Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-02-02
SCENES IN GERMANY.
Tae Rhine. s.ifaish Vineyards,
and Rhine Wines.
Bonn, Cologne. Ak. licge. chenef
and RrEss is.
Wis ted by The Democrats Foreign
Corresponds t.

1 Inc breakfast room OF our hotel al hSlsDaden,
was quite curiosity, being more like grotto
than habitable room. The ceilings and walls
were covered in bark and along the sides were
ferneries, few trickling streams, some s:umrs
and other belongings OF nature. The whole
bore smell which is 81 very well in the woods,
but is not desirable IN house.
| At Biebrieh, town on the Rhine, approached
| by q magnificent drive OF three or four miles
from Weisbaden, we waited on the morning OF
August 18th for the boat that was to take down
| the Rhine TO Cologne. II was beautiful, bright
morning. and it must be confessed that We were
full of great expectations eager 10 see the
| far famed river about which SO much has been
written and said. We had been assured many
times during the summer that we wonld be dis
appointed. Until the arrival of the boat we had
plenty to do in watching the growing crowd of
| all nationalities and in buying our maps.
guides and the inevitable book of the Rhine
i legends. To look at the people one would think
Judging from the field glasses, books and maps
| that the Rhine must be the most laborious of sill
sights. 1t was not long before der konig und
Kaiser Wilhelm" came steamins along, and we
with the others were packed away ON campstools
on the large and crowded deck. Every one was
all eyes and ears, as the saying goes, although
| for the first hour there was not much 10 see.
I The chatter of many tongues IN German, French,
Spanish Italian etc, was incessant. Rhine wine
! flowed like water all sides of us and busy
"kellners" with eyes popping out of their heads
flew about in answer TO the many calls.
| Rheuish vineyards, which by the way resem-
| bic and are quite picturesque as Illinois corn
fields; covered the river banks. Schloss Johann
i-h, l.:
acres of grapevines looked quite imposing. We
| knew from experience that its wines were the
most costly of Rhine wines but our guide-book
increased our respect when we read that the an
| nual income from these vineyards was about for
" thousand dollars. This seemed tidy in
come from forty acres. Soon after passing
Rudesheim, also noted for it mes, we came in
sight of Bingen, the quaint Oil. town which must
always be to every English speaking child the
most attractive spot on the Rhine. What nu-
merous SELECTIONS it called 70 nv mind of Fri
day afternoons III the Seminary" when there
was always boy TO tell US how 1.-The Soldier OF
the legion lay dying at AlgierS' and that the
soldier had come from
"Bingen, Fair Bingen on the Rhine"
A castle looked down on the old town. and on
the steep hill opposite which rose in masses of
irregular terraces fringed with grapevines, stood
another castle. In the river was the famous
Mouse Tower where Bishop Hatto, according to
the legend which once made my hair stand on
end, was eaten by mice for having during
fImine burned some poor people in a barn. But
ii one once gives way to Rhine legends one
might write forever about the Rhine.
From Bingen the scenery was what We had
pictured it. and it a relief to know that we
were not disappointed. Castle after castle we
passed, some in ruins aud some habitable, |
perched here and there on the steep mountain |
sides which irowned down on the gloomy river |
Whenever chance offered there would be a !
vineyard and quaint little towns hid themselves /
in sill available inches. Soon after reaching !
oberwesel, the most picturesque town the |
Rhine, the prospects for rain grew very decided !
and the scenery the more impressive The Lur- |
lei was soon looming in front Of Us, but it re !
quired great stretch Of imagination TO fancy
the airy nymph seated on her rock Turing the |
sailors to destruction. Rheinfels and StulZenfels |
were noble castles which passed before the !
rain came upon u.s. How it poured until we /
reached CoblenZ! The awnings were soon wet /
through and then came the stampede for the |
cabins. Some sat quietly in the wind and rain,
soaked to the skin but faithful TO their duty, that
of seeing the Rhine. At Coblenz some hundred /
left the boat, and think I never saw more
amusing sight than the men and women laden
with bags and wraps, running from the beat
landing to some shelter While the storm lasted |
we ate dinner but the smell of the wet clothing |
in the saloon a lmost took away our appetites |
When we went on deck again the weather had |
cleared The scenery was very grand, but after
passing
The Castle Crag of Drachenfels,'
and the seven mountains the country became |
fiat and marshy.
After passing Bonn the seat of the celebrated
University, and the birthplace OF B hoven we
the twin spires of the grandest of Cathedrals
in the distance and knew that we should soon
leave the far famed river We had not been DIS
appointed In it and we had not compared It
with the Hudson. One might easily say which
is the brighter and pretter, and which il the
more interesting.
Ny weak pen is unequal 10 the task of giving
an impression of the Cathedral of Cologne, the
grandest of all Gothic monuments 1t seemed to
Us the perfection of grace and exquisite finish
and from every point of view whether historical,
architectural or otherwise, filled us with an I'M
speakable awe. What a marvellous sight it was
when late at night on looking out of my window
l saw the beautiful spires cleaning a ghostly
white and looking like the most exquisite lace
work against the dark sky
The cathedral SO fills one at Cologne that other
sights In this interesting city are quite second
airy. However we took great interest in the
Rathhaus and the Hanseatic Hail. which called
to mind school days and endless yawns over
Hallam's account of the Hsnseatic League. We
also went to the church of st. Ursula, named
after the English princess, who, according to the
legend when on her return from pilgrimage
to Rome was slain at Cologne with her IL 900 viz
gins. The church contains all the relics and the
walls of the interior have numerous recesses
where skulls and other bones without number
are arranged 1t is estimated that whatever
truth there is in the legend there are at least
1000 skulls in the church
| Cologne is otherwise famed for its many
smells. but it did not seem any worse than most
European cities in that respect The streets
were very narrow and drains ran along the sides
of the street, often uncovered. Evidences of its
most famous manufacture, Eau de Cologne, were
all sides, In the hotels shops restaurants and
in the streets. Every maker claimed to be the
I descendant of the original and only Johann
Maria Farina.
| At Aix-la- Chapele or Aachen we stopped at
! the Hotel du Dragon dor or Golden Dragon
Hotel, a peculiar old barracks of place quite
crooked in its internal arrangements as the city
| of AK itself If any one wants TO relics
worth seeing by all means go to AK. the city of
Charlemagne, and spend day in the cathedral,
part of which was built by Charlemagne about
/! 500 A. d. One of the galleries contains the I'M
| perial Throne on which his remains reposed $50
| years. Ohio III and Frederick Ba-barossa were
also associated with the cathedral and their diff
ferent relics OF all kinds are very interesting.
The cathedral treasury is one OF the richest in
the world being filed with priceless works of
medieval art in gold silver and precious stones:
| of which the Romanesque Shrine of the -Four
Great Relics made in 1920 is the most valuable.
| This is shown gratis once every seven years
when great crowds flock to see ii. II contains
| 1.-THE robe of the virgin, the swaddling clothes
of the infant Christ. the cloth in which the body
| of John the Baptist was wrapped, and the cloth
with which the Saviour was girded on the
cross"
| AK is quite noted as a resort, and when We
were there was filed with people. The sulphur
/ a