Cologne

Cologne is only an hour's drive or less from Aachen and we arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon. We parked a few miles out in the suburbs and took the tram into the centrum and back. We visited Cologne in 1979, then as now, mostly for the great cathedral.

Monster cathedral; I don't know where it ranks on the
Vatican's "mine's bigger than yours" list, but it is a bit
overwhelming both outside and inside

Chapel of the 3 Magi in the ambulatory; windows are the
oldest in the cathedral, 13th century

The center two windows date from 1265 and
depict corresponding scenes from the Old
Testament (prophecies) and the New
(realizations)

The Gero Cross, donated by Archbishop Gero
in 976; it is the oldest remaining monumental
crucifixion

Shrine of the 3 Magi; Fred Barbarossa donated
the bones of the 3 Magi, which became the
major relics of the cathedral and made it a major
pilgrimage site; late 12th, early 13th, actually
antedate the present cathedral

Beautiful mosaic floor throughout

North side windows, 1507-1509

Notable for the coats of arms of their donors; this one notable
for its elephants; or possibly a contribution of a political
action committee of the current Party of Greed and Hate

Ever popular crucifixion of St. Peter

Extremely rare fully rotated view

From the stern to the bow: immensity, yet light and lightness

We skipped the German-Roman museum this time; we think

we have seen our fair share of Roman stuff

The twin towers; Vicki poses for scale; they

are each 505 feet high--fifty stories

Cologne in 1945; it was the target for some 262 Allied

bombing raids; most were nuisance or diversionary raids, but

also included the first "thousand bomber" raid and other

major attacks; Germans nowadays joke that the Brits and

Americans were trying to hit the cathedral...which suffered

no major damage

We cross the Rhine and head for Holland