"Underrated fun" a Speyer Travel Page by Sjalen

Speyer is known throughout Germany for its history and one of the favourite destinations for the Germans themselves. We wanted to go here for its World Heritage cathedral. Looking at VT, I also discovered that it had a big technical museum full of airplanes. The combination of those two is how Speyer suddenly became a definate must on our itinerary when we went to Bonn for rhineroll's WineRoll. We were not disappointed. On the contrary, just surprised that not more foreign visitors find their way to this magnificent city.

Speyer is not at all a big city, with only 50000 inhabitants it is easy to get to grips with and very calm, but at the same time has enough sights for three days, a countryside full of vineyards and lots to do for children as well as several art galleries. In fact, I would call it a top destination for families in Germany. A quick change in Mannheim is all you need to get here by train from the mainline and if you drive, you are less than 100 kilometres from the French border. This is a corner of Europe which has been inhabited for a long time and it feels accordingly. Speyer itself also happens to be a city with several good restaurants.

Religious history is of course very important here and it is on the pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela which you quickly realise when seeing the Pilgrim statue "walking" along Maximilianstrasse from the cathedral. Walk along the tranquil side streets yourself, and you will often spot cycling nuns on the way to some work. There is also quite a well kept Jewish quarter in the centre. Still, people here are not at all the narrow-minded moralising type, but very friendly and lively. In 1689 the citizens had to endure the Great Alliance War when the French king Louis XIV (the Sun King) tried annexing the Palatinate since he wanted to lay claim to it due to his Palatinate sister-in-law. Hundreds of houses were destroyed in bombardments and this is why Speyer today have only a few half-timbered houses in typical style, but instead you see lots of interesting 18th century architecture in cheerful local red sandstone and all sorts of other colours.