Our first trip to Cologne was worth the wait! I knew I'd visit eventually, but held out for the Christmas market season, and I am glad that I did!
A neato city + Christmas feels = A grand time.
We journeyed from our house to Cologne early in the morning, so that we'd have daylight to see the city and could enjoy the Christmas markets in the evening.
Mission accomplished.
After checking into our hotel in Troisdorf, we jumped on the S-bahn and cruised into Cologne by train. I've gotta say, it was super neato arriving in the big city on a train; coming into the hauptbahnhof across the Rhine river via Cologne's landmark bridge: Hohenzollern.
Once we disembarked the train and exited the station, we were greeted with a stunning west facade view of the Cologne Cathedral.
By this time in my Euro travels, I have seen a good amount of cathedrals/basilicas. About 37 or so now? But there was 'something' about the exterior of this one that was glorious. I just can't figure out what!
Whatever it is, this cathedral draws in more visitors than any other place in Germany (and no, this information is not based off of Wiki or Tripadvisor).
It is Germany's number one tourist attraction as of 2015!
Funny, I have visited many of Germany's landmarks (Schloss Neuschwanstein, Triberg Waterfalls, Basteibrucke, Munich's Glockenspiel, Wurtzburg Palace, Schloss Heidelburg, and many others), but there wasn't a line to get into this place, nor an admittance fee and everything flowed so smoothly during our self-guided visit.
Hmmm.
The other landmarks should consider this method of tourism!
A cool fact about the Cologne Cathedral: It houses what is one of Christianity's oldest relics; The Magi, or better known as the Biblical figures "The Three Wise Men".
You know, "We three kings of orient are..."
There is no 100% guarantee that the crowned skulls and skeletons found within the shrine are actually the Three Wise Men described in the Bible, but given the bones' history, no one can say with certainty that it's not them.
It is told that Queen {Saint} Helena (Emperor Constantine the Great's mother) found the Magi buried within the Holy Land during her travels; what would have been about two centuries after their deaths.
She brought them back, along with other holy relics, to Constantinople where they were stayed for some time. In the 6th century, the Magi were moved to Milan, and in the 12th century the were brought to Cologne, Germany by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1164, where they will probably remain for many years to come.
The Cologne Cathedral was actually constructed to house the Magi. The original cathedral wasn't deemed 'special' enough to keep such wonders, so the construction of the cathedral you see today broke ground in August of 1248, to give the Three Kings a proper place to rest.
When this cathedral was finished, it was the tallest building in the world!
Yeah, so, I'd say this is a special place. And in my opinion, it would be odd for many people to go out of their way to construct such a large Gothic cathedral specifically in honor of three random guys, that may or may not have been The Magi...but that's for you to decide.
If you want to learn more about their pilgrimage to Cologne, but hate reading, check this documentary out (it's free): The Mummy Detective: The Three Kings
https://youtu.be/F62u39_L_3I
What's also cool about this place unlike many cathedrals/basilicas we have seen: It has FIVE huge naves. Not one, not three, BUT FIVE, and they are not small. It's holy craziness!
After oogling over the cathedral, we made our way to Rudolphplatz to visit the St. Nicholas Christmas market. It had a cute Christmas town setup right near Hahnentorburg, also known as 'Hahnen Gate'. There wasn't much to the market, but it was the quietest of the three we had visited.
I purposely walked to the furthest market first, so that we could make our way back to the market nearest the cathedral (and our train station) last.
Markets are pretty and all, but they are a bit more special when the sun goes down. The twinkling lights are what give them a warm fuzzies Christmas touch. I had read up on the Angel Market, and knew that it would be a must right around dusk.
From Rudolphplatz we walked to Neumarktplatz (only about 5 or so minutes), and it was there that we found my favorite market of the evening: Markt der Engel, or The Angel Market.
Not only were there a bunch of stars delicately swinging from tree branches, but there were also angels wandering through the market; sprinkling glitter upon visitors.
My kids thought this was odd.
When two lovely angels approached them to make "Christmas glitter wishes", the kids just stared at them in a 'duh' kinda way.
It was actually amusing to see my children standing there confused and silent. I warned them that this could happen, but I guess they didn't believe me! No worries, they made their wishes, we ate some bratwurst and fried mushrooms, and we were on our way!
Night had settled, and we were on to the next market: Cathedral Markt. This is (what I assume is) the big daddy of the markets in Cologne. There are a few more than the three we attended, but we skipped the others. I know there's a LGBT Christmas market, a child market, and quite a few more themed markets.
Cologne has a lot of Christmas market varieties to choose from. Something for everyone!
The Cathedral Market has live music set in the heart of the lights, which was a pleasant surprise.
Strangely, the market seemed small from the outer vendor stalls, but once we weaved through the middle part, it's a whole lot bigger!
It reminded me of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. You know, when Harry goes into the tent at the Quidditch World Cup and can't believe how big it is once inside? Yeah, like that.
We drank a bit of gluhwein (the kids drank kinder gluhwein), and wandered a bit.
I had one final task to complete while in Cologne. I NEEDED to snap of photo of the Hohenzollern bridge with the cathedral sitting in view from across the river. We walked the long, rumbling bridge, and made it to the other side. I happily snapped away while the family waited...and then waited...and waited for me to finish the job. It only took 20 minutes.
Our day had came to and end, so from the bridge we walked to the hauptbahnhof and caught the train back to our hotel. Not a bad day out!
I know I missed much of what the city has to offer, but honestly, I am becoming jaded to my German surroundings. I will say that the church was definitely worth the trip and the Christmas markets were certainly one of a kind!
I'm glad I paired this city with the Christmas season. I'm not entirely sure if I would have enjoyed it as much had it not been for the Christmas markets.
I could be wrong.
I probably am wrong.
Either way, I'm happy I went!
Next set of adventures will take us to some familiar places...!
A neato city + Christmas feels = A grand time.
We journeyed from our house to Cologne early in the morning, so that we'd have daylight to see the city and could enjoy the Christmas markets in the evening.
Mission accomplished.
After checking into our hotel in Troisdorf, we jumped on the S-bahn and cruised into Cologne by train. I've gotta say, it was super neato arriving in the big city on a train; coming into the hauptbahnhof across the Rhine river via Cologne's landmark bridge: Hohenzollern.
Once we disembarked the train and exited the station, we were greeted with a stunning west facade view of the Cologne Cathedral.
By this time in my Euro travels, I have seen a good amount of cathedrals/basilicas. About 37 or so now? But there was 'something' about the exterior of this one that was glorious. I just can't figure out what!
 |
| A random photo outside of the cathedral. This man was working his tail off in the cold to chalk draw on the sidewalk. |
Whatever it is, this cathedral draws in more visitors than any other place in Germany (and no, this information is not based off of Wiki or Tripadvisor).
It is Germany's number one tourist attraction as of 2015!
Funny, I have visited many of Germany's landmarks (Schloss Neuschwanstein, Triberg Waterfalls, Basteibrucke, Munich's Glockenspiel, Wurtzburg Palace, Schloss Heidelburg, and many others), but there wasn't a line to get into this place, nor an admittance fee and everything flowed so smoothly during our self-guided visit.
Hmmm.
The other landmarks should consider this method of tourism!
A cool fact about the Cologne Cathedral: It houses what is one of Christianity's oldest relics; The Magi, or better known as the Biblical figures "The Three Wise Men".
You know, "We three kings of orient are..."
There is no 100% guarantee that the crowned skulls and skeletons found within the shrine are actually the Three Wise Men described in the Bible, but given the bones' history, no one can say with certainty that it's not them.
It is told that Queen {Saint} Helena (Emperor Constantine the Great's mother) found the Magi buried within the Holy Land during her travels; what would have been about two centuries after their deaths.
She brought them back, along with other holy relics, to Constantinople where they were stayed for some time. In the 6th century, the Magi were moved to Milan, and in the 12th century the were brought to Cologne, Germany by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1164, where they will probably remain for many years to come.
The Cologne Cathedral was actually constructed to house the Magi. The original cathedral wasn't deemed 'special' enough to keep such wonders, so the construction of the cathedral you see today broke ground in August of 1248, to give the Three Kings a proper place to rest.
When this cathedral was finished, it was the tallest building in the world!
Yeah, so, I'd say this is a special place. And in my opinion, it would be odd for many people to go out of their way to construct such a large Gothic cathedral specifically in honor of three random guys, that may or may not have been The Magi...but that's for you to decide.
If you want to learn more about their pilgrimage to Cologne, but hate reading, check this documentary out (it's free): The Mummy Detective: The Three Kings
https://youtu.be/F62u39_L_3I
What's also cool about this place unlike many cathedrals/basilicas we have seen: It has FIVE huge naves. Not one, not three, BUT FIVE, and they are not small. It's holy craziness!
 |
| Milan Madonna shrine |
 |
| One of the naves inside of the cathedral. My kids loved the 'pixelated' stained glass. |
After oogling over the cathedral, we made our way to Rudolphplatz to visit the St. Nicholas Christmas market. It had a cute Christmas town setup right near Hahnentorburg, also known as 'Hahnen Gate'. There wasn't much to the market, but it was the quietest of the three we had visited.
 |
| On the way to the St. Nick market. |
 |
| I thought this cathedral was pretty neat. Reminds me of a Templar church. Maybe it is? |
I purposely walked to the furthest market first, so that we could make our way back to the market nearest the cathedral (and our train station) last.
Markets are pretty and all, but they are a bit more special when the sun goes down. The twinkling lights are what give them a warm fuzzies Christmas touch. I had read up on the Angel Market, and knew that it would be a must right around dusk.
From Rudolphplatz we walked to Neumarktplatz (only about 5 or so minutes), and it was there that we found my favorite market of the evening: Markt der Engel, or The Angel Market.
Not only were there a bunch of stars delicately swinging from tree branches, but there were also angels wandering through the market; sprinkling glitter upon visitors.
My kids thought this was odd.
When two lovely angels approached them to make "Christmas glitter wishes", the kids just stared at them in a 'duh' kinda way.
It was actually amusing to see my children standing there confused and silent. I warned them that this could happen, but I guess they didn't believe me! No worries, they made their wishes, we ate some bratwurst and fried mushrooms, and we were on our way!
 |
| Supposedly there are over 100 nativity scenes throughout the city. We only noticed two. This was the first. |
 |
| The angels give children a handful of glitter, and then the kids blow it out of their hands to make a wish. After, the angels pull chocolates out of their bags, and give each kid some. My youngest daughter jumped for joy, saying "My wish came true! I wished for candy, and then she gave me some!" It was a pretty funny moment. Also, my son looks scared AF. |
Night had settled, and we were on to the next market: Cathedral Markt. This is (what I assume is) the big daddy of the markets in Cologne. There are a few more than the three we attended, but we skipped the others. I know there's a LGBT Christmas market, a child market, and quite a few more themed markets.
Cologne has a lot of Christmas market varieties to choose from. Something for everyone!
The Cathedral Market has live music set in the heart of the lights, which was a pleasant surprise.
Strangely, the market seemed small from the outer vendor stalls, but once we weaved through the middle part, it's a whole lot bigger!
It reminded me of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. You know, when Harry goes into the tent at the Quidditch World Cup and can't believe how big it is once inside? Yeah, like that.
We drank a bit of gluhwein (the kids drank kinder gluhwein), and wandered a bit.
 |
| Not gonna lie, there's a bit of photoshop in this image. One of the bell towers was covered in scaffolding. |
I had one final task to complete while in Cologne. I NEEDED to snap of photo of the Hohenzollern bridge with the cathedral sitting in view from across the river. We walked the long, rumbling bridge, and made it to the other side. I happily snapped away while the family waited...and then waited...and waited for me to finish the job. It only took 20 minutes.
 |
| Surprise, surprise. Love locks. On a bridge. It's everywhere here in Europe. |
Our day had came to and end, so from the bridge we walked to the hauptbahnhof and caught the train back to our hotel. Not a bad day out!
I know I missed much of what the city has to offer, but honestly, I am becoming jaded to my German surroundings. I will say that the church was definitely worth the trip and the Christmas markets were certainly one of a kind!
I'm glad I paired this city with the Christmas season. I'm not entirely sure if I would have enjoyed it as much had it not been for the Christmas markets.
I could be wrong.
I probably am wrong.
Either way, I'm happy I went!
Next set of adventures will take us to some familiar places...!
Comments
Post a Comment