Germany Trip – Day 3: Cologne

Perhaps the silliest thing about Cologne is its name. When the Romans founded the city, they called it “Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.” Rather than shortening this name to something descriptive, later generations chose to fixate on the most generic part: Colonia, meaning colony, from which we get Köln and Cologne. To me, that sounds as silly as calling a city “City” or a town “Town.” Throughout history, Cologne was a very important commercial and political centre, as betokened by its membership in the Hanseatic League or its status as a Fortress of the German Confederation.

One other interesting fact about Cologne is that its cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world (as well as the third tallest in general). This was the first attraction I saw when I arrived from Nuremberg, accidentally alighting at Messe/Deutz rather than the main train station. I lugged my baggage for half an hour to reach my hotel (which is only about five minutes from the main train station), but to justify this detour to myself, I made a point of walking by the river and absorbing the views of the city. This proved to be inadvertently foresightful, as it rained for much of the rest of the day.

Once I checked in, I toured the inside of the cathedral and continued south through the old town. I intended to take a proper look at the city’s battlements, but by the time I reached Saint Severin’s in the south, it started raining so heavily that I had to take refuge in the church and wait for the storm to pass over. It did so eventually, but by that time I was already taking a tram north to the Saint Apostles Church, where I figured I could stay dry while going about my tourist activities.  

The rain ceased entirely when I made it to the Roman Tower, but by then I was cold to the bone and needed to head back to my hotel to put on an extra shirt and jumper under my jacket. My annoyance was great when the sun came out just as I dove into the hotel. It was even greater when I headed out again and the rain resumed.  

Cologne Cathedral
Great Saint Martin Church
The entrance to Cologne Cathedral
A reliquary at Cologne Cathedral
A painted screen at Cologne Cathedral
A transept chapel
More sights around Cologne
Saint Apostles Church
The Roman Tower
Hahnetor

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