After a delicious breakfast at our neighborhood Winkel restaurant, we loaded our Opel Astra with all our luggage and headed for Cologne, Germany. Getting out of Amsterdam was tricky, as the narrow streets and the Monday morning market (along with many bicycles) made leaving Amsterdam a bit fatiguing.
Once we got out of the city, the freeways were moving nicely, and we made an excellent time to Cologne, Germany, parking in a garage right next to the Cologne Cathedral.
The Cathedral is truly monumental and has to be seen to be believed.
According to Wikipedia:
There was a nearby Roman-German Museum, but we did not have enough time to go in.
The square before the Cologne Cathedral is packed with people, street vendors, and street entertainers.
Once we got out of the city, the freeways were moving nicely, and we made an excellent time to Cologne, Germany, parking in a garage right next to the Cologne Cathedral.
The Cathedral is truly monumental and has to be seen to be believed.
According to Wikipedia:
Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus, English: High Cathedral of St. Peter) is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site.[1] It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.[2]Construction of Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. It is 144.5 metres (474 ft) long, 86.5 m (284 ft) wide and its towers are approximately 157 m (515 ft) tall.[3] The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires and largest façade of any church in the world. The choir has the largest height to width ratio, 3.6:1, of any medieval church.[4]Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe".[1]
There was a nearby Roman-German Museum, but we did not have enough time to go in.
The square before the Cologne Cathedral is packed with people, street vendors, and street entertainers.
After walking around the Cathedral, we decided to explore its beautiful interior.
There is a beautiful organ for playing music installed.
The Cathedral has many beautiful stained glass windows.
As lunchtime approached, we decided to stop by a nearby restaurant and order lunch.
We saw Cafe Reichard nearby. It seemed very touristy, but we saw many older people eating there, and the cakes and pies on display looked delicious. We decided to give it a shot.
All of the cakes and pies looked freshly homemade and positively mouthwatering. We had a hard time choosing!
The strawberry cake was so delicious!
After lunch, we returned to the Cathedral for the English-speaking tour. We barely made it!
There are beautiful mosaics on the floor.
After finishing the tour, we drove to Bacharach, Germany, where we had hotel reservations.
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