Köln Germany

View Larger Map

Huuge thunderstorm right when we arrived here in Köln. From the train station our small but comfy hotel was just across the plaza - a 2 minute walk - and through the storm we ran to the other side of the plaza to visit Köln's main attraction, the soaring gothic cathedral.

Bryan laughing at all the thunder and lightning as it pours

With nothing better to do as it poured, we decided to climb the 506 steps up the steeple. To be honest, we were getting a tiny bit nervous as we finished the last leg of the climb upward.. We were as high up as one could go in Köln it seemed since even modern skyscraper buildings were not as tall as the church tower.

Soaring ceilings inside the gothic cathedral

Flying buttresses to support the walls

The bells in the bell tower level ... I do not want to be here when it rings! And still ... we are only halfway up the tower...

We listened to the hare Krishna chanting in the plaza below while we took in the view. So incredible to think that hundreds of years ago, a building with such great height was built. With all of our technology today, skyscrapers seem much less impressive! Maybe its because we underestimate what humans were able to do in the past. Half an hour later, winding back down the spiral stone steps, we arrived in the main church with its soaring vaulted roof. We walked the length of this small city (apparently the 4th largest in Germany?) but there wasn't much else of interest.

 Dinner was at a Lebanese restaurant that we had read about online (another first taste for Bryan). It was good, but nothing in particular to write home about.

 the one cute riverside street in Köln

We spent the remainder of the evening watching the opening ceremony of the London 2012 olympics. The next morning, hopped on our train to the beautifully picturesque city of Cochem in the Mosel River valley. Other than the beautiful cathedral, nothing much else to report about Koln ... just a generic everyday life kind of place.