Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The Black Forest (“Schwarzwald“) in Germany is a legend: because of the original cuckoo clocks, the special and very tasty ham and the strange outfits the natives wear on public holidays. And it is a very interesting landscape you can best enjoy from the coaches of the “Schwarzwaldbahn” – a railway crossing the Black Forest.
The castle of Heidelberg, Germany is well known to the world – because of its beauty and because of the big amount of US soldiers stationed in nearby Ramstein that visited it. It is first mentioned in 1225 and was until 1697 seat of the Palatine prince-electors. Today it is a wonderful ruin in Renaissance style made of red freestone.
If you follow the Panamericana from Puerto Montt down to the south it will end suddenly and you need to take a ferry boat to the island of Chiloé. It is a wonderful place where you have the possibility to see penguins in their natural habitat. A very good place for this seems to be Puñihuil beach – you can reach it if you turn west after the ferry usage and pass the town of Ancud; and then simply continue through empty landscapes.
In most parts the Panamericana seems to be a road running straight down to the south. Especially at the southern end of Chile this changes because of the natural conditions. Close to Puerto Montt, before entering the area with the main natural preserves of Chile, the Panam – here called Ruta 5 – cannot simply lead on. You’ll need to cross the waters to Chiloé island by ferry boat.
There are many beautiful landscapes in the lake region of Chile. One very beautiful is close to the volcano Osorno: when you follow road 225 towards Lago Todos los Santos it ends there in a very small place called Petrohué – with a nice hotel at a very quite place. On your way you can find a small but nice site: the waterfalls of Petrohué river.
During different times in history, German settlers came to Chile and started a new life here. In this region, in 1846 settlers arrived and built up the capital – Puerto Montt. In 1853 a new town was created at the shore of the beautiful (but artificially created) Lago Llanquihue: Frutillar – which means strawberry bed.
The city of Valdivia in the south of Chile dates back to 1552. It is 15 kilometers away from the sea but is located at the crossing of three mighty rivers: Rio Cruces, Rio Callecalle and Rio Valdivia. This place has seen many important events in history; conflicts with the native Mapuche and between the Spanish and Chilean fleets. From 1846 on German settlers began to live here and added a lot to the city – even a German brewery.
Continue reading “German settlers, river cruises & sea lions”
What do German settlers do first, when they arrive? They start a brewery. In Valdivia, Chile in 1846 the first settlers arrived and the Cerveceria Kunstmann was created instantly, promoting their beer in Chile under the claim “… das gute Bier“. They brew traditional Lager and Bock beers, but also some Chilean specialties and rather experimental things like chocolate beer. Be brave but better keep your lips away from the honey (miel) beer.
The Lago Villarrica is a very big lake in Chile. It is 23 kilometers long and offers fantastic views on the still active volcano Villarrica. It has destroyed this region more than once during the time of human civilization and there are big signs along the road explaining what to do in case of an emergency.