Founded in the first century BC as a Roman settlement, Bonn is one of Germany's oldest cities and is situated on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.  It is famously known as the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1770 and it is where he spent his childhood and teenage years.  The Beethoven-Haus (Bonngasse 20 und 24-26) is situated in the centre of the city and is the only preserved residence of the Beethoven family and is largely in its original condition. 

Beethoven-Haus is one of the few remaining residences built in the 18th century, although its baroque stone facade was erected over cellars dating back to the 12th or 13th century. It houses the largest and most diverse Beethoven collection in the world including manuscripts, letters, pictures, busts, coins and medallions, musical instruments, furniture and everyday items used by the composer. 

Paul and I were fortunate enough to stay with friends at their home in the residential area of Bonn Südstadt (Bonn City South) and Poppelsdorfer Allee.  This avenue is popular with tourists as it is beautiful!  The avenue itself was originally designed in approximately 1745 and connects two Electoral Palaces - Kurkölnische Residenzschloss Bonn (Electoral Palace Bonn) and the pleasure palace in Poppelsdorf (Clemensruh Castle).  The avenue was based on a French horticultural theory and is a so-called 'allée double'. It is characterized by a central strip of green ('tapis vert') with a double row of chestnut trees on the side. The horse chestnut was an exotic species in the 18th century. The double rows of trees on both sides created a beautiful shade canopy as well as directing the eye toward the distinctive architectural buildings at either end of the kilometre-long avenue.   Many of the houses along Poppelsdorf Allee remain in the same condition as when they were built between 1860 and the start of the First World War.  These houses are in the Wilhelminian style with varied embellished facades and ornamental decorations and are usually a three- to six- story block construction, with courtyards, chestnut trees and gardens.

Above - a freaky statue of Beethoven - in a garden-house.  Very weird.