May 21, 2025

Weather: some clouds, high 60’s

On the Rhine near Dortmund

The Herja made good time during the night and so we expect to dock at Koln on time, around 10AM.  And we did. After a hearty breakfast, including salmon of course, we prepped to begin our walking tour.

Our tour guide with the Cathedral in the background

We crossed the railway bridge on our way to the Centrum (the European word for the central city). This bridge is massive with 4 sets of tracks, 2 wide pedestrian lanes and over 600,000 padlocks, some engraved or labeled; It was overwhelming and there was no space left on the bridge itself, so many locks simply cascaded on other locks. 

Padlocks galore!

After the bridge and through the Holocaust remembrance area, we entered the Cathedral environs. This is an immense building.  It held the record for tallest structure in the world for many years.  We could not get a picture of it standing so close. There was some restoration examples along the way.  Because of the World War II bombing, the pollution from the nearby railway station, the acid rain and all that other bad stuff in the air, the once pristine limestone was black or near black.

Example of the restoration work.

Thorsten, the guide, gave us many statistics about the Cathedral.  We took it all in patiently but wondered how much would be remembered.  At least we have Wikipedia to jog our memory.  

Listening to the guide (the Hautbaunhof is in the background)

We made our way to the front of the cathedral and just marveled at its massiveness!

The entrance

Once inside we joined the many tourists oohing and aaahing at the cavernous Nave, the unbelievable beauty of the stained glass and the single treasure displayed near the back of the sanctuary.  Yes, in the golden reliquary lie the relics of the 3 wise men that presented the baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In the Nave

The reliquary

One of many stained glass windows

Cathedral Guide explaining the Church to a group of littles

Outside the Cathedral we made our way to the Old Town.  Well, not exactly old because this city, except for the Cathedral was 90% destroyed by firebombs during the war.  They rebuilt the city. The Cathedral was not touched (except by accident) because the twin spires made a serviceable landmark for the bombers because it was so big.

Anyway, we passed the Roman Museum which has been under renovation for the past 40 years down a Roman Road to Old Town.

The Roman road, over 2000 years old

Here we were told the story of Kolsch Beer, which is much better than anything Dusseldorf has to offer. (And oh, by the way, the pee that the Rhine carries to Holland is used in the brewing of Heineken beer.) The point is that Germans are fiercely loyal to the local beer.  They take this very seriously, make no mistake. One thing is they serve the beer in 7-ounce glasses (which the Bavarians call test tubes) because the beer stays fresh and cold and the servers keep the 7-ounce glasses coming until the patron passes out or puts the coaster over the glass.  Curious.

Toasting son-in-law Gray’s Birthday

We ate lunch after the tour at a Brewhouse.  We drank Kolsch beer, ate Weiner schnitzel, Nurenburg Brats with sauerkraut and potatoes and salads. It was Gray’s Birthday today and so we all toasted to his good health and long life!

Old Town Koln

After lunch, the group parted ways.  Loren and Pam went in search of some cologne from Cologne, Bob and Anna wandered around before returning to the Ship and Paul and Shirley went in search of the Chocolate Museum where the Lindt Company showcases their efforts (and has a gift shop).

The Chocolate Museum

After the Chocolate Museum, we chanced on a Pretzel stand and partook in the classic German pretzel with mustard.

Pretzel!

The tour and subsequent walk-about back to the ship was 4 miles. Once back on the ship it was time for a nap. And after the nap it was time to happy hour before the port talk, before dinner, before blogging and bed.  What a great day!  Amazing city! Beautiful weather! Great company!