Köln - Cologne

We did indeed spend Easter Sunday in Köln, Germany. This city lies on the Rhine River and is only about an hour and a half from Hasselt. Although we missed most of the 12:00 Mass at Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), we didn't miss all of it. I was actually a little surprised there weren't more people since Easter is said to be the most important holiday in Germany and Cologne Cathedral is one of Germany's most famous sites - visited by 20,000 people every day.

Now don't get me wrong - there was a crowd, just not a throng.

Unfortunately my pictures will in no way show the grandeur of this unbelievable cathedral. The massive scale of everything in it is pretty overwhelming. It amazes me that anyone could think that big and set out to build something so grand. And BTW, it took over 600 years to complete.

My camera just couldn't capture the entire facade,

which just happens to be the biggest facade of any church in the world.

It was a bit windy.

And don't even think of bringing your frietjes and ballonnen to church.

I think we missed the incense part - note the fog.

Courtesy of the internet - no fog.

All the floors are a series of tilework like this.

The importance of a proper place for the relics of the Three Kings was the original purpose for building the cathedral. And as I mentioned in my earlier post, these are the remains of who we know as the Three Wise Men in the Christmas story. Not A Christmas Story.The Christmas story.

Caspar, Melchior, & Balthasar

That's the Rhine River.

This is the bridge across the Rhine River. We saw a couple placing a lock here and asked the significance. They said couples place a lock, then throw the key in the river signifying their lasting love for each other. Oh, and they threw their key off too.

Did I mention it was a bit windy?

You know we didn't pass up this bakery.

Since construction on this cathedral began in 1248, it has definitely withstood more than one war. I found these interesting photos on the internet that were taken in 1945.

There is so much more to see that naturally we added this to our list of places we need to revisit if ever we get the chance.