Anonymous

WHOA. So I knew we were headed to Cologne to see the Dom. I just wasn't expecting it to be right in my face as soon as I walked out of the train station. We literally stopped dead in our tracks, and sort of all ran into each other due to the sudden stop of movement, and just stared at this insane structure. It didn't seem any more real then next morning when we woke up either. It felt more like it was a giant billboard in the middle of the city rather than a real thing. The amount of detail that is included in this building is really impossible to capture in a picture. I had seen pictures before but it was nothing like seeing it in person. Unreal.

We got there somewhat late on Thursday night so decided to just go out and get something to eat and head back to our hostel. The next day we went out to explore the city of Cologne and it was definitely a success and fun day. We headed off to the chocolate museum and enjoyed free samples while learning about the inner workings of the Lindor chocolate factory. It was really interesting to see how the chocolate is actually made. Some of the molds for the chocolate were beyond huge we couldn't believe the size of some of the chocolate figures that were being made. It was great and the view from the museum wasn't too bad either. It was made of mostly floor to ceiling windows and we were given a fantastic view of the river, the Dom, and the massive bridge that the trains travel over.



Next we decided to brave the narrow staircase of the Dom all the way to the top for a great view of the entire city. It was pretty amazing up at the top. Not only did we get a great view of the city, but a great view of all the architectural aspects of the building. We climbed back down and went inside to experience the largest and most beautiful churches I have ever seen. It was MASSIVE. I couldn't even capture all the detail of the interior no matter how far out I zoomed out with my camera. Inside were gorgeous stained glass windows, tons of church pews that could seat probably hundreds of church members at once, and crips that honored the lives of many important figures. The tombs were literally just out in the open. Some were safely stored behind elegant fenced off areas while others were simply pushed aside in a corner somewhere. It was a breathtaking experience none-the-less. Never have I been so content with just sitting and staring at the structures and environment around me.

The next day we checked out of our room and decided to explore the city a little further before leaving on our train back to Berlin. We walked across the bridge the trains travel over and the first things that caught my eye were the thousands of padlocks hanging from the fence on the bridge. Thousands of people had engraved the name of a loved one on various padlocks and "locked their love" onto the fence of the bridge across the river. It was a really cool display of art in my opinion. After crossing the bridge we paid a small fee to take an elevator up to the top of the tallest building in sight and were given a spectacular view of the river, the bridge, and the Dom on the other side of the river. It was great. We walked around a little more before heading back to the train station. I really enjoyed Cologne, I'm really glad we chose to go there for our free weekend.