Once upon a time there was a village called Monreal (king's mountain) nestled in the hills of the volcanic region Eifel. People have settled here since the old ages, and in the Middle Ages it became a small but wealthy town based on successful sheep farming and therefore cloth production. But as time went by they got kicked out of business by fierce competition from abroad. Otherwise what is today known as Tweed, might have been called Monreal, but one will never know. It took until mid of the 20th century for the village's revival when it was discovered by the tourism board for some new trend called romantic getaway. And it worked out well. Buildings were renovated, hiking trails were groomed, and accommodation and regional cuisine is being provided to travellers. These days location scouts tend to select Montreal as a filming location every so often.
Es war einmal ein Dorf names Monreal (Königsberg), welches sich an die Flanken der umgebenden Vulkanhügel der Eifel schmiegte. Schon in vorchristlicher Zeit hatten sich hier Menschen nieder gelassen. Im Mittelalter wurde der Ort dann durch Schafzucht und Produktion von Stoffen reich. Doch nach und nach wurde die regionale Ware durch preiswerte Auslandsprodukte verdrängt und damit verarmte das Dorf. Wäre es anders gekommen, hieße der Stoff heute vielleicht Monreal und nicht Tweed, man wird es nie wissen. Erst Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts kam die Tourismus-Industrie auf die Idee, das Dorf als romantisches Erlebnis zu vermarkten. Die Häuser wurden renoviert, Wanderwege angelegt und Übernachtung- und Gastronomiegewerbe entstand für die Reisenden. Und die Rechnung ging auf. Heutzutage dient Monreal sogar immer mal wieder als Filmkulisse (Der Bulle und das Landei).
On top of that (literally on top of the hills) there are two castle ruins, one is called Phillipsburg, the other Löwenburg, and a steep trail leads up to them. Guess what we did. We conquered the hills, and enjoyed the beautiful vista into the valley. Below lies the picturesque village. It was very windy up high on the tower so we didn't stick around for long.
Darüber hinaus (im Wortsinn über dem Städtchen) hat der Ort auch noch zwei Burgruinen zu bieten: die Phillipspurg und die Löwenburg, die über einen steilen Treppensteig zu erreichen sind. Dreimal dürft Ihr raten, was wir gemacht haben. Wir eroberten die Hügel und genossen den großartigen Blick über das Tal. Weit unten liegt Monreal wie ein Spielzeugdorf. Es war allerdings ziemlich windig da oben, also machten wir uns schnellstens wieder auf den Weg nach unten.
After this we continued our travels towards Bonn, the former capital Germany, and stopped by the bridge that helped the allies winning WWII. Alas, we found the peace museum closed for season.
Danach setzten wir unsere Reise fort. Es ging Richtung Bonn, der ehemaligen Hauptstadt unseres schönen Landes. Wir wollten eigentlich noch ins Friedensmuseum bei der Brücke von Remagen, aber leider war es geschlossen.
At the end of the day we met up with our friends Guido and Andrea, who were back from California and in the area visiting family. We had a marvellous time together which was way too short, as we had to get back to work.
Am Abend trafen wir uns dann noch mit unseren Freunden Guido und Andrea, die gerade auf Heimaturlaub waren, um die Familie zu besuchen. Wir hatten eine tolle Zeit, die leider viel zu kurz ausfallen musste, da uns die Pflicht (Arbeit) nach Hause rief.
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| Eifel roadtrip |
The snow came and went away: Within a day a very unusual temperature change happened, and we got 17°C (62F).
Und weg ist der Schnee. Innerhalb eines Tages schlug das Wetter um un wir hatten 17°C.
Und weg ist der Schnee. Innerhalb eines Tages schlug das Wetter um un wir hatten 17°C.
Just lovely and the cake and coffee looks really civilised! But where is the snow???
ReplyDeleteWhilst NZ has spectacular scenery and other good things, it lacks history and I still miss the beautiful old European buildings. Monreal looks gorgeous.
Hello Geoff, I added an explanation at the end for all who might be asking about the white stuff. It's gone for now.
DeleteThis lovely village indeed looks like a movie set with its narrow cobblestone streets, but it's the real deal.
After our recent trip I better appreciate the old castles and ruins. The history they represent is amazing. Too bad you weren't able to get into the Peace Museum at Remagen. It is very good. But now you have a reason for a future trip.
ReplyDeleteDavid, we have definitely put the museum on the list for one of the next trips in that direction.
DeleteNorth American historic sites are only a few hundred years old. Pretty recent compared to sites in other parts of the world. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHistory we have in abundance, Richard, it's nature we are in lack of over here...
DeleteI visited the Remagen bridge as part of a "educational tour" while in the Army...seems my unit at the time passed through the area during the second world war and we were retracing the route. I liked both the pictures of the town "nestled" in the valley below and the clouds in the 2nd from last pic a lot. All that hiking though.... ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry about the hiking part, Dom ;-) but this is what you gotta do to have the best vantage point.
DeleteYou have access to so many old town with such interest. It always makes me realize how young our country is.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the pictures and a bit of history too.
I am always surprised to find out what I do not know about my own country, Brandy. And finding these places make me want to look for more.
Deletesoviel historisches auf so kleiner Strecke :-). Schade mit dem Museum.
ReplyDeleteStimmt, ich dachte, es wäre etwas, dass auch "zwischen den Tagen" auf hat, leider war dem nicht so.
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