If you ever find yourself in western Germany, I highly recommend a trip to Cologne, or Köln, in German. Hometown of Heidi Klum and the Köln Dom, it’s a great day trip! From Dusseldorf it’s about a 30 to 45 minute drive. We parked on the outside of town and took a train into the city.
Köln Dom/Cologne Cathedral
Much like my Toledo trip, it was freezing! I’d grown accustomed to the milder Spanish winters and I was not prepared for a German winter. I didn’t want to let the weather get me down! If you take a train into town, be prepared. My jaw dropped coming out the station as the Köln Dom (pronounced Cologne Dome) greeted us to the city. I saw some many cathedrals over my Christmas vacation, but this one was something special.
The Cologne Cathedral is a gorgeous Gothic cathedral. It looks much different than the cathedrals in Spain. This cathedral was a lot more “pointy” than the ones in Spain. Because the admission is free into the cathedral, we had to line up outside the cathedral. While we were waiting, I tried to take a nice artsy shot, but then my umbrella flipped inside-out! Oh well.
Much like Toledo, there was no sun to give any light. Even though it was dark, it was still beautiful. I loved the stained glass windows. I have a thing for them. It’s always amazing to see how they portray the art on these panes of glass. The ceilings are very high, much higher than the other cathedrals I had seen. It also appeared very long. There was less going on than the Spanish cathedrals, which made it seem deeper.
Stairs of Death
WARNING: You may be tempted to go to the top of the towers on the side of the cathedral. There are 533 steps and there is no elevator. To make matters worth, the staircases are tiny and very spiral. I was done after the first 50 steps, but I was determined to get to the top. Luckily there are landings along the way so you can catch your breath and rest. If you have claustrophobia, stay away. Because the steps aren’t tiny enough, people are trying to come down as you are trying to go up. Grab on!
Alas! Congratulations! You have reached the top. A giant bell rings on the hour. If you’re lucky, you can see the bell toll. There are also places to get a a good view over the city. There’s always something beautiful and peaceful about being able to silently watch over a city.
Recovery Time
My legs were shaking. I was cold and exhausted. We went on the “train-ette” that takes visitors on a tour around the city. It showed the important sites of the city. The information played over a speaker, speaking in German first and then English so by the time the English had begun, we had already passed the site. This is probably only good if you just want a nice relaxing ride around the city.
Since we were only there for a few hours and we were trying to stay to a budget, we didn’t get to see much more of the city. We found some fries, I got a drink from Starbucks, and then we headed on our way home. If you have some money to spare, you can take a cruise down the Rhine or check out some museums. Cologne is a cool place to see, just make sure you go on a nice, warm, sunny day.
