Köln, Germany pt II

Day 29:

So lets take a small journey into our accommodations here... Last night we went to put the blackout shades down, and I don't know if they're doomsday preppers or what, but they weren't as much blinds as 2 levels of huge wooden blocks on the outside of the window. But no complaints here, they kept out the light... as well as any stray zombies. Also the beds. We slept in separate beds last night. Not because we are fighting or one bed was too small. Because the double bed is perched 2 meters in the air on a homemade bunk bed. Danielle drew the short straw (meaning was brave enough), and slept on the top bunk. But we made it through the night, and that's what matters.

It was raining when we woke up, with no signs of halting. Throughout the day, it probably completely stopped 3 times. But luckily for us, it wasn't too crazy for most of the day. We wandered our way through the city, following old buildings, most notably being the Kölner Rathaus, Groß Sankt Martin Kirche, and of course, Kölner Dom.

We do have to note that Köln is the first town we have seen that has tangible signs of how devastating the World Wars were. Beautiful old buildings were reduced to rubble. The only ones with the financing to be rebuilt were the chuches, but you can plainly see on the buildings where the original walls end and the 20th century replacement begins. Being completely honest, not much was left from the originals. Luckily, the World Wars happened after photography, allowing them to rebuild with accuracy. It gives a slightly skewed view into the past, either way.

The Kölner Rathaus is the oldest documented city hall in all of Germany, with records back 900 years. The building was expanded upon in he succesive centuries with our favorite gothic styling. We did get rained on by rain coming from the mouth of one of the gargoyles, and for some reason we loved that fact. It was a little bit of a bummer hearing that the Great Saint Martin's Church was built in the latter part of the 20th century, but it was started in the 12th, so I think we might just stick with that.

The Cologne Cathedral stands alone in its sheer size. Despite rain, we stood staring again. Inside was even more breathtaking. The ceiling was indescribably high, there were medieval tapestries, massive stained glass windows... I feel like we may have peaked as far as churches are concerned. Just amazing. Its such a ridiculous story behind the church, though. Churches existed on the same area since the 4th century, including what was known as the oldest catherdral. They tore down the old cathedral to build this one in the 1200s. The initial building lasted 200 years, then was halted, with towers topped by cranes, for 400 years, before completing it after another 50. So with that 400 year hiatus, it makes sense that it really overshadows the rest of the cathedrals from its era.

Next, we went to Früh to have lunch and beer. They are one of the original brewers of the style designated solely to the region, the Kölsch. This was our first experience with a restaurant that replaces your beer without you asking. Sort of a shock at first, but at 18cl each, nobody should get into any trouble. The food was a beautiful mess of pork, potatoes, mushrooms, heavy sauces, and one tomato slice. It was just what we needed.

We wandered our way home just before the rain went completely insane. We were more than happy to hear the madness from the safety of the inside.Read more