If you read the Frankfurt blog post, you know that John (my Pearl Jam friend from London) was meeting me in Frankfurt. He got in later than expected so I explored Frankfurt alone and we took the train from Frankfurt to Koln the next day. As soon as you exit the train station- BOOM! The Cologne Cathedral just sucks in all of your feelings. It’s so magnificent that I’m going to wait until the end to post pictures because I want to make sure you read everything else, HAHA.
John and I first met in Mexico City at the Pearl Jam show, November 2015. He was the life of the party. Everyone knows John and if they don’t know his name they know him as “the guy from London.” The one and only really.
First and foremost, BREAKFAST. Cafe Extrablatt was close to our hotel and offered a legit breakfast buffet! The line wrapped around and up the stairs!
There are so many churches in Cologne that it’s almost overwhelming. We happened to stumble across the Dominican Church of St. Andrew near the Cologne Cathedral. The church was small and quick to tour yet did not lack character. The stained glass had colorful skulls that left remnants of rainbow on the walls. In the crypt holds the tomb of Saint Albert the Great, a philosopher and theologian who passed away in 1280. He is remembered as one of the most intelligent people from that time because he deeply studied Aristotle and knew how to balance religion and science.
We made our way back to Old Market which was just steps from our hotel, CityClass Hotel Residence am Dom. I’ve heard the Old Market square is amazing during the holidays. They decorate the trees and buildings with lights and garland. They also make a temporary skating rink around the statue seen below.
Cologne’s locket bridge (Hohenzollern Bridge) runs parallel to the Koln train tracks that cross the Rhine River. We took advantage of Germanys acceptability of drinking in public and we became even more touristy by purchasing Koln coffee mugs.
Hohnenzollern Bridge 
Locks on Hohenzollern Bridge 
Metal skeleton sculpture on bridge light post 
Beers to go! 
The views of downtown Cologne are stunning from across the bridge. There is a trail that travels along the Rhine River with many shops and restaurants. There was even a carnival!! We looped around at the Deutzer Brucke which put us very close to Fish Market (Fischmarkt.)
Cologne
The Fish Market (Fischmarkt) was one of my favorite stops. I love the contrast of the colorful old houses with St. Martin church in the background. Inside the blue house is an ice cream shop called Gelateria Luissimo which has AMAZING marzipan ice cream. Seriously my second favorite to Blue Bell.
Eventually we made it to the Cologne Chocolate Museum along The Rhine. CHOCOLATE GALORE! Lots of history explaining where the cocoa comes from, how it’s produced and how we’ve relied on it for many decades. The museum does showcase a small factory and the self-guided tour concludes with a chocolate fountain where you get to dip a vanilla wafer. YUM.
Chocolate fountain with vanilla wafers
Alright, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… The Cologne Cathedral! You really cannot get away from it. The cathedral can be seen from all over Cologne. Production began in 1248 and it was left unfinished in 1473. How were they able to do such intricate work back in the 1200’s? The original plan was finally completed in 1880 and it is now ranked the most visited landmark in Germany- bringing in 20,000 people daily! Not to mention, it is the tallest twin-spired church, coming in at 515 feet! Construction and repairs have continued through the 21st century. I would have loved to capture photos without any scaffolding but that seems near impossible.
I am so in love with the stained glass. From the inside, it just takes your breath away. Each and every wall is covered in rainbow speckles from the sun shining through the glass. With that said, “Here Comes The Sun” seemed like the most appropriate background music. Of course I chose the cover performed by Eddie Vedder at the London 6/6/18 show I was able to attend. It’s beautiful because the Red Limo String Quartet plays strings with him.
We had a wonderful trip aside from our hotel experience at CityClass Hotel Residence am Dom. A blown circuit throughout the night left us with fried cell phone chargers and no A/C! The receptionist suggested sleeping with the windows open which would have been fine except the bars were open till 4 am and everyone was getting rowdy outside. The hotel never apologized or refunded us. It was unfortunate because it was a beautiful hotel in a great location. Oh well!
