The next stop on my journey was well signposted in Bonn. Next to this post pointing at the three partner cities is a well-known sight to English residents, a red telephone box full of books!
I can’t leave Bonn without sharing its station building. Relatively small, but well proportioned to the station’s size and adorned with a vibrant advert for a herbal medicinal drink, Klosterfrau Melissengeist. Its literal translation is Convent Woman Spirit of Melissa. The Convent Woman in question was Maria Clementine Martin, born in Brussels. She worked on the battlefield at Waterloo caring for Prussian soldiers. In gratitude, the Prussian king endowed her with a life-long pension. Financially independent, she moved to Cologne where she made and sold her tincture from a stall near the cathedral. Klosterfrau Healthcare continues to make the original tincture and many other herbal healthcare products.
I recently heard a story of someone’s grandmother always having a small bottle of Klosterfrau Melissengeist in her handbag for Sunday church where she would sip it while listening to the sermon.
I didn’t travel to or from Bonn by train, but the bus to Cologne/Bonn airport leaves from the station forecourt, so I had some nice architecture to admire while waiting for the bus.
travel tales 