Author: cjbickford

I had to walk in and out of the Cologne Cathedral two or three times before I felt I could psychologically take it on. Even so, I know I could only take in a fraction of all that it was, all that it is, and even though I took hundreds of pictures, in and outside…

On the train from Mannhein to Cologne, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a cargo-train driver who was on his way home, and then on to take a crash course in Dutch and Dutch train technology since his German company had just been bought by a French firm. He’d been born in Turkey,…

One of the things that had drawn me to Cologne was its chocolate museum, and I have to say, it did a great job in cheering me up on a day when I felt a little down It’s located right on the Altstadt side of the Rhein river in the closest thing to a castle…

  I was excited to visit the Roman-German Museum and it was the first thing (other than that incredible massive awesome cathedral) I went in to see when I arrived in Cologne. As I was in there, though, it all seemed rather redundant. As I was beginning to realize, all of Germany is a Roman-German…

When you get beyond seeing the most freakin’ amazing gargantuan Gothic cathedral ever, you might get around to noticing the rest of Cologne. It may be in the shadow of that cathedral, but it sure isn’t dark. The city has its own version of Mardi Gras every year, except they call it Karneval and it’s…

My Mormon friends speak fondly of the time they spent on their youthful misson abroad. Around the age of 20 or so, Mormon men (and sometimes women) apply to become a missionary, and often they get sent abroad for a year or two. It’s as much a year (or two) abroad as much a mission….

As I was walking through the old city portion of Heidelberg, I came across what looked like a farmer’s market in the market square. It was like a farmer’s market, except there were only 4 stalls, 2 of which had rather sad-looking produce (at least by California standards), and one was salamis, and the other…

When in Heidelberg, you will see the Heidelberg Castle. I’m pretty sure it’s a rule. You can’t miss it, and it’s easy to get to, whether you walk up to it from the old town or take the 1-minute ride on the Bergbahn. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to take the tour at first,…

By far, the hardest thing for me to get used to in modern Germany was the graffiti. I kept telling myself it was a different sort of thing that American graffiti, more a form of expressionist glee. But I’ve lived in America too long, where graffiti is a sure omen of urban decay. To me,…

On my first full day in Heidelberg, I tackled the Philosophenweg. It’s on the other side of the Neckar River and winds up a hill to a street which gives you a beautiful view of Heidelberg. Many a romantic philosopher has taken that route, and now many a tourist follows in their steps. Peter set…