Köln - Cologne

We arrived in Köln from Berlin by the train 5 hours later .
The switch from Berlin to Köln is interesting . With no expectations , the first beautiful thing you see as you step out of Kôln HoB, you will notice  the mighty Dom Cathedral.
Our hotel was a 10 min walk from the station.

The city of Köln seemed very quite and sleepy when we arrived , but as we walked ahead there was buzz in the air . The streets were jam packed with people waiting outside bars and clubs .

We dropped our bags and headed for drinks to a Mexican restaurant. Very hip and trendy . We ordered the Kôlsch beer which is a local brew.  The portion sizes for food are huge , especially for one person .

The bars are open until the wee hours of the morning.
But we stayed only for a bit and got back to snoozing .

The first place to go was the Dom Cathedral , which by the metro was two stops away . It is UNESCO World Heritage site and is very popular. Also one of the largest Gothic churches in Europe . From architectural standpoint , I would think it is massive piece of work .

Facts :
- It was built over 600 years
- It was bombed 14 times in WWII
- It was once the tallest building in the world

It took a us over an hour to walk through the Cathedral and the weather was extremely rainy. Our next stop was the old quarter .
Walking around the old quarter was pleasant and I found my spot when we reached the banks of the great Rheine .
Ordering a Kölsch .. I could sit all day admiring the colours and generally people watching .

We then walked up to the Hohenzollernbrücke .

The view from the bridge was pretty amazing . I still don't understand why people do the love locks , but I am guessing its a symbol of something.
Time passes by and I wonder if you still remember that lock or has it gotten rusted .

As we walked we found this restaurant which was popular for its sea food , but I ended up having a Schnitzel.
I have realised that portion sizes in Germany are pretty huge and most of the things I ordered were fried but still good to go .

This was a quiet little Cathedral as we walked . What we witnessed was a mass in German with a few nuns and priests sing some hymns . I am not sure of the language, but it did sound like Latin . Again something I haven't experienced before inside a church . The nuns were dressed in their traditional habits and the priests in their robes. There were some rituals which I did not quite follow . One was the priest walking around with the turibulum and spreading the incense .
Another included lighting of a candle and passing it along .
I didn't wait for the entire mass but I am guessing it would have well worth the while .

I may have gone to the wrong place because all I got was Eau de Colongne souvenirs. The birthplace of Eau de Colongne - the water from Colongne .
The original Eau de Cologne is a spirit-citrus perfume launched in Cologne in 1709 by Giovanni Maria Farina (1685–1766), an Italian perfume maker from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo. In 1708, Farina wrote to his brother Jean Baptiste: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain". He named his fragrance Eau de Cologne, in honour of his new hometown. (Source : Wikipedia)

Our next stop was the Brauhaus Sünner - one of thr many Kölnische brew houses that a representation of the old world charm . The bar was very Irish looking and also served home made brews .

And thus was the end of our day in Köln .