recently restored Jesuit Church, St. Donatus, which was built around 1660.
It was, of course, beautiful inside.
Myles could have spent all day in this town. Walls, churches, and a dozen or so little stone bridges crossing the stream could have occupied him for a very long time. We had to get back to Euskirchen before noon to check out of our hotel and meet up with Randy when he was done with his meeting. We wanted to get to Köln that evening.
One more thing worth mentioning for later, was that here was our first encounter with John of Nepomuk on our trip. We would bump into his likeness, and possibly him, a few more times in the next couple of weeks.
More after the jump
This fairly well preserved Medieval town was the perfect destination for the kids and me. Myles loved studying the walls and towers. We walked around the outside, in what was once the moat but is today a nice path. Myles stopped at least once to sketch one of the round towers.
Inside the walls the town streets were full of postcard-perfect half-timbered houses. One of the taxi drivers that ferried us between the two German towns mentioned that he was a lifelong resident of Bad Münstereifel. The home in which he grew up and still inhabited was over 400 years old.
Because of time constraints and our not having a map, we did not get to see the largest church, one that had been built by Benedictines and referred to as the Collegiate Church. We did get to see a recently restored Jesuit Church, St. Donatus, which was built around 1660.
It was, of course, beautiful inside.
Myles could have spent all day in this town. Walls, churches, and a dozen or so little stone bridges crossing the stream could have occupied him for a very long time. We had to get back to Euskirchen before noon to check out of our hotel and meet up with Randy when he was done with his meeting. We wanted to get to Köln that evening.
One more thing worth mentioning for later, was that here was our first encounter with John of Nepomuk on our trip. We would bump into his likeness, and possibly him, a few more times in the next couple of weeks.
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