Life as I know it.: Köln in a Day

I'm a little late in my blog writing (not sure how today is already Thursday) but last Saturday, Derek and I decided to visit Köln (Cologne) - a large city known for it carnival celebrations and large Gothic church - the Dom. Derek had visited the church many years ago when he visited Germany in the eighth grade. Derek doesn't have the best memory, but he sure remembered standing in awe of the immaculate cathedral. I can picture him standing inside the church at the age of twelve admiring the architecture feat it must have taken to build such a beauty. So we put Simba in his room (our cat like dog), packed our travel books and camera and started the 2.5 hour drive to the big city.

I prefer to travel to a city with a good idea of what I'd like to see, but allow time and be open for spontaneity and "getting lost." To prepare for this trip I had made a list of the "top must-sees" along with reading some history of the city and church before we went, and reading over Rick Steve's suggestion for the Köln walking tour. I know there is so much more to Köln that we didn't see, but I do feel as though we dug deep into the surface.

The drive was uneventful - Derek drove and I slept. The tour books suggested parking underneath the Dom for 18 euro a day, but if you don't mind walking an extra 15 minutes, you can find hotel parking for 15 euro for an entire day - we ended up just paying 11 in a hotel parking garage.

One thing about Europe that will never get old is the bakeries. And I know Derek agrees. As we walked along Hohe Strasse - the busiest pedestrian-only street in the city, there were bakery after bakery selling Berliners (jelly dognuts) kuchens, crossiants. You name it, they had it. So we picked out an ApfelStrudel and a ButterKuchen, purchased a "coffee-to-go" and headed for the Dom. As a World Heritage Site, the Dom was partially built between 1248 and 1473 and later was finished in the 1880s to the original plan. It houses the relics of the Three Magi and thus has been a pilgrammage site for many centuries. You can read more about the history of the Cologne Cathedral here.

Public tours in English are given twice a day - at 10:30am and 2:30pm. We opted for the afternoon tour. The church was filled with people - tourists from all over Europe and the world. There were only five people who opted for the tour- Derek and I and three others. For only 7euro, we received an up close look and explanation of things you would never normally think about. The stained glass windows of the cathedral are large enough and plentiful enough to cover four football fields. They date back to 1509 and are as most recent as the early 2000's. The crucifix of Jesus is from before the church was even built - before the 1200s. The statue of St. Christopher - an intriguing and inviting statue was from the 1200's as well. The church houses so many meaningful and beautiful paintings, statues, and other works of art - it was amazing. After explaining many significant points of interests in the church, our tour guide lead us to a building across the plaza and into a theater room where we watched a 20 minute, kind of strange, film about the cathedral and the Magi Relics.

We then proceeded to the climb one of the two church towers. Out of breath and 533 steps later, Derek and I had a grand view of the city and the Rhine River. It was amazing to see the Gothic detail of the church so high up and not close to the ground.

The Cathedral was definitely the highlight of the trip. We also visited the Hohenzollern Bridge - a bridge crossing the Rhine River covered in locks - literally covered in thousands of "love locks." Lovers come and leave their lock on the bridge and throw the key into the water. It was a beautiful sight.

We also walked along the Rhine and visited different plazas and buildings on the Rick Steves' walking tour. We stopped by the chocolate museum and sampled some Lindt chocolate from the gold leafed chocolate fountain. And then we proceeded to eat some Chili con Carne and drink Kölsch beer- a local brew to the area. You have to try everything once, but that is good enough for me when it comes to the Kölsch beer. It's reminds me of the days drinking Keystone Light in college. I'll stick to Derek's fav- hefewiessen.

Here's a photo tour of our day: