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Showing posts from October, 2011

Drifting along the Rhine (2) - Düsseldorf 順萊茵河而行(2)— 杜塞爾多夫

The Rhine flows from the south to the north in north-western Germany, and links Cologne to the other city of Düsseldorf 40 km to the north. These two cities have the Rhine as a common thread and are actually not too far apart, but culturally they can be rather distant. Traditionally they tended to view each other with disdain and maintain a strong cultural boundary in between. They speak completely different dialects, and the famous Cologne beer Kölsch is nowhere to be seen in Düsseldorf. Some of my Munich colleagues even said that the motorway signs in either city would not show directions to the other, but I haven’t had time to check if it were indeed true! Most interestingly, the lay-outs of the two cities are mirror images of each other; while the Old Town of Cologne lies on the west of the Rhine and the eastern river bank is a promenade, Düsseldorf is the opposite with the Old Town on the east and some meadows on the western river bank. Perhaps this is how both places sought to di

Drifting along the Rhine (1) - Cologne 順萊茵河而行(1)——科隆

After my trip in the USA and Canada, it was time to head to Munich for work, but before that I spent a couple of days in Cologne (Köln in German, 7th to 8th July) followed by a day in Düsseldorf (9th July) to visit a friend. It gave me a chance to visit this north-western part of Germany since I haven’t really been to much of northern Germany during my 3 years in Munich. 七月美加遊後要到慕尼黑公幹,但公幹開始前先到科隆玩兩天(7月7至8日),然後到杜塞爾多夫(Düseeldorf)探朋友(7月9日),見識一下德國西北部這兩天城市,我從前旅居慕尼黑時甚少到德國北部的地方呢。 Many of Cologne’s main tourist spots are concentrated near the central railway station. Right next to the station stands the imposing Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) and the top of one of its spires is the highest point in Cologne. Just a short walk away is the bridge Hohenzollernbrücke which spans the Rhine River and feeds train traffic to and from the Cologne central railway station. More than just a railway thoroughfare, there is a walkway on either side of the railway tracks separated by a metal mesh fence, wher