Here There and Everywhere

A Walking Tour of Old Cologne

We were spoiled, two whole days to explore Cologne on our own, but we couldn’t pass up a chance to see Cologne through the eyes of an expert. Our guide was hilarious, full of insights and funny stories, and his English was excellent.

We walked down through the oldest part of town, first, to the Rathaus, the City Hall. Inside, there is this wonderful layout of the city and the river, made to scale, with all the buildings of Cologne.

Outside view of Rathaus

I wish I could remember why this statue was significant . . . I think it has to do with their standing on the backs of the people, an unflattering statement.

From the Rathaus, we headed to the Cathedral. I really liked our time at the Rathaus, but I think it was really thrown in to kill time until our group was scheduled to tour the Cathedral of the Three Kings.

Below is a very famous statue of St. Christopher, carrying the Christ Child across a river, and now he is the patron saint of travelers.

I think this was a floor . . .

I loved this triptych.

We had a few minutes, a very few, to shop, and this is when I found two tiny bottles of 4711 cologne, and some small Christmas ornaments of the Cologne cathedral to bring back for little gifts for students AdventureMan mentors, and our grandchildren.

Although the name of the tour is Christmas Markets on the Rhine, it was the destinations that the tour was hitting that attracted us, places we have been and loved. We have years worth of German Christmas decorations and ornaments, enough to lavish our house, just at a time when we decorate more sparingly, and I can’t even use lights indoors because Ragnar (the Absynnian cat) chews the wires through.

We board the bus, head back to the boat for lunch and a quick rest before we head out once again for Aachen.

March 18, 2019 - Posted by intlxpatr | Advent, Christmas, Germany, Travel | Cologne Tour