We arrived in Cologne, on the western side of Germany, after riding a fast train from Berlin. Up to speeds of 250 km/hr! It was raining when we arrived, and rained most of the time we were there. Luckily the famous Cathedral of Cologne was a very short walk from our room. That afternoon we visited the Cathedral, looked around, and decided to take the guided tour the next day, on Monday, March 30.
For the rest of the afternoon, we visited the Chocolate Museum. Talk about real priorities. There were exhibits about current chocolate production, how and where, and current chocolate consumption. The US wasn't even on that chart, which surprised me. And finally we got to taste chocolate from the chocolate fountain!
Part of the fame of Cologne as a pilgrimage spot has to do with the relics in the Cathedral, which are the bones of the three Magi. In the Chocolate Museum, there was an exact one-to-one copy of the shrine, only made of chocolate. Which I thought was cheeky.
Cologne is famous for making kolsch-style beer. Only we didn't know that that is ALL they will serve you. So at dinner we enjoyed pasta, which was all we could identify on this menu, and kolsch.
The next day, after a lazy morning hiding out from the rain, we entered the Cathedral to take our tour. But it was canceled. So we bought a brochure guide for 1 euro and began to show ourselves around. But for an unknown reason, half the church was closed to visitors, unlike Sunday. I guess we missed our window.
We came back in the afternoon for what we thought was an organ concert, but which turned out to be a full Catholic mass... in German. We slipped out after an hour.
That evening we tried more kolsch beer. At some of the more "traditional" beer halls, like Fruh am Dom and Peters Brauhaus, if you do not cover your glass with the coaster, your beer will continue to be refilled. Luckily, the glasses are all sized 0.2 Liters.
On Tuesday morning, we had look in the Cathedral (still partitioned) and then visited a Museum with a super long German name displaying artifacts discovered in and around Cologne dating to the time of the Roman Empire. Lots of gravestones and statues, including this enormous grave marker. Also a beautiful mosaic.
Alan took a photo of this statue, and said he had found the earliest Michael Jackson fan.
Just after lunch we boarded a train headed for Mannheim, then switched trains to head to Heidelberg. You can ask Alan about that time Gracyn left him in Mannheim, as she boarded a train that he did not. Needless to say, we both got to Heidelberg.
For the rest of the afternoon, we visited the Chocolate Museum. Talk about real priorities. There were exhibits about current chocolate production, how and where, and current chocolate consumption. The US wasn't even on that chart, which surprised me. And finally we got to taste chocolate from the chocolate fountain!
Part of the fame of Cologne as a pilgrimage spot has to do with the relics in the Cathedral, which are the bones of the three Magi. In the Chocolate Museum, there was an exact one-to-one copy of the shrine, only made of chocolate. Which I thought was cheeky.
Cologne is famous for making kolsch-style beer. Only we didn't know that that is ALL they will serve you. So at dinner we enjoyed pasta, which was all we could identify on this menu, and kolsch.
The next day, after a lazy morning hiding out from the rain, we entered the Cathedral to take our tour. But it was canceled. So we bought a brochure guide for 1 euro and began to show ourselves around. But for an unknown reason, half the church was closed to visitors, unlike Sunday. I guess we missed our window.
We came back in the afternoon for what we thought was an organ concert, but which turned out to be a full Catholic mass... in German. We slipped out after an hour.
That evening we tried more kolsch beer. At some of the more "traditional" beer halls, like Fruh am Dom and Peters Brauhaus, if you do not cover your glass with the coaster, your beer will continue to be refilled. Luckily, the glasses are all sized 0.2 Liters.
On Tuesday morning, we had look in the Cathedral (still partitioned) and then visited a Museum with a super long German name displaying artifacts discovered in and around Cologne dating to the time of the Roman Empire. Lots of gravestones and statues, including this enormous grave marker. Also a beautiful mosaic.
Alan took a photo of this statue, and said he had found the earliest Michael Jackson fan.
Just after lunch we boarded a train headed for Mannheim, then switched trains to head to Heidelberg. You can ask Alan about that time Gracyn left him in Mannheim, as she boarded a train that he did not. Needless to say, we both got to Heidelberg.
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