David Whitley finds Germany’s former capital to be a pleasant surprise, both in terms of looks and cultural attractions.
Rhine river reputation
Sometimes in life, things can pleasantly surprise you; the one you were warned about turns out to be thoroughly captivating, with a warm, soft side. This is the case with the Rhine, which amongst the world’s great rivers, has possibly got the worst reputation.
The Nile is steeped in history, the Amazon in natural wonder, the Danube in art and literature, but the Rhine is generally seen as being lined with billowing smokestacks and grim factories.
Indications to the contrary become available whilst flying over. North-Rhine Westphalia is the industrial heartland of Germany, but there are unexpected patches of greenery everywhere.
On closer inspection, the craft winding their way down the river through Bonn are a varied bunch. For every hulking industrial barge there is a ferry or a rich man’s plaything.
With the temperature hitting 35 or 36, dusty banks have been turned into impromptu beaches, whilst the suspicious brownish tinge of the water is overlooked in favour of its refreshing coolness.
Former capital of Germany
Bonn, is a curious oddity. As a German friend succinctly puts it, “This was the capital city for nearly fifty years. That would be like making Launceston the capital of Australia.”
It’s a city that no-one has ever taken altogether seriously, barring a few of its inhabitants. Even during the Cold War, during which it became a major political heavyweight, the likes of Reagan, Thatcher and Gorbachev could be forgiven for scratching their heads and asking: “Well, where is it exactly?”
For the record, Bonn is only the 10th biggest city in the state and the 19th biggest in the country. Its status as temporary capital during the tense political and ideological split between East and West was largely due to the loyal machinations of one man.
Konrad Adenauer, the first West German Chancellor after the end of World War II, was just pretty much the only person to enthusiastically cheerlead for Bonn, a short drive from his home.
Despite Frankfurt having nearly all the facilities needed already, and the move costing millions, Adenauer won out and all the state apparatus was put into a town where it didn’t really fit.
These days, most of it is in Berlin (although there was a somewhat ironic outcry over the cost of moving everything there when this was decided in 1991), and Bonn is left to trade a little on its past glories.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s house
Other than being a fairly random choice for a capital, the city’s history is linked largely to one man: Ludwig van Beethoven. Saying you’re not a great fan of the lauded composer here is a bit like walking into a Dublin bar and loudly proclaiming that you think the work of U2 is a bit torpid and lifeless.
Beethoven was no pauper. There’s no rags-to-riches back story for him, and this is perhaps what makes a trip to the house of his birth a bit of a disappointment. Beethovenhaus is a monument to the man and what he achieved, and the reverential tone is perhaps taken a little bit too far.
A lot of chin-stroking is going on, as people trickle through the old house, creaking up the stairs. On their faces is a look of too-thorough concentration; one that gives away that inside they’re thinking: “I know I should be impressed by this, but it’s just not happening.”
The endpoint of this rather uninspired trip through the life of a great man is the beginning; the room where the master composer was supposedly born. It’s a tiny space with wooden floorboards, and a commemorative bust in the middle.
Such is the need to preserve an empty room that no-one is allowed in it. Stare in awe, there’s a good tourist.
Poppdelsdorfer Allee, Bonn
The disappointments stop there, though, as the rest of the city is a thorough pleasure. A short stroll through the suitably grand university buildings leads to Poppelsdorfer Allee, which is almost a boulevard in reverse.
Two little laneways flank a narrow stretch of parkland, which is filled with the sort of trees that loom over you with almost staggering importance. It’s here that a few of Bonn’s eccentricities come to light.
One man has a little roadside stall, and is selling raspberries. That’s all he’s got, and he must only have about ten servings of them to sell, but it’s one small step on the road to entrepreneurial greatness, I guess.
Another woman has just hauled her bookcase into the park, and is trying to sell dusty old paperbacks to passers-by. Still, such blind optimism can be encouraging at times.
Poppelsdorf Palace and Botanic Gardens
At the end is the Poppelsdorf Palace, one of those buildings that despite being a little worn around the edges, just looks happy, like a pensioner leaving work for the last time and realising he now has the opportunity to do anything he likes.
It’s painted in a cheerful canary yellow with a jaunty blue trim, and a wispy-bearded man is sat outside, whiling away the day by doodling what he sees before him onto a large canvas.
The palace is home to the city’s Botanical Gardens, which are an absolute delight. Outside is for lazing in the sun, bathing in the vivid greenery, whereas inside is the place to head for a horticultural round-the-world trip.
Sweating in the greenhouses, we have cacti from the American desert, gum trees from Australia and, most impressively, the biggest lilypads in the world from the Amazon. They look like rafts that belong in a children’s water park.
Museum Mile
Nature morphs into culture on the feted museum mile, just south of the city centre. It’s packed with goodies, with art, film zoology, and technology all covered within a short stroll.
You can smell the remnants of a government trying to make its capital suitably important by splashing money at it, and the highlight is right at the top.
Named with typical Germany snappiness and dreamy wordplay, the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland takes visitors through the vast changes that have gone on in Germany since 1945.
You walk through the body of a plane used during the Berlin airlift, you take your seat in a mock-up of the Federal German parliament, you watch the Wall coming down. It’s all very well done, making you part of the history rather than just dictating it to you.
That history does hang over the city, though, and the battle these days is for relevance. Bonn effectively ceased to be a major player when East and West Germany became one again, and has had to forge an identity since. It’s not quite there yet, but that’s part of the charm.
Largely overlooked by tourists, it becomes a treasure to amble around even in the hottest day of the peak season; the location without the big city stress and the attractions without the crowds. Like the Rhine that weaves through it, Bonn is one of those pleasant surprises that are all too rare these days.
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