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We all woke up on the morning of the 27th, dragged our luggage to the main train station in Berlin, and caught an early train to Köln. The ride was a long one….about 4 ½ hours….which in a way turned out to be a blessing, as it took about that long to get all of our suitcases up into the luggage compartment. It was actually a pretty interesting ride. We passed through a lot of country, and got to see all kinds of wildlife, including stag, as well as miniature deer (Roe deer, I believe they are called. Looking it up online says that 30-35 pounds is normal). Either way, it was pretty neat!
Upon arriving in Köln, we found some more American type food to eat for lunch: Domino’s Pizza! It was delicious! We dragged our luggage outside the train station, where we were standing in the shadow of the Kölner Dom: probably the most amazing structure I have ever seen in my life. The large, dark, gothic cathedral is absolutely enormous. It not only has the largest façade of any church in the entire world, but it has the second tallest spires as well. In fact, for the four years following its completion, it was the world’s tallest structure, until surpassed by the Washington monument. However, it’s not only the sheer size of the building that’s impressive, but its history is as well. Construction of the cathedral began in 1248, and lasted over 600 years until 1880. And, as the story is told, it houses relics of the Three Kings. It’s amazing to see such an amazing monument, especially taking into consideration that it was partially built before our country was even known to exist. After staring at the Dom for some time, we walked around the cathedral and down the street about 100 yards to the Sofitel Hotel. We walked through a maze of construction work, checked in, and dropped off our luggage. Then, me and Rachel went and met my friend, John, in front of the Dom. John had stayed with a host family in the area for a few weeks, and knew Köln well, so he offered to show us around. We walked through some of the main streets and the shopping district, before stopping for some Kölsch beer at the Malzmühle Brewery. From there, we went to a local Früh Kölsch brewery for a goulash and bratwurst dinner. As we were all tired from the traveling, we headed in for the night. However, me and my mom decided to go for a walk later that night, and ended up stopping for apple strudel and Irish coffee at a nice dessert restaurant.
The next morning, we ate a big breakfast at the hotel, and walked over to the Dom. We walked around inside for quite a while, before beginning our 30 minute climb up the circular-stair spire. From the top, the view was unbelievable, and we could see the entire city, as well as the Rhein River and the Hohenzollern, Deutzer, and Severins Bridges. We looked into taking a Rhein River cruise, but the cruises had just stopped for the winter. And, the Köln Christmas markets were being dismantled as well. So, we decided to check out the Imhoff-Stollwerck Lindt Chocolate Museum, which was on a peninsula, overlooking the Rhein. The museum turned out to be pretty big, and was actually pretty interesting. At one point, we were able to see chocolate Lindt truffels being made, and we were able to buy them fresh off of the conveyor belt. We also got to taste some of the chocolate in the Lindt chocolate fountain. After the Chocolate Museum, we walked to the German Sport and Olympia Museum. However, we decide to walk around the city a bit more instead of doing another museum. On our walk we passed numerous sights, including many more museums, numerous breweries, and the Church of Gross St. Martin. We even got to check out a Rhein River bait and tackle shop, where we learned that the owners would soon be off to Florida for Tarpon fishing! Hungry, but once again tired of bratwurst and schnitzel, we decided to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Café Köln. We got right into an empty table, where we got to listen to great music, while drinking Sion Kölsch and eating cheeseburgers….with a top AND bottom bun no less! After dinner, and trying to convince my parents that they didn’t need to leave a 20% tip in Germany, we went to a souvenir shop, where I finally broke down and bought myself a nice stein. It was an easy choice once I saw one with hunters and red stag! We headed back to the hotel, had a drink in the hotel pub, and packed our bags for our trip to Munich the next morning.
Upon arriving in Köln, we found some more American type food to eat for lunch: Domino’s Pizza! It was delicious! We dragged our luggage outside the train station, where we were standing in the shadow of the Kölner Dom: probably the most amazing structure I have ever seen in my life. The large, dark, gothic cathedral is absolutely enormous. It not only has the largest façade of any church in the entire world, but it has the second tallest spires as well. In fact, for the four years following its completion, it was the world’s tallest structure, until surpassed by the Washington monument. However, it’s not only the sheer size of the building that’s impressive, but its history is as well. Construction of the cathedral began in 1248, and lasted over 600 years until 1880. And, as the story is told, it houses relics of the Three Kings. It’s amazing to see such an amazing monument, especially taking into consideration that it was partially built before our country was even known to exist. After staring at the Dom for some time, we walked around the cathedral and down the street about 100 yards to the Sofitel Hotel. We walked through a maze of construction work, checked in, and dropped off our luggage. Then, me and Rachel went and met my friend, John, in front of the Dom. John had stayed with a host family in the area for a few weeks, and knew Köln well, so he offered to show us around. We walked through some of the main streets and the shopping district, before stopping for some Kölsch beer at the Malzmühle Brewery. From there, we went to a local Früh Kölsch brewery for a goulash and bratwurst dinner. As we were all tired from the traveling, we headed in for the night. However, me and my mom decided to go for a walk later that night, and ended up stopping for apple strudel and Irish coffee at a nice dessert restaurant.
The next morning, we ate a big breakfast at the hotel, and walked over to the Dom. We walked around inside for quite a while, before beginning our 30 minute climb up the circular-stair spire. From the top, the view was unbelievable, and we could see the entire city, as well as the Rhein River and the Hohenzollern, Deutzer, and Severins Bridges. We looked into taking a Rhein River cruise, but the cruises had just stopped for the winter. And, the Köln Christmas markets were being dismantled as well. So, we decided to check out the Imhoff-Stollwerck Lindt Chocolate Museum, which was on a peninsula, overlooking the Rhein. The museum turned out to be pretty big, and was actually pretty interesting. At one point, we were able to see chocolate Lindt truffels being made, and we were able to buy them fresh off of the conveyor belt. We also got to taste some of the chocolate in the Lindt chocolate fountain. After the Chocolate Museum, we walked to the German Sport and Olympia Museum. However, we decide to walk around the city a bit more instead of doing another museum. On our walk we passed numerous sights, including many more museums, numerous breweries, and the Church of Gross St. Martin. We even got to check out a Rhein River bait and tackle shop, where we learned that the owners would soon be off to Florida for Tarpon fishing! Hungry, but once again tired of bratwurst and schnitzel, we decided to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Café Köln. We got right into an empty table, where we got to listen to great music, while drinking Sion Kölsch and eating cheeseburgers….with a top AND bottom bun no less! After dinner, and trying to convince my parents that they didn’t need to leave a 20% tip in Germany, we went to a souvenir shop, where I finally broke down and bought myself a nice stein. It was an easy choice once I saw one with hunters and red stag! We headed back to the hotel, had a drink in the hotel pub, and packed our bags for our trip to Munich the next morning.
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