Traveling to Bamberg by Train

I was invited by my blogging friend Ces, the publisher of the PILYA blog magazine (a Filipino German magazine), to attend the Asian German Association Christmas party, whom she is a member. It was an honor for me to get invited and so I said yes and booked the train ticket to Bamberg Hauptbahnhof (Central station). It was my first travel to Bamberg, and so I was so excited. 

Frescos of the old Town Hall / Altes Rathaus in Bamberg.

It was a 6 hours travel by train and I had to change the train twice. From the city I started my train ride, I had to change my train in Duisburg and in Würzburg stations. It was easy peasy for me as a wife of a railway civil servant but due to late train arrivals, I went on the ICE/Intercity train in Duisburg which was going to Düsseldorf airport instead of going to Würzburg. It was late when I noticed it. The train to Düsseldorf airport and the train to Würzburg were in the same railway track, where my train was behind the train to Düsseldorf airport. Confusing! 

The German train to Bamberg.

I was already in stress but gladfully the friendly train stewardess had kindly told me to go out from the Düsseldorf train and from there, I had to go to the train going to Munich (it stops in Würzburg), which was on the farthest railway track in the station. She was kind enough to write something on my ticket so that I didn´t have to pay the extra pay for riding on another ICE train. It was confusing for all the people as I was not alone having that problem. 

From then on, I was careful not to miss my trains and I arrived well in Bamberg Hbf (central station). Seeing Ces, I was delighted. We have not seen for more than 2 years.
I was lucky. I reached Bamberg station on time. I hate to be late. Since Friday the 8th until Sunday the 10th, the ICE trains were late, some were canceled and the travelers were all confused and in a panic not to reach their destinations. 

Bamberg, the "Little Venice" in Germany.

Bamberg is an old historical town in the Upper part of Franconia, in the North of Bavaria. It is surrounded by the stunning countrysides and it stands on the seven hills. The old buildings are very unique, in baroque and in medieval designs. Since 1993, it is a UNESCO World Heritage. Bamberg is also called the "Little Venice" In Germany.



Below are the photos of Bamberg. Enjoy! Maybe one day you will come and visit Bamberg.

Strolling at the city of Bamberg.

The strong water current of Bamberg Regnitz river.

The awesome view of Bamberg historical old city.

The Crucifixion sculptures in Bamberg city.

The Crucifixion sculptures in Bamberg city.

Igor Mitoraj Centurione Statue in Bamberg.

View on the other side of the Altes Rathaus / Old Town Hall, Bamberg.

Frescos on the wall of Bamberg Altes Rathaus / Old Town Hall.

I hope you like the photos. Sightseeing in the old city of Bamberg with my friend and her family for a few hours was awesome. The beauty of the city was not comparable to Venice for me because the smell of Bamberg was fresh and breathtaking. Yes, it looked like I was in Venice because of the stunning view of the Regnitz river with its unique Baroque architecture and designs of the houses around this river but Bamberg is more than that.

Christmas Market in Bamberg. Photo was taken by Ces.

Me at the Christmas Market. Photo was taken by Ces.

Like many other cities in Germany, Bamberg has its own Weihnachtsmarkt / Christmas Market. It was one of the beautiful Christmas markets that I have seen in my life. There were lots of Christmas decorations for sale like Christmas tinsels, garlands, stars, lantern, candles in different shapes and colors, gingerbread houses, cookies, chocolates, mulled wine and many more.

Me and the President of the Asian German Association in Bavaria, Germany

It was a very long day travel to Bamberg. The final event of that weekend was the Christmas party of the Asian German Association. It was a wonderful event full of fun, eating and dancing. I am glad I went to Bamberg. I am sure it was not the last time I was there. I still have a lot of places to see like the churches and museums. 

My travel back home was not as smooth as the travel to Bamberg. The ICE train was not fast as it used to be because of the bad weather. From Würzburg on, the snow started to fall down. There were many people who missed their trains as we arrived late to our destination. Some trains were canceled. I arrived home safe but it was so cold and the snow was thick. The view was like a winter wonderland.

Thank you very much for reading. Thank you Ces and Georg for your hospitality. I enjoyed our weekend together. Until then. Ciao!

Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved by Thelma Alberts

Feierabend Market in Wesel

Last Thursday, October 19, was the last Feierabend  (after work) Market in Wesel. It started at 4 in the afternoon until 8 in the evening as what was stated in the event schedule of Wesel.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and so I was motivated to see the Feierabend Market, which was an Open Market, in the Great Market of Wesel. I thought, maybe there were a lot of stalls selling flowers, clothes, bread, sausages, meat and fruits. I thought there would be a lot of people strolling at the Feierabend Market which was located in front of the Willibrordi Dom (Willibrordi cathedral), but it was not the case.

Dried and roasted fruits like raisins, bananas, walnuts, coconuts, etc.....

When I arrived in the Feierabend Market, there were not a lot of people strolling and buying goods. Maybe I was so early. Maybe there were people coming there when I left before 5 p.m. People who visited the event later after their work.

Ginger root candies, spicy.

Anyway, in the Feierabend Market, there were stalls with flowers, bread, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and candies. What I was interested of was the stall which sold roasted and chocolate coated peanuts, walnuts, dried pineapples, dried bananas, dried dates and many more. I bought 200grams of those ginger root candies as I knew they were good to my throat especially now that the winter is coming.

Sugar coated peanuts, dried bananas, dried peaches, dried apples, ginger root candies, etc...

There were many beautiful flowers and different herbs sold in one of the stalls. I could have bought some of the herbs but I still have them at home.

Have you visited an open market in your place? What goods are they selling?

Flowers sold at the Feierabend Market.

Thanks for dropping by. Please feel free to like, comment, pin, tweet and share this blog on your social media site.

Here are some links about Germany.

https://hubpages.com/holidays/PPP-Townfest-In-Wesel-Germany

https://hubpages.com/travel/Fascinating-Places-To-Visit-In-Cologne-Germany

https://hubpages.com/travel/Fraueninsel-Sightseeing-Tour

Copyright 2017 by Thelma Alberts, All Rights Reserved

Views From Willibrordi Cathedral

Have you climbed a cathedral and saw the beauty of the surroundings?

Willibrordi Cathedral view from the Great Market place

Last August 6, I climbed the Willibrordi Cathedral in Wesel, North Rhine Westphalia here in my adopted country, Germany. The Gothic Basilica is I think one of the oldest cathedrals in NRW (North Rhine Westphalia). It has 5 naves which were built between 1501 to 1540 and a tower which was built between 1477 to 1478 (Source Wikipedia). It has 50 tombstones which were fixed to the walls.

Willibrordi Cathedral Organ

The day I climbed the Willibrordi Cathedral was a PPP (Pauken Plunder and Promenade)  Townfest weekend in Wesel. The cathedral was opened to the public for climbing up to the viewing top of it. There were  Tombola tickets sold if anyone wanted to win a lottery. I bought 2 before I climbed the stairs but didn´t win. There was a paper pinned on the door stated that there were 216 steps in going to the viewing platform. (It was corrected by a friend later that there were actually 217 steps.) 

Inside Wilibrordi Cathedral

There were not many people climbing the stairs at that time and I was glad because the stairs were so steep, narrow and curvy. Often times though, I had to stop to let people who came from the viewing platform passed by so they were able to go down the stairs. I also stopped to take photos of the church bell below me. I was surprised at myself as I was not losing my breath when climbing. I was fitter this time than the first time I have climbed the viewing platform 10 years ago.

The steep, narrow and curvy stairs of  Willibrordi Cathedral.

Willibrordi Cathedral Bells

Arriving at the hall of the viewing platform, I rested on a bank and prepared my video camera and smartphone for my task. I didn´t know how high the cathedral was but it was a stunning view of the Rhine river that caught my eyes. There was a Fleamarket at that time and I saw thousands of people strolling like ants, parading before my eyes while I pinned my eyes on the lens of the camera I was holding.

View from the Willibrordi Cathedral viewing platform. The Rhine River and Rhein Promenade.

View from the Willibrordi Cathedral viewing platform.

Views From Viewing Platform of Wilibrordi Cathedral

1. The Rhine River
2. The Rhine Bridge (Rheinbrücke)
3. Großermarkt / Great Market at the cathedral
4. "Langer Heinrich", the TV Tower in Wesel
5.  Old Waterworks 
6. Wesel City
7. Buildings, houses and apartments

The Rheinbrücke / Rhine Bridge view from Willibrordi Cathedral viewing platform.

My visit to the Willibrordi Cathedral was a memorable one.I didn´t have to travel far to see those amazing views. Thanks for reading my travel blog. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos. Maybe you can visit this place one day. God bless!

The small park at the Willibrordi Cathedral.

BTW, the famous resident of Wesel was Peter Minuit, who bought Manhattan from the native Indian American.

If you are interested to read my articles, please check this link on Hubpages.

View of the Rhine River from Willibrordi Cathedral viewing platform.

Copyright 2017 by Thelma Alberts, All Rights Reserved

Fragrant Roses I Passes By

Wow! Another month has passed by. Again! Time flies really so fast and it is July. Happy 4th of July to my American blogging friends. Is there still another country which celebrates the 4th of July? I hope you have a great day watching the parade, fireworks and other events.

Well, here where I am is just another usual day for me. It is summer but the weather is not as warm as last year. Anyway, it is just the beginning of summer and maybe in the next few days and weeks, the sun will be bright again.

The fragrant roses I passes by every time I go to the city.

Do you love walking? Well, I do. I stroll to the city (which is only 15 minutes walk for me) when the sun is inviting. I walk as I love to stop every now and then and smell the fragrants of the roses I always passes by. They smell like the perfume I used to buy. The smell is soothing to my mind when I inhale every fragrant roses. Nobody owns these roses (except the city government) which are located nearby the train station where I live. 

Isn't it gorgeous? 

The next day this pink rose was gone. Each petals were blown away by the breeze of the strong wind that came that night before. Some of the roses were still there. Happy to have successfully survived the calamity of their lives.

Another roses blossoms.

Sometimes, life is like a piece of a rose. Bad things in life come and go just in the time we have not expected. But those bad things make us stronger than we really are.

The beauty of the roses is stunning.

Can you sometimes compare your life to a rose? Not because of its beauty but because of the changes that they endure during the change of the season. The harder they suffer the winter, the prettier they become in spring and summer. The more they are taken care of by the owner, the more they give flowers. They dance and sway when the breeze of the wind comes. That is the time the roses are happy.

See how the roses grow so wild.

Thank you very much for taking the time reading my blog. Feel free to comment and share this blog to your social media sites.

If you want to read more of my writings, please click on Hubpages, my cooking site and of course my tropical garden blog. Thanks again. God bless us all!

Copyright 2017 by Thelma Alberts, All Rights Reserved

Christmas in Germany

Christmas in Germany is great! You know why? Because it is one of the solemn celebration that I  have experienced.  I usually heard that Christmas is a very stressful season of the year. Well, not for me. I think it all depends on you how you organize your Christmas shopping and celebration. Having only a few members of my family, it is okay celebrating Christmas without a hassle.

ADVENT TIME

Christmas in Germany starts on the 1st Advent. This 1st Advent is the 4th Sunday before the Christmas  Eve and it usually falls on the last Sunday of November. Before the 1st Advent , most Germans have cleaned and  decorated their windows and inside their houses. They have started buying what is on their shopping lists like buying gifts  and ingredients for baking cookies and other German goodies. They make gingerbread houses too with their kids. Either they make this from a gingerbread house kit they have bought in a package from a supermarket or they will bake the gingerbread building by themselves. Of course there are ready made gingerbread houses sold in the German bakeries. The choice is ours.

CHRISTMAS BAKING

Yes, Germans are fond of baking their own cookies if they have time at home. They bake with their children and have already the spirit of Christmas. Baking with their children is a good opportunity to bond with their  kids and then they would spend the time eating their vanilla cookies, Spekulatius, Lebkuchen in the living room with the 1st Advent candle of the Advent wreath lighted.

There are still  a few days before the Christmas Eve. Enjoy preparing for this fun season and enjoy your Advents first. Thanks for reading.

Here are some Christmas links for you to check:

1. How to make gingerbread houses 

2. German Christmas Pyramid

3. My Christmas in Germany

4. Christmas with kids

5. DIY Magazine Christmas Tree

  Copyright 2016 by Thelma Alberts, All Rights Reserved

25th Reunification Day

The Remnants of Berlin Wall, Germany

Today, October 3 is the 25th Reunification Day, Tag der Deutschen Einheit, between the East and the West of Germany. Around 100 thousands of people celebrated the 25th Reunification Anniversary in Frankfurt. 

How fast was the time. I can still remember in the 80´s when a German was shot by a soldier at the eastern side of the Berlin Wall  trying to jump over to the west. How horrible was that for me watching in front of the TV, gobsmocked by the tragic event. 

I can still remember the day when the German people celebrated the opening / fall of the Berlin Wall. When the East and West Germans were jumping up and down, danced on the streets, rejoiced for that wonderful event. People were crying, hugging each other and some were climbing on top of the Berlin Wall, some were scratching  some pieces of the wall and demonstrating the freedom they have on that day on. It was a very weird feelings for me as an outsider living in Germany.

Reunited for 25 years, there´s no more East and West Germans. Freedom for all the Eastern Germans to go when and wherever they want to. No more boundaries except in the mind of other Germans. Plenty of things have changed, for the good and for the bad of the country but it is not for me to complain. Germany is still the best country I have moved to.

A month ago, I went to Berlin and have visited the remnants of the Berlin Wall. It´s not much left but the one that still there is painted with graffiti art. For me, some look good. I think it´s the matter of taste. The short video below was taken by me last Aug. 29, 2015.

                                              Thellys Travel Videos & More

A part of the Berlin Wall, Germany

Thank you very much for reading. Feel free to share to any social media sites you have and to comment on this post. Have a nice week to all. 


Copyright 2015 © Thelma Alberts, All Rights Reserved