Bonn & Drachenburg Castle Day trip – Rhine & Moselle valley, Part 3

This post is a continuation of a series describing our trip to the Rhine and Moselle valley in Germany. We were based in the city of Cologne for the first 2 days and had enjoyed our visit to the famous Cologne Cathedral ( The magnificent Cologne Cathedral – Rhine & Moselle valley, Part 1 ) on our first day. After walking across the Hohenzollern bridge across the Rhine early in the morning on the second day we had decided to get outside the city before it got crowded.

There were a fair number of day trip options from Cologne, but the one that seemed attractive to us was a visit to the beautifully set Drachenburg Castle set above the town of Konigswinter, an hour and a half away from Cologne. The castle was a further 2 km hike from the station. While planning the trip I had seen that there was a train line that had regional slow trains from Cologne to Konigswinter so it seemed like a simple enough day trip.

Deutsche Bahn threw a spanner in my planning as the direct train line suddenly became inspirational for maintenance when we visited. So I had to improvise and take multiple connections to Konigswinter that passed through the city of Bonn. That gave us the chance to visit the City of Bonn too and I asked the better half if that was fine & she readily agreed.

We bought the regional day ticket for the VRS region which included all public transport in the places we wanted to visit at a machine on the Cologne main station. Ticket in hand we set off for the city of Bonn on the next regional train there. We reached Bonn and walked towards the Old town / Aldstadt area which is the main touristy region of the City.

Bonn served as the capital for the country of West Germany post WW II and even now is considered the unofficial second capital of the country post unification in 1990. It is famous for being the birthplace of the composer Beethoven and having one of the oldest churches in Germany the Bonn Minster. We walked first to the Bonn Minster which is at the station end of the old town and dominates the square named after it.

The Bonn Minster – one of the oldest churches in Germany

There are granite statue heads of St Cassius and Florentius who are the patrons of Bonn in front of the Cathedral. They were Roman legionaries who were beheaded at this site in the 3rd century AD for refusing to kill Christians – hence the heads are lying in mid roll!

Granite heads of St Cassius and Florentius outside the Bonn Minster

We then went around to the entrance of the Church and went inside to find the beautiful Church almost completely deserted. The church built in a mix of Gothic and Romanesque style ( It has both pointed arches and semicircular arches ) is over a 1000 years old and was restored in 2014. We walked around and saw the 800 year old elaborate organ placed on the wall. I am a big fan of church architecture and I enjoyed taking photos of this elegantly decorated building showcasing its beauty and symmetry. As always I was surprised by the lack of people inside the church even though the square outside had people enjoying the main square and it’s cafes.

The 800 year old Organ at the Bonn Minster

The elegant architecture of the Bonn Minster – nothing over the top

As we walked to the altar which was the most richly decorated part of the church with painted murals on the walls and the dome and floor mosaics below I noticed the crypt below. Usually I am not a fan of church crypts as they are dark dimly lit areas but this one had some of the most mesmerising array of pillars and arches that were a pleasure to photograph.

The painted dome and decorated altar at the Bonn Minster with the crypt below

The better half poses in the nave of the Bonn Minster

The extremely mesmerising architecture of the crypt

After seeing the crypt we walked up the stairs to get as close to the cordoned off choir and altar area and saw the beautifully decorated part of the church from up close.

A closer view of the murals, floor mosaics and marble statues at the altar

We then did our church routine of sitting in the pews for a few minutes and enjoying the silence and beauty all around before walking out into the bright sunlight of the Munsterplatz.

Stained glass and a miix of architectural styles at the Bonn Munster

Happy us at the Bonn Minster

The exterior of the Bonn Minster showing its iconic stone tower

We then walked to the Martinsbrunnen fountain in front of the church entrance which has statues of children trying to catch geese. The original from 1902 was melted for bronze in WW II and was restored in 1958 using the original casts. It’s always fun to see these small unique fountains with great art all around Europe.

Martinsbrunnen with bronze sculptures of children catching geese

We then walked to the large Munsterplatz square which has the Beethoven monument and the Main post office (originally a palace) behind it. We took photos of Bonn’s most famous son before moving towards the market square.

The Beethoven monument with the Main post office behind it on Munsterplatz

The Munsterplatz square in Bonn with the church on the right

We reached the Markt square, the historical central square of Bonn to find that it was market day and so the whole square was filled with food trucks and stalls. We walked through the stalls to the Old town hall. This historic buildings like most in Germany was reconstructed post WW II in its original style. It was open for visit but we didn’t have time for it , so we took photos of the exterior and moved on.

Maktplatz Bonn – with food trucks and stalls

The Altes Rathaus – Old town hall Bonn

View of the triangular Marktplatz from the base of the Town hall

We then walked across the huge Hofgarten sad that we had to rush through it rather than enjoy some time there. We sat on the bench at the edge of the garden for a brief minute of two before crossing over to the Rhine promenade in Bonn. We rushed past the Koblenzer gate of the huge Electoral Palace here.

At the Hofgarten in Bonn

The Koblenzer gate of the Electoral palace in Bonn

We went past another Beethoven statue in the park just before the river before reaching the Rhine promenade itself. Like in Cologne the promenade was a pedestrian path just beside the river and we walked on it till we reached the Kennedy bridge across the Rhine. It had been a whirlwind walk through the pretty little Old town of Bonn but it had made a great impression on us, wishing we had more time to spend there – sadly Drachenburg Castle was calling!

The much more abstract Beethoven sculpture in the park

The Rhine Promenade in Bonn

We walked across the wide Rhine river for the second time in the day this time in a different city on the Kennedy bridge in Bonn and reached the other side to Beuel  from where we would take a tram connection to Konigswinter.

View of the Rhine and the Rhine promenade on the right from the Kennedy bridge

Us crossing the Rhine for the second time in the day

From the tram station in Konigswinter we walked through a residential neighbourhood navigating with the help of downloaded offline maps and reached the road that led up to the castle. There is a funicular up to the Castle from the town too but it was a good day for a hike so we decided to hike it up. The road to the castle was a motor-able road for half of the way till we reached a parking lot beyond which there was only a wide trail.

The end of the wide road to Drachenburg

We walked the trail following the well marked signs and reached the castle itself. We bought our tickets and soon we were at our first castle for this trip (there would be many more!)

At the Drachenburg Castle near Konigswinter, Germany

The castle was open for entry ( It opens relatively late at 11 am) when we reached so we didn’t waste any time and proceeded to see the interiors before it got too crowded which proved to be the right decision.

Beautiful morning at the Drachenburg Castle

The castle which was originally a private villa built in the late 1800s. It has passed through various hands including serving as an Adolf Hitler school in the Nazi days. It was finally restored by the local government in the 2000s after suffering deterioration post the WW II. Even though its a newly restored structure, the location and the beautiful architecture is worth the visit.

The better half sits on the throne on display – yes, sitting on it was allowed !

We walked through the beautifully restored rooms with beautiful furniture, ornately painted walls and beautiful stained glass everywhere. We had a handy leaflet that described the rooms with the glass and the articles on display. Even if you aren’t interested in the history of the artefacts the beauty of the rooms will impress you.

A sitting room at the Schloss Drachenburg

Beautifully restored dining room at Drachenburg

Stained glass galore at the Schloss Drachenburg

A river facing room at the castle

Beautifully painted ceilings and chandeliers at the castle

The hall filled with stained glass windows dedicated to famous people from all fields

A well decorated  guest bedroom at the Drachenburg Castle

We finished our visit to the interiors by spending some time on one of the most beautifully done staircases I have ever seen. Painted walls, Arched ceilings, decorated pillars, fancy lights it had it all. For anyone more interested in the history of the castle visit the official website http://www.schloss-drachenburg.de (It has great virtual tours of the castle too)

The beautiful staircase at the Schloss Drachenburg

More photos of the staircase!

We then moved to the exteriors of the castle which included a balcony with great views over the valley below.

The balcony at the Schloss Drachenburg overlooking the valley below

We then explored a small part of the gardens surrounding the castle before deciding to take a lunch break at the Cafe in Castle terraces. We had walked more than 8 km since that morning and still had a fair share of walking to do before the day was done so we decided to refuel and rest our legs at the Castle restaurant itself.

The Venus terrace at the Drachenburg Castle

The better half poses with the storybook castle at Drachenburg in the Venus terrace

The castle exteriors were so striking and I had beautiful skies overhead so I clicked away to glory.

More photos of the exteriors of the castle

The restaurant at the Castle turned out to be a great one with good Gnocchi and apple drink for the better half and a delicious meatball with potato salad for me with a local beer to wash it down. We enjoyed our delicious meal with a good view of the valley below. Before saying goodbye to the castle there was one last thing left to do – the tower climb.

A delicious meal at the Terrace cafe at the Schloss Drachenburg

View of the valley below from the restaurant

We are always ready for a tower climb and when we realised after recharging our batteries that there was a tower here to climb, we sought it out after and climbed our way to the top.

At the base of the tower at Drachenburg

The tower climb was certainly worth it as it gives great views over the Rhine river winding through the countryside. It also gives a view of the exteriors that we already loved from a different perspective. We walked around the steel platform on top of the tower and enjoyed the views.

From the base of the tower with the Castle entry gate in the background

The view from the top of the tower with the castle and the river in the valley below

The Rhine winds through the country side with the town of Konigswinter below

More views from the top of the tower at Schloss Drachenburg

Happy us on the top of yet another tower in Europe – This time at Schloss Drachenburg

After being satisfied with the views we came down and said our goodbye to the castle. It had been a great day trip and certainly worth the connections we had taken to reach here.

Happy us on our way out from Drachenburg Castle

We descended down to Konigswinter via a different much steeper route down. This route was a bit shorter but narrower and passed some beautiful flowering shrubs all the way down. That gave me something to take photos of on the way down.

Beautiful flowers on the walk down to Konigswinter

A half timbered house with a tiny car to go with the narrow road

Back down in Konigswinter we passed through the main part of the small town which was almost dead at this time of the day.

Walking through Konigswinter on the way back to the tram stop

We reached the tram stop to find the next tram cancelled! So we had no option but to sit at the tram stop till the next one about 25 minutes later. We rode the tram all the way back to Bonn main train station where we took the next train back to Cologne.

We reached Cologne and decided to have an early dinner since I wanted to go out later in the night for the public screening of the Italy vs Croatia match ( More on that here – Cologne by Dawn & Dusk – Rhine & Moselle valley, Part 2 ). We ate again at the “Pizzeria & Hop” close to our hotel since the better half had enjoyed her meal there. Since we were early we were only the ones there and enjoyed our falafel and Döner with a refreshing Turkish buttermilk drink called Ayran.

With our delicious Turkish meal at the Pizzeria & Hop

It had been a great day trip to Drachenburg Castle and the added visit to Bonn had been a pleasant surprise. It had been a day full of activity and we had enjoyed it thoroughly.

We would walk around Cologne again early the next morning where  at the end of our walk our noses led us to the most amazingly fresh Caramel Croissants at Merzenich bakery. We ate them with a view of the Cathedral before visiting the Cathedral as it opened once more just to photograph the  floor mosaics when it was less crowded. ( Photos here – The magnificent Cologne Cathedral – Rhine & Moselle valley, Part 1 )

With the most delicious little Caramel croissants at Cologne

We then returned to our hotel to pick up our luggage and say goodbye to Cologne. We were headed to the pretty little village of Bacharach next which I was looking forward to the most. Whether it would live upto expectations that I had in my head is topic for another post , some other time, some other day.

Till then,

Ciao.

PS – This is my 200th post on this blog and recently the blog crossed 100k views, I thank everyone who has supported this blog and kept me going!