We don't take ourselves seriously...

Tuesday, August 29  --  We got up this morning and caught the 7:35 am train to Cologne.  We stop at the Backwerk for breakfast; coffee and an avocado brown bread sandwich for me.  The train ride to Cologne is also very nice; providing free wi-fi and ample room to work.  I saved my blogging for the trip as it is 4 ½ hours to Cologne from Berlin.  Wolfsburg is the location of the Volkswagen Group and Volkswagen brand headquarters and it is one of the train stops along the way.  Although the picture from the train doesn't show it; it was a beautiful campus with bike trails, walking trails and a pond in the center. 

Our train arrives (two trains) -- 

it will separate and head to Cologne along the way

My Costa apfel kuchen and Avocado Sandwich

 Our reserve seats

Wolfsburg Volkswagon

As soon as we arrive, we see that Cologne is very different.  It sits right on the Rhine River and the large, Gothic Cathedral dominates the view as you enter the city.  It is a third the size of Berlin with a population of 1.08 million.

Our hotel

We arrive about 2 pm and find our hotel is just a short distance from the train station.  We quickly get settle and go for a walk and look for a place to have lunch.  We decide to walk along the river, which is very pretty.  The train station is in the old city center and there are sections that are very touristy and set up for the riverboat cruises that travel the Rhine River.  

We have two missions before our 4:11 pm walking tour; to find a place for lunch and to find a two port USB c with European plug so that we can charge both phones from one outlet.  We eat at Sattgrun (Lush Green) Vegan Buffet.  This buffet was different than American buffets as you choose your plate size and you pay to fill it once.  Here the plates had a divider down the center; one side for cold dishes and salad and the other for hot dishes.  The food was really good and it decided to rain while we sat under our very large canopy over the outdoor seating.

The Rhine River

Statue at a store

My lunch

After lunch, we found an electronics store and our USB C plug.  We still have time to meander to the meeting point.  Along the way, we see street artist use chalk to create their work, bike parking lots, and a beautiful fountain in a park.

We meet our tour guide, Nina, at one of the mediaeval gates to the city and she gave us some information on the history of  Cologne.  She started by saying the people of Cologne are very different than most Germans.  According to Nina, they are much more laid back and they do not take themselves seriously.  The area was settled by a tribe called the Ubii and the Ubii lived in Cologne during the time of Caesar.  The Romans like to set up cities on rivers across the river from established populations.  They did this in Cologne, however; there were very few women in the Roman community and they looked to the beautiful women of Ubii for wives.  A Roman general, Agrippa, colonized the area and married an Ubii woman named Julia.  He named the colony Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium at his wife's request and it was later shortened to Colonia.  The link provides additional information on the history of Cologne, which was taken by France in 1794.  According to Nina, 90% of the city was destroyed in WWII.

At the gate with our tour group

The Cologne shield

The three crowns symbolize the Three Kings or Three Wise Men whose bones are said to be kept in a golden sarcophagus in Cologne Cathedral and the eleven drops recall Cologne's patron, Saint Ursula, a Britannic princess, and her legendary 11,000 virgin companions who were supposedly martyred by Attila the Hun at Cologne for their Christian faith in 383. According to many sources, the entourage of Ursula and the number of victims was significantly smaller. The original legend referred to only eleven companions and the number was later inflated.

We stopped along one street as Nina told us about Thomas Bumgartel, the banana sprayer of Cologne.  Thomas created a banana stencil and Used his spray-painted banana to mark out interesting art locations in cities such such as: Aachen, Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt/M., Hamburg, Hanover, Innsbruck, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Cologne, Leipzig, Linz, London, Mülheim/Ruhr, Moscow, Munich, New York, Paris, Palma, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich.  At first his bananas were not welcomed, but over time it is an artistic status symbol that some have tried to copy.

Painting of Cologne Old and New with a large banana

The banana stencil outside this building designated as an art shop

Our next stop was a parking garage near the cathedral.  According to Nina, there ancient Roman ruins found during construction in the city as a result of Roman colonization.  When the parking garage was started; its progress was slowed as ruins were found and a decision was made on how to preserve them.  Eventually, construction was completed with the ruins fenced off inside the garage.

 

We moved on to the cathedral.  The  Kölner Dom is 157 m (515 ft) tall and the world’s third largest Gothic-style cathedral with 10,000 square metres of windows and 300,000 tons of stones used in its construction. Maintenance costs per day are around €30,000 and about 100 people from the cathedral masonry office work every day to maintain this popular landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its construction began in 1248 and was not completed until 1880.  But it is a never ending process and an old Cologne saying is “When the Cathedral is finished, the world will end”. 

This is an example of the design on top of the spires

Not goat gargoyles, but still pretty awesome

The Cathedral is made of different types of stone, such as trachyte and sandstone.  As a result, the stonemasons and stone sculptors were of great importance — and they still are, because of the extensive amount of conservation work that needs to be done. The black patina has been a characteristic feature of Cologne Cathedral for centuries and is due to weathering, soot and acid rain.

The football (soccer) team in Cologne has a goat as it mascot and several of the gargoyles on the church have been replaced with Hennes the goat gargoyle.  In fact, there may be as many a 9 goat gargoyles on the church as there have been 9 different Hennes's.  This is one more example of how Cologne does not take itself seriously.

The chef mannequin is so weird

The Schmidt's Column is another piece of interesting of Cologne history.  The column 4.5 meter stone column pays ohmage to the first family of Cologne, however; the stone column was unveil the same time as the first moonwalk, so they added a tribute to Neil Armstrong on the backside of the column.  Yet another example.

Schmidt Family Side

Moon Landing Side

The bronze monument of the two Cologne originals Tünnes and Schäl stands opposite the Romanesque church on the backside of the restaurant bearing their name, possibly to keep tourist from blocking the front of the restaurant.  These were Cologne puppet characters.  The thick nose of Tünnes (the country bumpkin with street smarts) is already rubbed very shiny, because it should bring luck to rub over it.  Schäl is the more suave of the comic duo and maybe also a bit of a shady character.  Rubber his nose will bring you riches.

Tunnes and Skal

Cologne is also known for its carnival celebration which starts in November and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday and for Kölsch beer. Our tour ends with a discussion of carnival including the costumes, parades, parties, and the ending with the burning of the Nubbel (forgiveness of the many sins of the year) at midnight on Fat Tuesday.  Drinking kolsch beer is an important part of carnival as is dressing up in costume. Click the links above to find out more.   

Kölsch is top-fermented beer and refers not only to the type of beer but also to Cologne’s traditional local culture and to the local dialect.  The beer is served in a typical tall cylindrical glass called a “stange” that holds 0.2 litres of liquid. Because these glasses have such a small capacity and the beer is tapped from a ten-litre barrel called a Pittermännchen, the kölsch is always fresh and cool. Thanks to its special type of fermentation, kölsch contains less sugar and malt substances than other types of beer. True kölsch beer can only be brewed in Cologne (and is also protected by the EU) and there are 25 different brands to choose from.

Willhelm Ostermann, Lyracist, Songwriter, Singer of Cologne

Carnival Music

After the tour we cross the one bridge and come back on the train bridge which is the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne with the 40,000 locks.  It has Roman guard statues on horses.  The stone columns at the beginning of the bridge are used for rock climbing and we see two people climbing as we walk by.

By the Rhine

Climbing Club -- Climb at your own risk

Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne with the 40,000 locks

We have dinner at a touristy place by the river.  Thom finally gets to try his currywurst and I have a nice vegetable pasta dish.  We head back to the hotel, walking by the river.