Cologne was another special surprise.
Faeth and I knew we wanted to see the famous Rhine
River when we traveled through Germany. I can’t really say why it’s famous—I’ve
just heard of it a dozen times. It was easily on the way to Munich, too, so we
decided to take a day’s detour in Cologne. When Gerda and Christoph heard our
plans, they suggested visiting the city cathedral as well, which they had done
some years before and considered breathtaking.
We arrived in Cologne after about four hours on the
train. We had no hostel waiting for us, so that was a bit nerve-wracking, but
we were blessed to find one very near the train station. As soon as we’d
dropped our stuff off in our room, we hit the streets, heading towards that
famous Rhine River.
The famous Rhine River
In order to reach the best walking path along the
river, according to our receptionist, we had to cross a huge bridge, and that’s
where we stumbled onto our first special surprise. This bridge spanned the
whole Rhine, so it was hundreds of feet wide. All along the bridge was a fence
that covered the inside and separated the walking path from the trains that
also used the bridge. And all along that fence were thousands of locks, each
with initials or names carved into them. The story behind the locks might be
sappy to some, but to me, it was incredibly sweet: couples would bring a lock
with their initials to the bridge, lock it onto the fence, and throw the key
into the Rhine to symbolize their everlasting love. Some of these locks had
been there for years, while others were only days old. We even got to see a
couple loving stick their lock on the fence and throw the key into the river.
A couple puts a lock on the bridge.
When we reached the path along the Rhine, the river
wasn’t quite what I expected. It was a muddy brown color, and it honestly didn’t
smell that great. In fact, it looked a lot like the good ol’ Hudson back in Wisconsin.
But walking along the Rhine with my sister filled me with some sort of
indescribable happiness. For the first time, we were on our own, together, in
Europe. This was the real start of our European adventure. As I looked at the
young woman walking next to me, I was overwhelmed with joy that we could share
this experience together. Despite our occasional personality clashes, there is
no one I’d rather travel with than my sister Faeth.
But the fun didn’t end there. After we walked along
the Rhine, both enjoying the view and enjoying the extreme relaxation of having
nowhere else to be, we visited the city cathedral, also known as Cologne
Cathedral. It’s huge, and it isn’t even done yet! It’s been in construction for
centuries: started in 1248, halted around 1470 and continued in the 1800s. It’s
the largest Gothic-style church in northern Europe and has the second-tallest
spires and largest façade of any church in the world… and before we showed up
in Germany, we hadn’t even heard of it!
The Cologne Cathedral--one of Germany's best-kept secrets!
The inside took your breath away: so much wide, open
ceiling, so many glittering stained glass windows, so much intricate stone
carving. I understand why some people feel closer to God when they’re standing
in giant cathedrals. If you wanted to really push yourself, you could climb the
nearly 500 steps to the top of the bell tower. Gerda and Christoph had done it,
and we decided if they could, we could. Climbing up the cramped stone tower
felt really claustrophobic, but the view of the city was spectacular. We also
got to walk around the many giant bells, including St. Peter’s Bell, a gigantic
24-ton bell that’s the largest free-swinging bell in the world.
Looking back over our time in Germany after we left
the relatives, I think our visit to Cologne was my favorite part. I guess the
moral of the story is: Sometimes you need to be open to surprises. You never
know when you’ll find something truly special.
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