Köln (19.04.2008)

This weekend, I got to hang out with my sister-in-law, Michelle, and two of her friends from back home (Minnesota), Diane and Chuck. Chuck is originally from Cologne, Minnesota, so he was excited to see the original. (The town in Minnesota has a population of just over 1,000 - this one is closer to a million.)

The cathedral in Köln is one of the coolest places I've ever been. As you drive into the city and cross the bridge, this incredible dark shape becomes visible - but you really can't get a feel for how ginormous it is until you are standing in front. The intricate stone carvings - well, the whole thing is one big elaborate stone carving. It was a dreary, cold day, but the Köln Cathedral is truly awe-inspiring.





[The interesting feature of this crucifix in one of the side chapels is its depiction of Christ. His eyes are closed and there is no wound in his side - "der Augenblick des Todes" as the tour guide explained to a group next to me - the "moment of death". (I had to zoom way in between some iron bars for this shot.)]

After spending a couple hours in the cathedral - it just went on and on, but it was all so ornate (and a bit difficult to soak it all in) - we wandered around the pedestrian zone looking for a place to eat. While we were trying to decide, we took pause to watch a street performer named "Theo Teabag" dazzle the crowd with his wit, a unicycle and some fire-juggling. Theo was as crazy as he looked - and his performance would likely have been rated PG (and you wouldn't have needed German to catch that) - which was crazy because there were a lot of kids watching, too.

[Theo Teabag]
After Theo's show - which was close to 30 minutes - we continued the search for lunch, which by now was becoming closer to dinner. But we were having a good time. What's ironic was how hard it was to find a German restaurant in the pedestrian zone. There were plenty of high-priced boutiques and a few small cafes, but no good hearty German fare. But then we found one...

[I think this helped make it truly authentic - the waitresses were chain-smoking while waiting to pick up orders right next to the kitchen. I covertly took this photo by pretending to take a picture of Diane.]

[I don't think the American Heart Association recommends this, either. But it tasted so good. We washed it down with a glass of Kölsch - the regional bier native to Köln.]

[After some souvenir shopping, we headed to the car but spent a few minutes listening to the bells sound for Saturday evening Mass.]