Art & Architecture Trip - Day 30

Today was one of the more interesting days I have had in several days. We went to Bonn and the Drachenfels - and played Football again. At 1100, we left the Johland's house and drove towards Bonn. Our first stop was at the Doppelkirchen of Rheinland - a church built at the time of Charlemagne across the river from Bonn. This church has been reconstructed and repaired to its original form - the inside has paintings from the 1100s. The church has two levels: one (top) for the Emperor and one (bottom) for the altar and other people. The king could see from his seat on the top floor through a hole in the floor that was lined up so he could see the priest (and nobody else). The building was mostly closed - only the bottom was open for a tour. From the Doppelkirchen, we drove south to the Drachenfels. It is a fortress built above the Rhein on the legendary site of Siegfried's battle with the Dragon. The terrain reminded me of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia - and we took a train to the top of the high mountains overlooking Bonn that was like the Cass Scenic Railway. The castle is quite high up - it must have been an almost impregnable fortress in the Middle Ages! Nearby, there was a quarry that provided most of the stones for the Kolner Dom (cathedral). We then went down to the bottom of the mountain again and drove to a ferry for a ride across the Rhein. It was very scenic. Had late lunch (spaghetti!). We entered Bonn from the suburbs and then went into the town center, where the Munster and Beethoven's birthplace were. The Munster is one of the oldest churches in Germany: the first signs of Christianity ("Cassius and Flutunivitus" ?) were from the late Third Century (that's the 200s - I've found a truly old church!). Inside, there was a lot of beautiful decoration - most of it original. We went from there to Beethoven's birthplace, stopping at a Roccoco townhouse nearby. In Beethoven's house, there was an extensive collection of music and personal items. He lived there for 22 years. Right after this, we drove home. Stephan told me that we just missed an anti-American demonstration about two blocks from Beethoven's house... We arrived home at 1830 and had pizza for supper (yeah!). Stephan and I went over to play soccer later - I had three more goals! I feel like I am truly accepted here - and the other guys wanted to talk to me about the USA other other interesting topics after we stopped playing. We didn't go home until 0030 and I went to bed at 0100.