Since I had to attend a meeting in Leverkusen, Germany on Monday, May 14th for work, all three of us decided to make it a long weekend and enjoy the sights of Cologne. This time, however, we recognized our limits and booked our reservations for Saturday morning. In the past we would have jumped onto the first train leaving the station after work; I guess wisdom or maturity or “knowing your limits” finally prevailed --- then again, maybe it was just Amanda.
It is interesting though… Since everything is new to us, we can turn an otherwise innocuous / boring meeting into a relatively cheap and thoroughly interesting weekend. I think it is how you have to approach life – making the most out of every day you have.
We booked our tickets on the ICE – the best train in Europe (so far anyway). There is no question it beats the Thalys (train between Holland and Paris) and thrashes any comparison to the daily trains I take to work. The ICE is a really nice ride; it is like riding on an airplane with shorter layovers, more leg room, and less turbulence.
We ended up missing the first train out of Voorburg at 7:45, but fortunately were able to catch the 8:00 with no problem (another great aspect of using the train). When we arrived, the first thing you see when you step out of the train station is the cathedral, The Dom.
No words can describe the way it makes the air leave your lungs, your mind reel through the impossibility of its scale, and how after 15 minutes your neck hurts from staring at the top spires. It’s magnificent! I guess you can say it’s a typical gothic cathedral, with all of the intricate carvings, spires and gargoyles (like Notre Dame). But, there is just something different about this one. It is huge and beautiful and dirty and awe-inspiring. In our opinion, it is the most impressive structure we have seen in Europe.
The inside is just as good. The massive stained glass windows let in a lot of light and the vast openness is big enough for a football game (at least arena football). The floor is tiled with massive 5ft by 5ft stones that have been worn down over the 600 years since they were placed there. This church is no different than football stadiums today; when the money flows, the buildings go up. When the money dries up, the buildings stop. In this case, because of the persistent war and minimized peace between 1250 and 1880 (i.e. Vikings, Crusades, Napoleon, etc.), it took 600 years to pull together enough cash to finish.
Also inside is the shrine to the three magi (i.e. the Three Wise Men). Most Catholic churches (in fact, all Catholic churches – I think) require remains of a saint to be buried in the churches’ alter. Just like in Amalfi, it is really neat to stand 6 feet from such important biblical figures (FYI – for a good historically-based action novel, like the DaVinci Code, centered on this church, pick up Map of Bones by James Rollins).
As an interesting side note, none of the scaffolding shown in the picture is physically attached to the building. Every platform is tied to the church with ropes.
So that is Cologne… Typically, when you visit a European city, an over-abundance of “historically significant” people, places, events, etc. bombard you into submission. Cologne was different.
There were other tourist attractions and we visited them too, but they were comparable to the “Time Tunnel” ride at Six Flags. The Pretorium was the best of the rest, but still not really worth the time we spent there. In fact, when we arrived at the Pretorium Museum, we were the only ones there – literally. For a Saturday morning any other self-respecting museum would have at least had more than us there – it didn’t. You can tell by the pictures that it’s not a popular sight.
We also visited the Romano-Germanic Museum. This place was ok, but it still lacked the “Euro-feel”. So for our weekend, we fairly equally divided our time between gazing at the Dom, eating, and shopping. Bottom line: if you ever go to Cologne, schedule a three hour layover in city and visit the cathedral.
Jacob even made a new friend. A lady that worked at the hotel we stayed in had just had a baby girl 2 weeks prior to our stay. We were on the top floor of the hotel and had a wonderful view of the sunset.
It is interesting though… Since everything is new to us, we can turn an otherwise innocuous / boring meeting into a relatively cheap and thoroughly interesting weekend. I think it is how you have to approach life – making the most out of every day you have.
We booked our tickets on the ICE – the best train in Europe (so far anyway). There is no question it beats the Thalys (train between Holland and Paris) and thrashes any comparison to the daily trains I take to work. The ICE is a really nice ride; it is like riding on an airplane with shorter layovers, more leg room, and less turbulence.
We ended up missing the first train out of Voorburg at 7:45, but fortunately were able to catch the 8:00 with no problem (another great aspect of using the train). When we arrived, the first thing you see when you step out of the train station is the cathedral, The Dom.No words can describe the way it makes the air leave your lungs, your mind reel through the impossibility of its scale, and how after 15 minutes your neck hurts from staring at the top spires. It’s magnificent! I guess you can say it’s a typical gothic cathedral, with all of the intricate carvings, spires and gargoyles (like Notre Dame). But, there is just something different about this one. It is huge and beautiful and dirty and awe-inspiring. In our opinion, it is the most impressive structure we have seen in Europe.
The inside is just as good. The massive stained glass windows let in a lot of light and the vast openness is big enough for a football game (at least arena football). The floor is tiled with massive 5ft by 5ft stones that have been worn down over the 600 years since they were placed there. This church is no different than football stadiums today; when the money flows, the buildings go up. When the money dries up, the buildings stop. In this case, because of the persistent war and minimized peace between 1250 and 1880 (i.e. Vikings, Crusades, Napoleon, etc.), it took 600 years to pull together enough cash to finish.Also inside is the shrine to the three magi (i.e. the Three Wise Men). Most Catholic churches (in fact, all Catholic churches – I think) require remains of a saint to be buried in the churches’ alter. Just like in Amalfi, it is really neat to stand 6 feet from such important biblical figures (FYI – for a good historically-based action novel, like the DaVinci Code, centered on this church, pick up Map of Bones by James Rollins).As an interesting side note, none of the scaffolding shown in the picture is physically attached to the building. Every platform is tied to the church with ropes.
So that is Cologne… Typically, when you visit a European city, an over-abundance of “historically significant” people, places, events, etc. bombard you into submission. Cologne was different.
There were other tourist attractions and we visited them too, but they were comparable to the “Time Tunnel” ride at Six Flags. The Pretorium was the best of the rest, but still not really worth the time we spent there. In fact, when we arrived at the Pretorium Museum, we were the only ones there – literally. For a Saturday morning any other self-respecting museum would have at least had more than us there – it didn’t. You can tell by the pictures that it’s not a popular sight.
We also visited the Romano-Germanic Museum. This place was ok, but it still lacked the “Euro-feel”. So for our weekend, we fairly equally divided our time between gazing at the Dom, eating, and shopping. Bottom line: if you ever go to Cologne, schedule a three hour layover in city and visit the cathedral.
Jacob even made a new friend. A lady that worked at the hotel we stayed in had just had a baby girl 2 weeks prior to our stay. We were on the top floor of the hotel and had a wonderful view of the sunset.It happened to be Mother’s Day that weekend, so here is Amanda and Jacob together. This one will go into the baby book for sure.
