EXPLORING THE WORLD: THE CATHEDRAL OF KOLN, GLORIOUS HEIGHTS!

Hotel Blucheral aka ______________________
Blucherstrasse 162
Bacharach, Germany
Tuesday, July 3, 2024
60sF, 70F, sun with intermittent rain

Cathedral of Cologne

Late tonight, will do my best with slow Internet, Dear Readers-

Today’s adventure took us to Koln/Cologne, about 2 hours by train away. We passed through Koblenz where my Great Uncle Archie was stationed in World War I as part of the Army of Occupation (90^th Division) when Germany surrendered. I do love seeing the cities Archie was in, just like when we toured France on World War I tours, seeing sites he may have seen, the Rhine River, the large city, and several old churches.

We are really acclimated to train rides now, like finding seats, the smells (garlic, sausage, etc.), discovery of what works in the bathrooms, which seats face the direction we are traveling, how many bikes fit in front of the bathroom door, jumping off the train in a timely manner, danke, bitte.

Cologne, the 4^th largest city in Germany, is a 2,000-year-old city spanning the Rhine River in western Germany, the region’s cultural hub. “A landmark of High Gothic architecture set amid reconstructed old town, the twin-spired Cologne Cathedral is also known for its gilded medieval reliquary and sweeping river views. Population 1.1 million.

The train station was fabulous, packed with people who had places to go, and what an array of food choices! Bakeries, sandwich shops, cheese stores, candy stores, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, McDonald’s, sushi, and Country Fair type stores. I opted for a small Burger King hamburger, TK had a pretzel.

After our light lunch, we exited the station only to see the largest cathedral I had ever seen, an overpowering view—all in her glory! The Cathedral of Cologne is the tallest twin spired church in the Europe—each spire is 515 ft. tall, and the 3^rd tallest in the world. Begun in 1248, the church took about 300 years to complete. During WWII, the Allies used it as a navigational target since Cologne was a major industrial city. It was hit by 14 different bombs at different times, but the structure remained intact.

Hopefully these photos show the immensity of the Cathedral---

TK in a pew!

Beautiful stained glass windows----

The original church is depicted in the tiles

The church is famous for its Reliquary for the remains of the Three Kings, the Gothic architecture, and the stained-glass windows. With 6 million visitors yearly, it is the most visited site in Germany.

This gold casket holds the Relics of

The Three Kings

(Derek was able to take this photo)

The Reliquary is behind bars

The crucifix of the Bishop of Gero (10^th c.) is the oldest known large crucifix.

After our time in the Cathedral we spotted a Starbucks, thanks to Derek nearby and bought a Koln mug!

We hopped on a bus to the Lindt Chocolate Factory and Museum! This museum traced the entire history of chocolate with dynamic displays. Along the way we scored at least 7-8 pieces of chocolate to enjoy. This museum is visited by 650,000 people yearly.