Guten Tag!
This weekend I made an easy trip (about 3 hours by train) to Cologne, Germany with Gabby and Emily. We had transfers in Trier and Koblenz. In Koblenz, you just casually look up and what I think is a fort, is right above the train station on the hill. Almost the same thing happened in Cologne, but much more spectacular. As you walk out of the train station the Kölner Dom is right there. (Literally, it is right in front of your face, and you have to pick up your jaw as you see it because it is just so amazing!)
This weekend I made an easy trip (about 3 hours by train) to Cologne, Germany with Gabby and Emily. We had transfers in Trier and Koblenz. In Koblenz, you just casually look up and what I think is a fort, is right above the train station on the hill. Almost the same thing happened in Cologne, but much more spectacular. As you walk out of the train station the Kölner Dom is right there. (Literally, it is right in front of your face, and you have to pick up your jaw as you see it because it is just so amazing!)
Cologne Cathedral (in German: Kölner Dom)
First things first, this cathedral is massive, as in the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe kind of big. Second, the architecture is mind blowing. The amount of detail that went into the building of it is incredible! It was started in the 1200s and wasn't completely finished until the 19th century. (That's a really long time.)
On Friday, we just saw the outside when we passed it in the daylight on our way to the hostel we stayed at, Cologne Downtown Hostel. We had dinner at the Bierhaus en d'r Salzgass. We all got a Päffgen Kölsch beer and I got the Brauhaus Rahmschnitzel in Champignonrahm mit Korketten und Salat (Schnitzel in a creamy mushroom sauce, croquettes, and salad). It was sooo good! We walked by it after dinner to see it all lit up.
The first thing we did Saturday morning (after stopping at a bakery, but that is always implied) is go back to the Cathedral so we could see the inside. It was incredible! The stained glass was gorgeous and the columns were so impressive. (It reminded me a little of the cathedral we sang in for Chorale my senior year in NYC on spring break, Cathedral of St. John the Divine.) There was also a choir singing which made it even more stunning!
(We also came by again later, and there was a group of guys playing amazing classical music on Saturday afternoon and later that night!)
On Friday, we just saw the outside when we passed it in the daylight on our way to the hostel we stayed at, Cologne Downtown Hostel. We had dinner at the Bierhaus en d'r Salzgass. We all got a Päffgen Kölsch beer and I got the Brauhaus Rahmschnitzel in Champignonrahm mit Korketten und Salat (Schnitzel in a creamy mushroom sauce, croquettes, and salad). It was sooo good! We walked by it after dinner to see it all lit up.
The first thing we did Saturday morning (after stopping at a bakery, but that is always implied) is go back to the Cathedral so we could see the inside. It was incredible! The stained glass was gorgeous and the columns were so impressive. (It reminded me a little of the cathedral we sang in for Chorale my senior year in NYC on spring break, Cathedral of St. John the Divine.) There was also a choir singing which made it even more stunning!
(We also came by again later, and there was a group of guys playing amazing classical music on Saturday afternoon and later that night!)
Schokoladen Museum
I could have stayed in the Chocolate Museum forever! It was wonderful! You got chocolate with your ticket into the museum (what a great start!). It showed the whole process from the growing of the tree to the processing of making the chocolate. They had an example of the rainforest by having a greenhouse room! (Very warm and humid, I might add!) Some other exhibits I found really interesting were about sustainability, advertising, and the final processes of chocolate making, such as candy and molds. Lindt was also inside the Chocolate Museum, so we got to make our own Lindt bars. (Mine had strawberries, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips!)
Right outside the Chocolate Museum was a little pop-up restaurant, Hafen-Imbiss. I got a grillwurst with cayenne mustard in a bun. The man at the cash register said, "Pick up at the second window! It's just like McDonald's but BETTER!" Hohe Straße, which is the street our hostel was on, is filled with shops. So of course we went shopping! I finally found Birkenstocks! After that, we went back to the hostel for a quick break. We went to dinner at the Keule Restaurant and I got more schnitzel and spaetzle and apfelstreudel! (You can never have too much of any of them!) Our waitress also explain German tax to us by saying, "This is tax for Germany, just like for Obama!" It was pretty funny! Then, Gabby and I, went to an Irish pub, Connolly's, to get some drinks! We stayed in a 6 person room, so we met the boys that were sleeping in our room. Two words to describe them: 1. rowdy 2. SNORING. They're from the Netherlands. They were very nice and really entertaining! But once they came back from going out, were they loud! Also, two of them snored. So I didn't really sleep at all this weekend.. But that's okay! This morning, I got Berliners (kind of like a donut that is covered in sugar and filled with jam). They're really good! We got our breakfast to go and ate in front of the Dom. We just sat in the sun for a while because it was such a gorgeous day. Then we went to Früh for lunch. I had Frische Bratwurst mit Bratkartoffeln und gemischtem Salat (fresh sausage with fried potatoes and salad). After that, we walked around for a bit. We mostly just hung out by the Dom today, which was totally okay by me! Before we left for the train I had my jacket off and just soaked up the sun! It got up to 65 today! (Much better than what it has been back home, sorry for all of you back in Ohio!) For being an impromptu trip, I think we did pretty good! It was fun and not stressful! Auf Wiedersehen! Kirsten P.S. Sorry some of the pictures are turned, I didn't want to fight with my laptop to change them. (It would have won..) |