Germany April, 2004

Cologne (Köln) - largest city on the Rhine (Rhein)

Have you ever wondered where the first 'scented water' was produced?  Neither have I, never gave it a thought!.  So, since neither of us think this important, I  must tell you that eau de cologne was first produced here in 1705, from an Italian formula.

We flew from London Heaththrow to Düsseldorf and then from the airport took a train directly to the town center of Cologne.  The German Railway system is a model for efficient, comfortable travel (and to be fair <something that Fox News needs to work on>, most other European countries also have excellent train service).  I found Cologne to be a beautifully modern city.   That, in a way, was a disappointment.   90% of the city was destroyed by Allied bomber raids during World War II.  So, except  for the Cologne Cathedral,  all the buildings in the AltStadt were either destroyed or seriously damaged.  Soon after we returned from Europe, we saw a history special where they showed movies of the Allies advancing into Cologne with the Dom in the background.  If you have been to Pompeii, just image the same but in a much grander scale.  (The difference is that the Germans fix things as soon as they are broken - Pompeii is still broken!)

The only silver lining in all the bombing, death, and destruction is (assuming there is ever a silver lining for death and destruction) that reconstruction of the city revealed a period of Cologne's history that had been hidden for centuries (it's amazing exactly what effect 500 lb bombs have in urban renewal projects).  Okay, for you purists, the Germans discovered the Roman Dionysius mosaic during the construction of an air raid shelter in 1941 - we just gave them the idea to dig..  Today, we can see parts of Cologne from its beginnings in 38 B.C. as part of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages to even later.

The people in Germany were very friendly and polite enough to try to understand my horrific attempts at speaking German.  Many have a keen enough ear to determine your nationality by how you speak German.  (Next time you think it is funny to ask a German to pronounce 'Whiskey', imagine the horror stories they must tell about us!!)   I was immediately pegged as an American; however, Basia was mistaken for an Italian!!  Turns out that when she tried to speak German, she pronounced the vowels with a Polish accent which is virtually the same as Italian.  So, when I asked for something, they replied in English to me.  To Basia, they responded in Italian.  Since we both know a little Italian (she more than me), some of the exchanges got very convoluted as each response would be in a different language.  In my case, I could mispronounce words in all of those languages.

The Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom)

Just outside of the Railway Station is the Cologne Cathedral.  (See, I told you that European railroad travel was efficient!)  The tour books claim that "Any tour of the city should start beneath the towers of the extraordinary Gothic cathedral cathedral, the Dom, comparable to the great French cathedrals and a highlight of a trip to Germany." One alleged feature of the Dom is that there are no important horizontal lines - everything is vertical, as can be seen from this other view of the Dom (yes, these are ALL pictures of the same Dom).  I was not impressed as either: 1) I was exhausted, having only a few hours sleep the night before 2) I like horizontal lines or 3) I found it too ornate (a rather typical Presbyterian response).  Actually, I think the problem was it is like the 'great French cathedrals'.  I don't 'like' French cathedrals as I think they are ugly, especially Notre Dame in Paris!

It REALLY took a long time to get this Cathedral  project completed, so next time you think that you have a problem with your computer people meeting deadlines, this project started in 1248 and was finally finished in 1880!   What is even more incredible is that they did not vary from the original specifications.

The inside of the church is actually quite dark, the picture makes it look lighter.  (It is amazing what you can do with in the digital darkroom to fix even the most underexposed pictures.)  The most important and valuable object in the Dom is on the right side of this picture, The Shrine of the Magi.  It was designed in gold and silver in the form of a triple-naved basilica and decorated with relief figures depicting the life of Christ, the Apostles, and various other folks (like Old Testament Prophets) they thought appropriate to fill the vacant spots.  I just wonder how many poor people the money put into this would have fed?

From there we went outside to visit the Roman-Germanic Museum (Römiisch-Germanisches Museum).  This houses the Dionysos-Mosaik from the third century A.D. which, as I think I already mentioned, was discovered when the Germans were digging air raid shelters .You can see part of the building in the first photograph, on the right hand side.  As some of you know, I do not separate easily from my camera/computer backpack easily.  ( I think it would be easier to separate a National Rifle Association member from his gun..)  I thought that I had solved the problem by going with fully digital camera equipment, as I usually had problems with film and X-ray machines.  Now that I will let them X-ray my backpack to their hearts content, some (like this place) now forbid backpacks.  So, without regret, I got my money back and went elsewhere.  After seeing Roman ruins and artifacts in Pompeii, Rome, Frankfurt, London, and Bath, England, I doubted that I would find anything really that different - if it were different, they wouldn't have called it Roman ruins..

St. Alban

Cologne has 12 important Romanesque churches (and I am unclear if this is supposed to be one of them or one of the countless unimportant ones) within the medieval city walls.  Most, but not St. Alban, have been completely restored.  Surprisingly, the remains of this 10th Century Gothic church with its simple memorial is what I remember most vividly.



On the left is what the church looked like from across the street.  On the right, looking through the locked and gated door, I could see the figures of a man and a woman, kneeling in prayer.

It started to bring tears to my eyes as I recognized the style of the monument and realized I had seen something like it before in Pomezia, Italy (see War and Remembrance).  These represented  the parents of a German soldier, sailor or airman who died during World War II.  Simply put - there really is no silver lining for all this death and destruction for these people. This simple memorial  represents, at the unit family level, an entire generation of Germans who suffered so badly at at hands of a leader and of a political body that led them to war.  For you who want to know more, the sculpture "Mourning Parents" (Trauernden Eltern) is by Käthe Kollwitz, as "a fitting memorial to the ravages of war".

Leaving the memorial behind, it was time to find the Rhein River, which was only a few blocks away and also get get some German Ice Cream.  I used to think that Italian Ice Cream was incredible (and compared to US ice cream, it is).  However, German Ice Cream is equally as good.  Funny story - Basia brought cookies and chocolate to the different training sessions in Europe.  Someone in each class would inquire if these were American made cookies and chocolates.  They were quite relieved to find she had purchased them in England, as they considered American treats  'substandard'. (If you don't believe it, stop in a chocolate or ice cream shop anywhere in Switzerland, Germany or Italy and taste for yourself.)

Rhein River Bank

On the bank of the Rhein River, we debated whether or not to try for Rhein River cruise.  As it was getting late in the afternoon, we were exhausted, and we still had to make our way up to Werne, a small town a few hours away, it was time to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to Cologne.  If you look very closely at this photograph you will see 1) One of the 12 important Romanesque churches.  It is called Big St. Martin (Gross St. Martin) and was flattened during World War II and now completely rebuilt - see what I meant about the Germans fixing things when they are broken!) and 2) one of the many ice cream shops in Germany.  The Germans do love ice cream. From here it was only a short, but uphill, walk to the train station and from there to Werne.

Travelogue

Werne

Muenster