Loading ...Okay, I’m a moron, LOL. A couple weekends ago we were in France (which I’ll back-track and blog about next week). I was so awed by the cathedral in Strasbourg that Rob said he’d take me to see another spectacular cathedral in Cologne for my birthday January 15 (which I am so proud to share with Martin Luther King Jr.–one of the most brilliant minds and wonderful spirits in history).
Well, being that we were in France, and the fact that I’d been gushing how much France felt like home (I’m French on my father’s side; Québecois to be precise), and loving that I was actually able to use some of my rusty French and read things for a change, I assumed he meant Cologne, France.
Doesn’t that sound French? Isn’t there a Cologne, France? Turns out Cologne (Koln in German) is in Germany. But it was just as lovely as could be and we had a blast for my birthday celebration.
We took the ICE, which got us there without any stops in just about two hours.
Of course, Rob always wants to do these things at the butt-crack of dawn so I had to get a little more shut-eye on the ride there and didn’t really get any pix of the countryside along the way.
On a side note, have I mentioned how awesome their train system is over here? Sleek and smooth, comfortable and CLEAN. With such an efficient, extensive multi-modal transportation system, there’s very little need for personal transportation. The U.S. could definitely take some pointers.
What else was interesting was that it made me realize how quiet, relatively speaking, people are in Germany and possibly Europe in general.
Sorry, but you and I know that we are a nation of loudmouths and attention-seekers. Hey, the truth is the truth. If that had been a train station in the U.S., you wouldn’t have been able to hear yourself think. As it was, you quite possibly could have heard a pin drop (well, I’m exaggerating a little, but you know what I mean).
I’ve been in the train station early in the morning and in the middle of the day and it’s so conspiculously noticeable how much more quiet people are over here and how much more respectful they are for other peoples’ personal space. It’s quite a contrast.
Anyway, we reached Cologne and the cathedral is literally, bam, right there. And it was magnificent! You almost can’t comprehend the astounding architecture and engineering and labor that went into building these things.
Train station in Cologne/Koln:
Fun Facts: Rob tells me that in 1880, the top of the church tower was the tallest building in the world at 157.38 meters and approximately 500 feet high. They started building it in 1248. The plan, at 12 feet long and drawn on cowhide parchment, is apparently the largest known detailed architectural map from the middle ages.
I so wish my pix did the cathedral more justice. When you are in its presence and seeing this stuff with your own eyes, you are just floored by the magnificent scale and loving craftsmanship that went into every minute inch of detail. You can’t help but marvel, and are reminded of the wonderful feats of artistry humankind is capable of.
Of course, Cologne was heavily bombed and destroyed during the war, damage you can still see today and that they are still slowly but surely rebuilding (such as the cathedral), so you are also reminded of the feats of destruction against each other that man is capable of.
Following are some of our pix that turned out the best. Sorry they aren’t better; I’m definitely going camera shopping when I get home.
Exterior shots:
(No idea who this guy is, but he wouldn’t get out of my shot, LOL)
These shots show you some of the ongoing reconstruction:
Interior shots:
I don’t remember what this was, but it was really old:
Like the cathedral in Strasbourg, we climbed to the top of the tower through this teeny tiny spiral stone staircase (super claustrophic). So many feet have climbed the staircase that each step has worn down to a concave indent in the middle.
Here are some shots once we reached the top:
See these shots?
I’ll tell you what I thought was so interesting about this. See, these panes used to be filled with stained glass. If you’ll notice just past the full length of each pane, you see carved statues (an angel in the first and a figure of St. Peter holding a rooster in the second). These statues are part of a series of two or three that surround each turret at several points along the length of each tower.
When these panes had stained glass, no one would have been able to see these statues in the back in all their glorious, intricate detail. No one but God. And the soulfulness of that kind of craftsmanship and attention to wholeness is what struck me so profoundly.
If that had been built in this day and age, we perhaps would be looking at a smooth, blank wall. Any kind of corner that could be cut would be. What’s the point of wasting labor and effort and expense on something no one will ever see, right?
But see, that’s the beauty of real craftsmanship. There is grace and dignity and meaning in its wholeness. That is soul. Shortcuts strip us of that substance and leave a thing hollow. It’s this soulful wholeness and embracing of that sensibility that makes the old world so delicious.
Overlooking the city and the beautiful Rhine River:
When we had finished exploring the cathedral and touring its various museums of artifacts, it was still only 11:30 in the morning. Time to get my birthday party on!
I think I’ve mentioned before that the Germans love their beer and drink it any time of day or night. I’m not saying they’re drunks. You don’t see people stumbling around the streets.
They are simply connoisseurs and beermaking is an artform to them. In fact, they even have a standard brewers must adhere to called the German Purity Law of 1516. They enjoy a good beer with their meals as routinely as they would a superbly roasted, brewed cup of coffee or glass of exquisite wine.
Then again, it does just crack me up that you can get liquor just about anywhere, including the corner newspaper stand or doner shop. Heck, even their version of Dominoes Pizza, which is called Joeys, will deliver beer to you!
This is doner:
What they do is shave the meat and you can have it served with salat and vegetables in a roll or taco or on a plate. I don’t recommend it. They seem to love it over here, but I tasted Rob’s and it was gross.
Back to the story, so first we set out to get some lunch and ended up at this place called Brauhaus-Sion where it looked like all the local business people congregated at this time of day.
Cologne is where they make the regional beer called Kolsh and this restaurant is where I discovered my new favorite beer, Gaffel Kolsh!
I so totally have to get these glasses, too. I usually love to drink out of pilsner glasses, but these small cilindrical ones (called stange) are so dainty and classy. This is the only style of glass that kolsch is served in.
By the way, here’s the custom for how a lot of places keep your beer tab… with each beer you are served, they put a little pencil mark on your coaster. It’s a sin in Germany to have an empty beer so they are always right there with your next full glass (hurray!). To signal that you are done and don’t want any more beers, you put the coaster on top of your glass.
Oh, here’s another custom… they don’t really tip here in Germany. It’s not expected or obligatory in the way that it is in the U.S. However, you can tip if you like; they just don’t do it on a percentage basis like we do. Instead, they round up, which is called auf runden. For example, if your bill is $8.50 and you have a $10, you could just give them the $10 and say “stimmt so” which means “that’s correct.”
Um, okay, I’ll tell you… between the two of us, Rob and I must have had about 10 marks on our coaster. But, hey, it was my BIRTHDAY and I’m in Europe! So I totally have an excuse. We definitely left with more than a glow going on and were having so much fun being silly.
Oh, another by the way… Fasnacht (Fasnacht = Fat Tuesday) is going on through Ash Wednesday over here. They actually begin celebrating on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (November; you get the picture).
Once Christmas is over, you start seeing groups of people dressed up in costumed themes and painted faces. I’ll tell you a little story that happened in Strasbourg when I post about that next week.
So it was extra festive and a good excuse to get a wee bit snockered, LOL. I’ll tell ya, I don’t know that I’ve ever done this, but there is something so fun about walking around sightseeing with a little buzz-on, LOL.
We spent the afternoon walking around the city streets, going into shops (I collect those carved, polyresin magnets of the places we’ve been so I had to get my obligatory souvenirs), strolling along the Rhine River, and just enjoying the people and the buildings and all the sights.
Here are some modes of tourist transportation that I thought were fun:
Double-decker tourist bus:
City sights:
Here’s a place we stopped in for some refreshment (Rob, coffee; me, Cola Light):
I wish to God I would have taken pictures of the restroom, LOL! The Germans have the cleanest restrooms you have ever seen. You can pretty much use any restroom anywhere; they just typically expect you to pay something and will usually have a dish or attendant to collect.
But this place has a restroom like no other! It had a contemporary Asian teahouse theme going on. Ultra sleek and sophisticated.
The faucet wasn’t so much a faucet as it was a sculptural water fountain down which water cascaded. The stall doors are clear until you lock them; then they turn a milky opaque. You can still see out, but no one can see in. And the toilets themselves weren’t toilets. They were thrones! LOL
I am so kicking myself for not marching right back up to our table, grabbing the camera and going back down to photograph this marvel of toiletry for posterity, LOL.
Anyway, after walking around and getting away from the tourist beat, we were thirsty for some more good beer and decided to find a nice, local pub. I can’t remember the name of this place, but it was along the Rhine River and so quaint:
We sat in this large corner booth by the window which was great fun because it was more like a community booth so you got to chat with other people who decided to sit with you.
We met a mom and her son who were going to a Tina Turner concert that night. They were nice, but our two most favorite people we met were these two older gentleman:
They were the neatest guys! Klaus, the man on the right toasting us with his beer, told us the most interesting stories about the city and the war. His mother was German. His father was Russian and had spent five years in a POW camp before being allowed to go home to his family.
These two fellows have been friends for over 50 years and said that they meet here once a month for a beer. Klaus is in the industrial sand business and travels frequently to the U.S. He gave us his card so we could email him and stay in touch. I just love meeting people like that!
It was dark by the time we left and started heading for home. Here’s a shot of the pub’s outdoor seating:
We stopped in a couple other places as we made our way to the train station:
I thought this door knob was so neat:
Some wild bunnies we found frolicking around in Mannheim once we got back to town:
