Amazing cathedral in Cologne!

Our time in Cologne, Germany was rather short, but we felt we saw the highlights.  The cathedral here is why we put Cologne on our itinerary and it certainly didn't disappoint!  It is Germany's largest (but not tallest) cathedral, started in 1248 and completed in 1880.  This cathedral suffered more than 70 hits from bombings during WWII but remained standing while much of Cologne was destroyed.  The word "majestic" comes to mind as you gaze up at the twin towers which are over 500 feet and wonder at the marvels that men created using primitive crane and pulley devices.   We were there on Sunday and they have services almost every hour throughout the day, but tourists are still free to step in and observe.  It was wonderful to hear the service (albeit in German!), listen to the choir and the amazing acoustics and just imagine people centuries ago enjoying this same experience.  As someone very dear to us once said, "you are almost Catholic", and so we continue to light candles in each of these magnificent churches and say a prayer for the continued good health of our daughter and several dear friends that are going through difficult times.  You are all in our thoughts and prayers. 

Here are a few attempts at capturing the cathedral with our sad little camera.

 And a few more pictures of a Sunday afternoon stroll along the Rhine in Cologne.  Enjoy!

This little guy would not come out of the water!

 

 And so we say goodbye to Cologne, and it's on the train to Heidelberg where we will meet our traveling companion for the next 15 days.

Happy trails,
TnT