Awesome places to visit in Germany: North Rhine-Westphalia

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NRW aka the North Rhine-Westphalia region in the West of Germany is known for it's historical cities like Cologne and Dusseldorf but it has so much more to offer.

I discovered that while I was tackling Destination Challenges in the region...

Nationalpark Eifel ranger walking tour

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Looking for a nice place to recharge your batteries? Nationalpark Eifel in the NRW region at the border with Belgium and Germany is the perfect place to disconnect from everyday life and reconnect with nature and yourself.

I went on a ranger walking tour through the nature park with ranger Sasha and had such a fun time ! You can do all kinds of fun activities while making your way through the forest. Just follow the path and at the very end of it you'll be rewarded with a stunning view over the Rursee lake.

Join Sasha and I for a walk through Nationalpark Eifel in the vlog I made for you below...

Drachenburg, legendary castle of dragon slayer Siegfried

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Ever heard the legend of Siegfried the dragonslayer? He became invincible after slaying a dragon and bathing in its blood. He only had one weak spot on his body because part of his skin was covered by a leaf while he was bathing in the dragon's blood. This would also lead to his demise.

Now the place where all this happened was on the top of Drachenfells rock which you can find in Königswinter. On this hill you will also find the magnificent Drachenburg castle. Absolutely one of the most impressive castles I've seen in Germany.

I discovered it via my Destination Challenges in the NRW region.

Watch my vlog about it below and discover some more photos of this stunning place.

Freudenberg: The cutest half timbered houses town in Germany

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I'm a fan of fachwerkhaus aka timber framing houses!

They have a certain charm about them and via my Destination Challenges in NRW I discovered a whole bunch of them on a cute little hill in Freudenberg, Germany. Really the perfect spot for a romantic stroll through its narrow streets.

Let me show you how it looks. I took some photos ;-)

Looking for Wisent aka European Bison 'in the wild'? I found some in Germany

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Little did I know that there were still bison in Europe...
My Destination Challenges in the NRW region made me realize I was very wrong.

The European bison is actually referred to as Wisent and I found them at the Wisent Wildnis am Rothaarsteig. It's a big nature area where the bison can roam and be admired.

Check out the video about my visit to the Wisent Wildnis below

The coolest public transport system in the world: The Schwebebahn in Wuppertal

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Little did I know that Wuppertal had such a fun surprise in store for me.

Wuppertal is the home to a suspension railway referred to as the 'Schwebebahn'. It's basically a 13 km metro system that floates mainly over the 'Wupper' river.

It's said to be the safest and in my opinion also the coolest public transport system in the world.

Let me take you for a ride in the video below ;-)

The Ruhr district Halde art installations

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Fan of art and hiking? Then you'll have an amazing time in the Ruhr district in North Rhine-Westphalia. You can find a bunch of enormous art installations on top of mountains aka 'Halde' in different places across 'Das Ruhrgebiet'.

My 4th Destination Challenge in NRW was to find 3 of them and to pay them all a visit.

Here's what I found...

Xanten, a Roman settlement by the Rhine

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Xanten in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is home to one of the most important Roman settlements by the Rhine. You'll find an open air museum (LVR Romermuseum) that has the actual size of the former Roman town 'Colonia Ulpia Traiana'.

As part of my Destination Challenges in NRW I had to figure out where I could find this 'Colonia Ulpia Traiana'... Many people thought it would be Cologne but it turned out to be the medieval city of Xanten.

Parts of the Roman settlement where once 10.000 people lived are recovered or reconstructed. You can literally take a step back in time and learn all about the Roman way of living.

Let me show you around... ;-)

In the footsteps of Charlemagne in Aachen

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I kicked off my road trip adventure around Europe in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. It's just over the border with Belgium and my first stop was Aachen where I'd have my Destination Challenges kick off in the region.

My challenge was to find 4 places that are related to 'Charlemagne' aka 'Charles The Great' who was king of the Franken and later even got the title of Roman Emperor. It is said that he was the great uniter of European people in West and Central Europe.

Sounds like a social guy... :-)

Visiting Zunft Kölsch brewery Bielstein in Das Bergische Land

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What Altbier is for the Düsseldorf area is what Kölsch beer is for the Cologne area! 

For my second Destination Challenge in the North Rhein-Westphalia region I had to find an all above the ground Kölsch brewery in the middle of nature! 

It didn't take long for my friends and followers on social media to figure out that the place to be for me was the Bielstein brewery in Das Bergische Land which is known for its Zunft Kölsch beer. 

Kölsch is like Altbier a top fermented beer with a crisp and dry after taste and it's linked to the region just like for example Champagne is linked to the region where it's produced. 

I have to say that Kölsch is really a refreshing beer that goes down very easy. ;-)

Below my beer report of the day :-)

Visiting Bolten, the oldest Altbier brewery in the world

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'Find the oldest Altbier brewery in the world'! That was my first mission on my Destination Challenges road trip adventure around Germany.

As usual I got the answer fast from my awesome friends and followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! They pointed me in the direction of Altbier brewery 'Bolten' in Korschenbroich.

Roos, my van, and I hit the road direction North Rhein-Westphalia!

Read all about what happened next below...