We were in Cologne for three days after Belgium, but never made much of a post about until now... we are trying to get up to date. Over the next few days we are going to write about Baden-Baden, Annecy, and Paris. Right now we are in a very small town in the Western most part of Austria where we are staying with a few friends that we met while in London. They are in school in Innsbruck so we spent a few days there and then came out here to meet their families for a taste of "small town life."
In Cologne, we stayed with Wolfgang and Lika, a wonderful couple, right downtown. Lika was very welcoming and generous. Even though we didn't meet our first night because she was in a yoga class, she made sure to leave out blankets and pillows for us with chocolates on them! Our whole time there, she was either cooking us tasty macrobiotic food, personally mixing together a blend of different teas for us to try, or being otherwise splendidly hospitable. Wolfgang was extremly knowledgable about the history of Cologne and was pretty much our own personal tour guide during our time there. Our first night, while grabbing a beer at a neat little bar with dried flowers covering the entire ceiling, I breifly mentioned an interest in drinking white wine on the Rhine River. The next day when we woke up, Wolfgang had planned a daytrip for the four of us.
We hopped in his car and headed about 45 minutes away to a small wine region. It was exciting for us to be on the Autobahn, and we eagerly watched as the spedometer climbed to at least 190 kph, which is about 118 mph. It was exciting and interesting at the same time. It felt unusual to to go so fast, yet it didn't seem to be an unreasonable speed and Wolfgang handled the car comfortably. After exiting the highway we were quickly upon a small village that Wolfgang remembered going to as a young boy. We found a parking spot and walked to the village. After strolling around for a liitle while, Wolfgang realized that the wasn't quite what he remembered. Despite being picturesque, it was a bit of a "tourist trap" so we took a few photos and moved on. We drove deeper into the valley, winding around steep hills covered with improbably placed vinyards, skipping from town to town. That weekend there was an large wine festival taking place and every town was saturated with tourists and locals alike- parking seemed impossible. Though intrigued, we lamented not arriving earlier and chose to forgo a stop in one of these villages. We drove part way up a mountain not too far away, which was the highest in the area. We walked the rest of the way to the top on a well-worn path, where we found a tower to climb. The inscription explained that it was built to commemorate the wedding of a king several hundred years ago. We spent some time at the top admiring the view and snapping photos. Wolfgang and Like were thankful to be here as well, as they apparantly don't make it out of Cologne often. Afterwards, we took a short drive to a lake, located on a semi-active volcano. If you look carefully at the surface of the water, you will see bubbles of gas escaping from beneath the lake and rising to the top. We enjoyed the sunset and mallards for a few minutes before heading home. The day was relaxing and wonderful, it was so nice to get out of the city and into the woods, even if just for a few hours.
The next day we explored Cologne. It seems that every city on this trip has a cathedral that we "simply must check out," and in Cologne's case, we agreed. After 600 years of construction the Kölner Dom became the tallest structure in the world before the Washington Monument was built, and there is even a mandate to ensure that no building in Cologne can be built taller. It has a very unique history. During WWII, something like 90% of the city was destroyed and the Cathedral itself took 14 direct hits without falling. The interior was simply incredible - enormous and breathtaking. The high gothic style of the church made for an very stylized and busy exterior, while the interior was gargantuan and graceful with soaring vaulted ceilings, thick walls, and pillars made of heavy stone. After being inside it is not surprising that this structure withstood the bombings. The stone seemed as if would be simply impossible to move. At the time of construction, Germany (and Cologne in particular) was split religiously, between the Catholics and the Protestants. Catholics built the cathedral, and it took over 600 years to complete. When visiting, you are overtaken by the beauty, but at the same time confused as to why they would choose to build such an eyesore of a train station directly next to such a glorious structure. Shortly after the Cathedral was completed, the Protestants decided to build the train station right next door in order to show that they were still the more powerful and influential group. After climbing the tower to the top, if you look towards the Rhine, the trains appear to be headed directly for the church, but at the last second the tracks curve toward the train station. We did climb to the top, and though very rewarding, our thighs were shaking with exhaustion by the time we were finished. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring other parts of Cologne, and later we ate at a local restaurant with some very tasty authentic food!
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