White Nights and Windmills

Trains Trains Trains....

or if this is Saturday it must be Koln

A 6 am start to our day to catch the first train from Sneek to Leeuwarden as the first leg of our journey to Koln , Germany. A quick change of trains in Leeuwarden and Utrecht was the destination. The change in Utrecht offered a chance to grab a coffee before boarding.

Of course, our coach was the furthest from where we were waiting...#21. Once on board, the quest for our seats began. Ours were 12 and 14. The numbering at our door began at 56. As we neared the middle of the train, the numbers jumped to 84. The middle was also the baggage storage area so was very busy with passengers jostling cases into position. Plunking ourselves in the closest 2 seats, we waited it out, only to have the people with these seat numbers arrive. Up we got and headed for the next car...#22 where we found seats 12 and 14, but with no reservation sign. Again we plunked ourselves down to wait for the conductor to come and check tickets. When he finally arrived, about an hour and a half and several stops later, he accepted our tickets without a word.

Two years ago when I was traveling in Germany with Sheryl, we had to change trains in Koln......because we had time, we stuck our heads out of the station and were overwhelmed with the sight of the Koln Cathedral.....and I needed to come back to take a look.

Couldn't make this come out right

One of these is one the top!!! How the heck did they get that up there!?!

Always working on it

The train station in Koln, is across the street from the Koln Cathedral that was 600 years in the making and the largest Catholic Church in Germany constructed with Gothic architecture. A World Heritage sight, 20,000 people per day visit the cathedral. As you exit the station, the square is completely full of people...tourists, protestors, staguette/stag groups, sports teams, and general public. Threading our way through the throngs, we proceeded to our hotel a few blocks away. After checking in, we set off to explore.

The Cathedral is magnificent even while being refurbished on the outside. It is made of a limestone that turns black and some of the stones are being replaced. Gathering photos and information for a cache at the cathedral was the first order. Decided to leave entering for later. While at the tourist information, we heard that the hop/off bus pass was good for 24 hours. Ten minutes later the bus left and we enjoyed 2 hours of sights and information about Koln.

When the tour ended we were famished. Found a small German restaurant away from the main square for a 'weiner schnizel' dinner. It was delicious! Home to the hotel for a short rest before another walk.

After resting, and listening to an incredible amount of revelry, we set off in pursuit of a cache. But, we decided to go back to Dom Square and go inside then cathedral in the evening hours and we will return tomorrow to view in daylight. Trying to image the cathedral being built in the 1200s is mind boggling. It wasn't completed until the 1800s. The amount of manual labour required--- no high tech machinery to produce the blocks and columns, then put them in place begs the question HOW? The stained glass windows impressive. Major damage was suffered during WWII when it was hit 14 times but did not collapse.

Inside the Catherdral at night

Off to the cache which we did mot find and did a circular route back. As we are returning to the hotel, we now realize that all the people who were in Dom square in the afternoon, have moved a half block from our hotel to the evening entertainment area...restaurants, pubs, bistros and a walkway along the Rhine, to watch the the Argentine-Netherlands soccer game.