August 11, 2017
Koln. Monschau. Munster. And the Rhine.
I had never spent more than two or three days in a row with my dad. When I go to Washington to visit family, my dad has always had time divided between him and my +20 other relatives.
Lucky for me I got to spend eight days with my dad on his first ever overseas trip at the end of June.
While his initial flight was missed (for reasons some of you know..) and we lost a day of exploration, nothing was going to stop us from maximizing our time together.
Amsterdam
To kick things off..
I met my dad and grandma in the Central Station in Amsterdam. Here we booked a quaint Airbnb in a part of the city known as ‘New Amsterdam’.
The apartment was a modern structure that had floor to ceiling windows that allowed for us to take advantage of our waterfront view. A lovely woman named Greta welcomed us with an inviting smile and fresh cups of coffee. She must have known this is one of the many keys to my heart.
Tiny facts about Greta: She dresses in vibrant colors to reflect her radiant personality. She shares my love for journalism and can speak 6 languages. She has bookshelves full of cookbooks, memoirs and others of a wide variety. Long story short, you should stay at her place if you get a chance.
Within bike riding distance my dad and I cruised around a hipster-esc beachfront where windsurfers are countless and the bars are laid back.
Onto inside the city.
My recommendation, along with several of my friends who would claim the same, is to take a boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam. Pop in some headphones for fun facts and a brief history overview or simply enjoy the architectural richness. Either way it’s well worth the 16 euros!
For art fanatics, the Van Gough museum is a utopia of paintings worth staring at for at least five minutes each. Not only are there displays of some of Van Gough’s most noted pieces (not starry night, that’s in NYC right now), but also paintings by some of his closest confidents and others who were inspired by the same techniques as he was.
The audio set goes into detail about the widely know story of him cutting off his ear. Gory!
And no I did not get to go to the Anne Frank house. In the peak season of May-August it is necessary to get a ticket more than a month in advance or else it should be expected to wait in line for ages to go in, which my grandma’s poor feet were not going to hold out for.
Instead, we went just 20 minutes by train outside of the city to Harlem to go inside an apartment that was used as a meeting point and hiding house in the war. The Corrie ten Boom house and it’s owners helped save over 800 Jewish people from encampment. Just like the Frank house, there still stands the false wall that served as a hiding place for people whenever Nazis raided the home to remove Jews and those who were a part of the resistance. So, if the Anne Frank house isn’t possible to attend, the Corrie house is just as worthy of a visit.
Germany
Koln
After a minor feud fueled by a lack of communication and the insertion of the wrong address in the navigation, we made it to our accommodation in Köln.
Tucked away in a suburb just 10 minutes from the notable Köln Cathedral, you can find our Airbnb. The construction work may have woken us in the early mornings each day but the workers were kind. I say this because one morning my dad sneezed at an obnoxious volume.. and one of the men on site near by hollered, “GESUNDHEIT!” It gave us all a good laugh to start the day.
I highly suggest spending the first day in the city checking out the cathedral, enjoying street entertainment along the Rhine River, and testing out some local cuisine.
This bacon sauerkraut was mouthwatering
It allows you to dip your toes in the German culture while still getting the touristy tasks out of the way.
Oh and definitely try to make a point to head back to the cathedral after dark to see this medieval majesty lit up from every angle. It is incomparable.
On our second day we booked tickets for a boat cruise down the Rhine for the following day. Just to save others the havoc it caused amongst my family, I suggest booking things like this days, weeks, NO months in advance.
Monschau
To recover from the chaos of the start to the day, we made our way to a town about 45 minutes from Koln called Monschau.
Initially the place seemed like a ghost town lost at the bottom of a canyon.
the best espresso
Killer ice cream
But after walking a ways down the stream there unfolds a whole town. Antique shops displaying hand painted egg holders ( I still have buyers remorse for not snagging some), ice cream shops that make the waffle cones AND ice cream from scratch, and not to mention the best espresso I had the whole time I was in Europe.
Each building reminded me of one out of a storybook, like Hansel and Gretel meets Pinocchio.
The town was the right amount of sweet to overpower the sour taste the morning had left. My dad, Grandma and I went into the town church to light candles and write our prayers in a book that was left out for people to do so.
This town is also the hotspot for traditional dishes.
Schnitzel, pretzels, beers, brats. You name it, they have it.
Long story short is GO TO MONSCHAU.
P.S. Maybe don’t go in off-season. A friend of mine had gone prior to my visit and while he suggested I give the town a browse, he didn’t have as lively of an experience. The streets were empty and the only food option was a Chinese restaurant..
Onto the boat cruise.
There are many options as to what company to side with, but most companies allow customers to hop on and off said boat at nearly any city, big and small, along the Rhine.
There are 1-2 restaurants, a bar, and even beds on these river rides.
To my surprise the Rhine is lined with vineyards, so for all the wine lovers who chose Germany over Tuscany, there’s still a chance to satisfy that need for a wine splurge.
While my family and I decided to take the boat from a town just past Koln down to the end ( a 6 hour trip), hop off the boat to eat and grab a drink, then hop back on for the 4 hour float back to our start point, I would suggest doing a 2-3 day trip instead.
We did see 17 castles and enjoy the scenery, but a lighter load would have been preferred and maybe more worth the cost of the fare. Look ahead and see what towns interest you. There are gondolas to take tourists up to most of the castles that I am sure are lovely as ever and add a bit to the trip.
The Rhine boat cruises are meant for wine lovers, castle enthusiasts, and site sitters alike.
*site sitters are people who enjoy seeing a lot but prefer not to move about at all in order to do so*
To end our time exploring the westernmost part of Germany, we made a pit stop at Munster. Just as a disclaimer, please note that Munster means minster NOT anything like the muenster cheese.
I have a weakness for frikadellen a.k.a German meatballs. A little hole in the wall in Munster offered me the comfort of this scrumptious delicacy and made my heart happy. I also caved in and got a pretzel the size of my torso.
All of these little details perfectly added up to make for a pleasant trip and an especially memorable first time in Europe for my good ol’ d-a-d.
