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On January 23rd 2009 Jayne and I flew from Cologne/Bonn with Germanwings to Rome. There we stayed at a small Hotel, Casa della Palma, that Jayne had found on the Internet. Its location is a little off (about 15 minutes by bus), but it is cheap, clean and silent. Alex, a friend of Jayne, flew in from Spain and we spent two days together. After doing lots of sight seeing, we flew back on Jan. 26th.

Stefan Dietz in Rom
Stefan in Rome,
Vatican as background

Alex und Jayne in Rom
Alex and Jayne in Rome,
Angles Castle as background

General Info

Rom is a interesting, old city. One should take at least a long weekend to visit it. It is worth going all year round. One can't see everything in 3 or 4 days, by far not. Just the Vatican Museum takes a full day, that is why we had to skip it.

We don't think that the summer is the best time to visit, but rather the winter. Because then there aren't as may tourists and it is not to hot to walk through the city all day.

Guide book: Lonely Planet Rome

Getting there:
A flight from Cologne/Bonn is available (with a little luck) from 39,- Euro, and the flight takes about 1 1/2 hours. The airport Rome-Fiumicino is quite far out of the city, that's why we got a driver from the hotel to pick us up for 33,- Euro. Train and bus would have cost about 25,- Euro for two persons, and would have taken much longer.

Safety:
As in any other tourist town, one has to be aware of pick pockets. Other than that, Rome is just as safe as Hamburg, Berlin or Munich. 

Language:
Rom is absolutely tourism oriented, meaning nearly everybody speaks a decent English. So, language isn't a problem!
Vatican with St. Peter's Basilica

The Vatican with St. Peter's Basilica. It would have been a good time to visit, since the line was relatively short. Waiting for about 30 minutes, instead of 3-4 hours in summer. But we still decided not to go.

Spanish Steps The "Spanish Steps", in the rain not really that impressive.
Trevi Fountain The "Trevi Fountain", quite hidden on a small plaza. I can't imagine how crowded it must be here in summer.
Pantheon
The "Pantheon". The largest roman building that I have seen so far, except for some theaters. Imagine that the romans built such a huge dome about 2000 years ago -- stunning. The inside is worth a visit too, but it is not roman anymore. Pantheon
mouth of truth Jayne had to visit "Bocca della Verità" (mouth of truth) because of the film „Roman Holiday“, okay then.
Palatin Hill The ruins on the "Palatin Hill" just before sunset and with rainbow. The photo was taken from Circus Maximus.