Sometimes it happens that there’s a little bit of time left between our travels and we enjoy these little breaks of course. But for some inexplicable reason, it occurs that we can’t hold still and plan little trips within Germany. Which is of course, not that bad or monotonous place on earth!
This time we made it to the Eifel region which was pretty good to look at!
The Eifel
For those of you who don’t know where or what that is: here the Wikipedia link!
For everyone else: The Eifel is an idyll. It’s green wherever you look whether it’s the fields or the forests.
Partly it looks definitely like a wasteland and somehow boring. If I was living here in the countryside, I would lose my mind due to boredom. The countryside with the green might impress people from desert countries. But for the long run, it’s boring as f…. If you’re searching for ultimate peace and isolation, this is the place to be.
But I stop with the badmouthing now. The Eifel is really beautiful and historically quite interesting.
The Westwall/ Siegfried Line
For our interested readers (everyone else can skip this part now): There are still lots of remains of the Siegfried Line from World War II reminding us, that it isn‘t a long time ago people’s main goal was trying to kill each other. Unbelievable how much our open borders cannot be taken for granted today. I’m saying this because there are many people nowadays who think an open Europe is an enemy.
Nevertheless, if you know about this, you’ll pass by an ugly piece of history.
But now to the good part of our trip.
Hotel Pension Eifelsicht
We stayed here for one night and loved it. It looks really old fashioned on the front side. Inside it’s modern and clean. It has a very beautiful backyard with a wide view over the Eifel green. Breakfast was really good and the owners super friendly. Stay here if you’re in the region!
(P.S.: If you want to see the Siegfried Line, part o fit is near the hotel.)
Aachen
We started our weekend with a visit to Aachen.
Despite the walking around the pretty Old Town, we saw the worldwide known Aachen Cathedral. It’s special because Charlemagne’s mortal remains are kept here. The Cathedral is pretty from the in- and outside.
In any case, it’s one of the most impressive cathedrals in Germany.
Border Triangle ‚Drielandenpunt‘ at Vaalsberg
Not far from Aachen is the border triangle at Vaalsberg (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands). It’s surely not spectacular, but there’s a huge playground for kids and restaurants (just in case you’re interested).
The feeling of knowing on what kind of place you are is a bit cool. The view is partly good. It’s worth coming here shortly when you’re in the region anyway.
Monschau
Monschau, oh Monschau! I admired this place on Instagram for a while now and was totally looking forward to finally seeing it. We just got a bit disappointed by the weather but that’s whining on a higher level.
The Old Town is really beautiful, just like the Instagram view. Monschau is a half-timbered houses dream. Monschau Castle is a good point for overviewing the little town and is used for events. We hope to make it back here in winter during Christmas Market season. The view from here must be amazing.
Monschau is known in its surrounding, also internationally. But many of our friends and family haven’t heard about this place before. So their enlightenment was a pleasure for us.
Monreal
Don’t confuse it with Montreal, like Google does when searching it. Even if I type it correctly, Google still wants to send me to Canada. It probably can’t believe there’s something worth seeing here, which means there’s still some optimization necessary for dear Google. Word is the same. It shows Monreal as a mistake. Lord, how annoying!
Tranquil, small and totally cute is what describes this place the best. The Elzbach runs idyllically through the small town and everything here is photogenic. Driving along the Eifel countryside, you’ll pass by many shabby places – call it economically underdeveloped if you want to. Some places made us question whether we’re still in Germany or not. And then, just out of nothing, Monreal appears on our real life screens (in front of our eyes). Monreal definitely refuses to come down like the other places and it works.
Seriously. This place seems to be one of the view places in Germany that don’t have to fear the crowds. At least, for now. If you’re close to the area, pay Monreal a visit. Chances are high you might be the only one of your friends or family to have seen it.
And before we forget: There’s, of course, a castle with a view. At least the ruins of the once Löwen-and Philippsburg castle. Going up there during the heat was not a good idea. At least for me. I got a panic attack (vertigo) and so we went back to the car with our heads tomato red. Good thing is, I just remember the good part of it.
Maria Laach Abbey
And if you think, that it, we have to disappoint you. Before we headed back home, we still had Maria Laach Abbey on our list. The Benedictine Monastery was built in the high middle ages and is one of the prettiest we’ve seen so far.
It looks really mighty from the outside while there’s a small inner court with a cute garden.
This abbey is also known in the local area and is not made for the large crowds.
Lake Laach
Same goes for Lake Laach. It’s the second largest lake in Rhineland-Palatinate and is located in the region of the Vulkaneifel. It resulted from volcano activities in this area.
It’s a nice place, but it felt like, they don’t want too much visitors here. But hey, this is very ok. It was just a bit boring.
And now I’m finally done. Thanks for your attention!
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