Visiting Germany was an eye-opening experience. All preconceived notions of an insurmountable language barrier evaporated right at Frankfurt Airport, where a lady guided me to the trains below in a clipped English accent. One would expect airport staff to speak English, but this is a recurring theme around Germany that sheds light on a new attitude among the youth to be international in outlook.
There is this whole new energy about the place that is young and aspirational in spirit and global in outlook. The youngsters of Germany are bubbling over with the joie de vivre and it is a guess whether this has anything to do with their matriarchal leader (Angela) Merkel wanting to take over as the leader of the free world from a certain Mr Trump.
The image of Teutonic efficiency in everything is not even a tad exaggerated. All systems work even as levels of automation are going up, to the extent there are no more check-in desks at the Lufthansa counters in airports, just a bag drop automaton that you handle yourself and the machine serves up the baggage tag and receipt.
It is with certain envy that we view the white waterways of the world after our own are either starved from inadequate rainfall or are polluted beyond belief. The beauty of the Rhine flows with you from both banks — castles perched high on one side and tiny villages on the other, cars parked bumper to bumper by the curb on the streets, thoughtfully so even if they seem to outnumber the population by several times to one.
Bonn, once the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, is home to just over 3 lakh people. Streetcars, subways (Metro they call Tram), commuter trains buses and ferries across the Rhine are constantly on the move and cover a large part of the Rhine-Westphalia area.
Bonn is no more the centre of Germany, yet it is a handy 30 minutes by rail from Cologne and if you must rush to Frankfurt rather than enjoy the two-hour scenic ride along the Rhine, you could always go to the Siegburg station by tram and transfer to the high-speed line from Cologne and be at the airport in 38 minutes flat. However, a lazy day by the park in town after lunch at the piazza-like city centre near the cathedral and an evening cruise on the Rhine are far more pleasurable.
The attractions of a relatively small university city of friendly people with huge hiking and cycling routes are irresistible. If you have the time you could join a guided hike through the Rhineland Nature Park and the country’s oldest park in Siebengebirge, or take the Three River tour on cycles and give the worries of the world a miss while biking along heritage sites and enjoying the best of German beer and red wine. If that sounds like young people’s itinerary, you can rest assured the country has enough and more for people of all ages, what with five museums being situated within a couple of square miles on the Museumseile.
The Beethovenfest would make this September a beautiful time to visit the area. Being the musical genius’ city of birth and where he spent his early days, Bonn must lay it out for its most famous son in concerts at the splendid World Conference Centre or in the open-air jazz and crossover events. And then, there’s the lively night life of Cologne to peek into, besides the savouring of the imposing splendour of the cathedral.
Germany, arguably the strongest football nation in the world now, might be equally inviting for football aficionados today. The highlight is, however, the youthful spirit of the Germany of today, a noticeable vitality that comes through so well it’s certain to add zip to your spirit and change your world view a bit.
