Day 5: Koln (Cologne) (Eric)

Day 5: June 1st, 2019. Today we went to Koln (translated as Cologne in English). Of the places we have been so far this was my least favorite. To be fair, it was the hottest day we’ve experienced so far, and as I mentioned in a previous post, it’s a holiday weekend, so the crowd was probably larger than normal. Battling the crowds and the heat almost certainly colored my perceptions of the city, but despite these factors, I will say that I enjoyed what we saw.

We started at the Koln Cathedral. This cathedral is quite impressive and happens to be the most visited landmark in all of Germany, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day. This had to be an above average day given the holiday weekend. It was worth battling the crowds to see both the inside and outside. The initial construction of this amazing piece of Gothic architecture began in 1248 and took over 200 years to complete. It has the second tallest spire in Europe and the third tallest in the world. It was built to house the reliquary of the Three Kings (see the last two pictures). The photographs won’t do the place justice, but here you go:

And a visit to Europe would not be complete without climbing 550 steps to the top of an incredibly tall church. I would not recommend this part of touring the cathedral if you’re claustrophobic, afraid of heights,

or out of shape. But being gluttons for punishment, we paid the 5 Euro fee to climb to the top. You pass through the bell tower on the way up, and once to the top, the views are spectacular. However, the crowds and the heat made the whole experience a tad uncomfortable. Enjoy the pics:

Next, we were off to the Lindt Chocolate Museum. This was a fun experience, but on a warm day, I must warn you that Europe doesn’t do air conditioning like the States. It was still interesting to see the history of chocolate making as well as actual demonstrations of the chocolate making process, and of course, the price of admission includes several samples of Lindt chocolate. More pics:

We finished our day in Koln with a walk through the old town and a stroll across the Hohenzollern Bridge. Both were cool to see except for the aforementioned crowds and heat. The bridge is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany, and locals and tourists profess their love for each other by placing a lock on the pedestrian section of the bridge. It must also be a tradition for brides-to-be as we must have seen no less than 10 bachelorette parties strolling through the area. Final pics of the day: