Travel Divil: Moving to Germany.

Germany - why did I wait so long?

Germany was a country on my 'to do' list for many years. It was no more than a few hours away by plane but the opportunity just hadn't happened until now.
That all changed in the Autumn of 2014 when following several wonderful house/pet sitting in Ireland I spotted an opportunity to spend 3 months in the beautiful Mosel region of Germany. I applied not knowing what to expect as the couple had many applicants, but following a chat on Skype I was invited - happy days!!

The Big Move

I was already planning on moving out of my house, but with Christmas looming things got quite hectic! Finally on 10th January I set off in my trusty Peugeot and got the ferry from Dublin Port. The ferry crossing was 20 hours and with a fairly stormy sea we rocked and rolled our way to Cherbourg. Now it was just the three of us - me, my trusty 207 and Gertie the GPS....
After a short stop in Bayeux the first night was spent in the small town of Dreux. The next day a steady pace took us to Luxembourg. A good meal, sleep and early start took us to our destination at Liersburg a small village ten minutes from the Roman town of Trier.

A Very Special Welcome in Germany

My hosts were incredible and made me feel like quite the VIP. They showed me around the area and where I could find all my essentials. They even took me on a tour of the city and introduced me to their friends and family. The first month was spent familiarising myself with getting around and visiting different places. I felt quite at home already....

Cologne, Koblenz and Frankfurt

An interesting opportunity arose when a very good friend of mine from New York decided she would like to trace her German roots. The road network in Germany is excellent and well signposted so navigating is not too difficult. I took the road to meet her in Mainz which has quite an interesting Roman history and is just a half hour away from Frankfurt. To the east of Mainz, Frankfurt is more of a business city but also contains some very nice architecture.

Tracing German Roots

We found the town of Florsheim not far from Frankfurt and spent a relaxing afternoon in the village exploring it. We found the house where my friend's great grandfather had set off for the United States as a 17 year old boy in the 1870's which was quite an emotional experience.

The carnival of Cologne (Koln) was taking place so off we went for a weekend to see the traditional party antics of hundreds of people dressed up in the weirdest and most wonderful of costumes. Stepping out of the large train station of Cologne to face the magnificence of the world famous Gothic Cologne Cathedral is truly a memorable sight. Cologne has a really cool party atmosphere

On to Koblenz where it is possible to view both the Moselle and Rhine Rivers at the same time. This beautiful 2000 year old city is the meeting point for these mighty rivers and is nicknamed Germany's most beautiful corner.On the way back was a stop at the picturesque Cochem with its pretty medieval buildings.

Traben Trarbach was also on our list and we spent a lovely afternoon in the picturesque town. Unfortunately after making the drive to see the huge Buddhist Museum it was closed. I made a mental note to research better next time!

Trier's Roman remains are very well preserved and it holds the title of Germany's oldest city.