Tuesday, November 5, 2019
We were in Cologne, Germany. We had a walking tour of the old city and then we had time on our town. A bus transported us into town but we walked back to our boat.
Our tour began and ended at the cathedral. It was one of the few buildings standing in Cologne after the end of WWII. It did have damage but not like the destruction of the rest of the city!
The present Cologne Cathedral’s construction began in 1248 and continued until 1520. Restoration began in 1820 and finally ended in 1880. It was damaged by Allied air raids in 1944 and repair work and restoration began again in the 1950s and continues! The Cathedral has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
After our tour of the city, we walked through the cathedral on our own!
Inside the cathedral is the gilded shrine of the Three Kings which is located near the high altar. It is said that it contains relics of the Magi who attended to baby Jesus.
The cathedral’s oldest stained-glass windows are from the 13th century.
We walked by the crossing tower of Grob St. Martin. It was hit by bombs during WWII and rebuilt. With the reconstruction they have discovered items from its Roman past.
Nearby are colorful historic town houses (built between the 14th and 17th centuries) in the Fish Market.
Walking around town and enjoying the sites.
We stopped for lunch at a delicious eatery called Cafe Eigel.
After lunch we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a souvenir pin.
Another stop for us was Alt St. Alban which dates back to 1172. It is ruins of a medieval Romanesque church and monuments. It was heavily damaged during WWII. It was not restored after the war but left as a memorial to all of those who died from 1939-1945.
Below is a segment of a Roman sewer (from the 1st century). An underground pipe transported water to the Rhine.
We walked across the tiered-arch bridge that spans the Rhine. It was rebuilt after the war and is now only pedestrian and rail traffic. The fences along the pedestrian walkway are filled with locks. Thousands of these locks line the sidewalk path.
This afternoon we left Cologne and sailed to Amsterdam. One of the pastry chefs on board our ship, did a demonstration on how to make apple strudel. He also gave us his recipe! Dave said it was very good!
This evening was our Farewell Gala Dinner. It was hard to believe that our time on the Amadeus was almost over.