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| The World Renowned Dom in downtown Cologne |
My wife and I took an overnight to Cologne, Germany. Meeting old friends, seeing an old city for the first time.
I expected the usual: old buildings, a cathedral, beer, sausages, and a view of the Rhine River. What I didn’t expect was to be enchanted. Cologne, or Köln (Kul-n) in German, sports the past like an old and favorite dress, yet has a young and vibrant feel. People, young and old, stroll the cobblestone streets, stop for a beer at an outdoor pub, view the flowers and the majestic Rhine, and while away the time in some wonderful cafés. The old city, Altstadt, is a walking wonderland of things to see and do.
Cologne is used to being both old and new and certainly adept at starting over. An ancient tribe founded the city; then came the Romans in the first century and stayed for over four hundred years. They built sewer systems, palaces, and baths, all of which are slowly being uncovered and displayed to the public.
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| The Roman World |
Hard to believe this city was 95% destroyed in World War II. On the night of 13 May, 1942, the first thousand plane raid hit Cologne. 90% of the population fled.
Between Roman times and the National Socialist era, a lot of folks took turns hammering this center of commerce that straddles the famous Rhine River. Most, noticeably the French under Napoleon Bonaparte and later the French after the First World War, tried to make Cologne a permanent part of France. The Brits had a lot to do with squashing both those misguided efforts.
Museums abound in this city, and two of my sudden favorites are the Ludwig and the Wallraf. Art from every age, but I usually key-in on the late nineteenth and twentieth Century. Impressionists. Cubists. Both museums feature names you’ll recognize, no matter your preference. From Reuben and Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, and Pollack, you’ll find them here.
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| Picassos Inside the Ludwig Museum |
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| The large painting is an Edvard Munch inside The Wallraf Museum |
For me, viewing art is not only a question of time, but of the ability to mentally digest what I’m seeing. A museum is such an elaborate banquet of designs, styles, colors, and subjects. Seeing all of it in one fell swoop is like trying to eat your way through the full menu at a Michelin Three Star restaurant.
My brother has taught me well. For every hour in a museum, there must be an hour on either side at a pub. Ale cleanses the mental palate and renews your spirit for living.
Thankfully, Cologne is dedicated to enjoyment of beer, as evidenced by a word found few other places in Germany: Kölsch. This pale beer, with a taste much like a smoother lager, has found its way down thirsty throats for centuries. Even today, Kölsch is strictly controlled through an agreement between members of the Cologne Brewery Association, known as the Kölsch Konvention.
The thing to remember when you park yourself at a café and order a Kölsch, is that tall, slim glass in front of you will be refilled again and again, until you either mumble to the waiter that “I dink I gad genuf…,” as the beer dribbles down your shirt, or you put your beer coaster over the top of your glass. In Cologne drinking beer is serious and the waiters carry special little trays (Kranz or wreath) of little glasses of beer, designed both to cut down on the spillage and to serve dozens of customers at the speed of slosh.
Ok, you’ve had your beer and your museums and taken a look at the mighty Rhine River, but there’s at least one thing left. You can’t leave this famous city without a glimpse inside the magnificent cathedral. You’re thinking, “This is my second week in Europe and if I see another freaking cathedral, all this beer is going to trickle its way down my legs and between the cobbles on the street!”
Slow down. This is not just another cathedral, but one of the most famous and majestic in all of Europe. It’s full name is Hohe Domkirche St Petrus, or in English, High Cathedral of St Peter. Best known as simply the Dom. I’m not going to spoil the fun by giving you a full rundown. Besides, you need more beer to really appreciate this edifice that’s been around in one form or another since the 13th Century.
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| Inside the Cathedral |
But, I will answer a couple of questions before you even ask: Yes, the Dom was hit in World War II, but no it was not destroyed. One reason is the suggestion that it made an excellent visual checkpoint for bomb runs into other parts of Germany.
And, who can think of speaking of Cologne without mentioning Eau de Cologne? Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian, launched the citrus-scented original here in 1709 and the collective cologne business has flourished ever since. Yes, there is a cologne museum and cologne shops galore.
Don’t’ know about you, but I think all this sightseeing calls for another beer. Now, if that waiter would just hurry up!
