Today, we trekked to Cologne (Köln) with the intent of “seeing the sights,” namely the Kölner Dom, Altstadt, and going on a Rhine River cruise. I am happy to report that all the objectives were met :)
We left the house around 8:30 this morning and headed to the Straßenbahn, bound for Bochum. In Bochum, we had some time to kill ahead of picking up our train for Köln, and we needed some breakfast, so we popped into Yorma’s. Yorma’s is a small convenience store I have found exists in most of the train stations, and in the cities. For my American friends, think 7/11 size, but with more fresh food options similar to the middle cold case at Wawa (where the fruit cups and pre made sandwiches are). Brandon and I each grabbed a pastry; I had a cinnamon bun-like thing and Brandon had a chocolate croissant. Both were very good :) The train ride to Köln took about an hour, but I keep finding that the trains make for great naps, so the time passed quickly. Peter had told us that we would find the Kölner Dom quite easily once we left the station, and he wasn’t lying. After grabbing my obligatory postcard, we walked out of the train station, looked to our left, and THERE IT WAS. I kept saying to Brandon how you don’t truly understand the size and scope of some things until they are right in front of you. Not only is the Kölner Dom beautiful, it is MASSIVE. I am not certain the photos I have at the end of this post will truly help indicate its size, but I will do my best. In front of the Dom, there were many chalk artists drawing a variety of very cool art on the plaza. One gentleman had drawn a large circle with smaller circles inside that were drawn to represent different countries from around the world. To give him money, people were tossing coins onto the flag that represented where they were from. It was really neat! Of course, we did go into the church to explore, and the size of the building seemed to feel somehow even larger when inside. Between the rows and rows of pews, multiple organs, and insanely tall ceilings, it was hard not to feel small. I was in love with all the stained glass, in particular! They had the stairs down to the crypt area open today, so we ventured down as far as we could. It was nice and cool down there, plus it was also neat to look at ;) From the Kölner Dom, we headed to the river as Brandon had booked us a sightseeing tour. It was the perfect day for something like that: bright, sunny, and nearly cloudless. Once onboard, we headed straight to the top deck so we could have the best possible view! There were loads of tables, and we were fairly close to the beginning of the line getting on, so we easily found a place to sit. The boat offered drinks and snacks during the course of the tour, so Brandon had a Kölsch while I enjoyed a Schöfferhofer grapefruit beer (one of my favorites), and we eventually also had a pretzel. We got so many great pictures of Köln from the water! The Dom, in particular, was a marvelous sight, and very easy to find amongst the other buildings because of how big it is. For those of you who thought the “love lock” bridge was just a thing in Paris (I think that’s where it is), you would be mistaken. Köln also has such a bridge, and it happens to be the bridge all the trains go across. There is a walking path (obviously) along the bridge where people then take the time to add their locks. Brandon and I did not add one, but it was cool to see all different ones that were there. What really intrigued me was seeing that some of the locks people added were actually engraved with their names and not just written on with a permanent marker! After the lock bridge, we found another small church to explore, which was also very nice, but was certainly no Kölner Dom. Then, we got ice cream (I am determined to do so in every city we go to lol) before heading back towards the train station. We had planned on staying in Köln until about 7, but by 5ish, we were both feeling pretty tired. Our feet certainly were from all the walking! We weren’t quite hungry for dinner, so we decided to ride the train to Bochum and decide from there. In Bochum, we found a place called Emma’s that was very good! We managed pretty well with our German most of the time. When our drinks were brought to us, the waiter asked us if we were ready or if we needed more time (in German), but I did not understand. When Brandon translated for me, the waiter did offer to use English, even though he was not confident with his. We told him it was okay and we were trying to practice, but he kindly insisted, retrieving our original waitress to come get the rest of our order. She came back feeling badly that she hadn’t realized we weren’t German and told us that ours was very good, which made me feel good. The rest of the meal was delicious and the experience was wonderful! Upon arrival back to the house, we hung out on the porch with Alina and told her about the day. Peter and Alicia were at an information session for a trip Alicia will be taking to Hastings, UK in a few weeks. We went down to the Ruhr to stick our feet in the water. Then we caught up with Peter and Alicia when they returned home before heading to bed. Brandon and I agreed we need to go back to Köln so we can check out the Lindt chocolate museum and the Olympic museum, so maybe that will pop up next week! Until then, tomorrow is Hattingen on our own before heading to a birthday party in the late afternoon. Enjoy the pictures!
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