Abby:
We started our day by meeting at the train station in Bochum at 8:45 to travel to Cologne by train for an hour and a half. The train ride was gorgeous, traveling through the countryside of Germany, and also through bigger cities like Essen. When we finally arrived we exited the train station to immediately look up and see the Cathedral. We were all stunned to see that we had to look up so high to even see the top of the Cathedral. Once we were allowed to explore the city and after we had gone in to see he cathedral, we then explored the streets and shops of Cologne. As we wandered, we were surprised to see that the cathedral was so tall that we could use it as a waypoint for where we were as it stuck up above all other buildings. As we looked through the stores and shopped a bit, we saw multiple wandering groups of people playing music and dancing, which was incredibly fun and cheered up the mood as it was a rainy day. We then got fries and churros and the Americans tried all of the popular sauces like curry sauce and they were all so good. We then met at the Chocolate Museum, which was gorgeous, and then dispersed. Almost all of the girls went downtown to Bochum to go to a restaurant called three sixty and spent time getting to know each other better and went to the local Rewe to try german sodas and snacks.
David:
Just as we began to approach the city, the train began to slow down to give everyone a view of the Cathedral. I purposedly didn’t look because I wanted to see the full thing once we left the train station. Once we got off and began to walk towards the exit of the main station, which had glass windows, the Cathedral came into view. I was stunned immediately, but as we kept walking towards the exit, more of the Cathedral came into view, and it continued to rise into the air. When I was outside, I had to crane my neck just to see the entire thing. The Cathedral was breathtaking, and I was speechless the entire time just from seeing the outside. The inside of the Cathedral was just as breathtaking, with towering vaulted ceilings and a level of detail was was hard to comprehend. Each of the stained glass windows had a unique design, and they were probably my favorite part of the Cathedral; however, I also got to see several priceless artifacts. The Jewelry Virgin Mary statue inside the Cathedral was breathtaking, the amount of jewelry covering the figure made it look surreal. Seeing the Shrine of the Three Kings, which is priceless, was another spectacle on top of the already awe-inspiring interior decorations. Overall, I was able to see something I only dreamed of, and it was more than worth it just to see the Cathedral from the outside, let alone explore the inside.
Historically, the Cathedral was just as magnificent as it is today. Standing at an impressive 515 feet (157 meters), the gothic cathedral took 632 years to build, with construction beginning around 1248 and ending in 1880. Even today, renovations and remodeling are constantly being done to maintain the cathedral, with architects able to access to top of the Cathedral through a set of stairs. The Cologne Cathedral is the tallest twin-spire church in the world, also standing as the second-tallest in Europe behind the Ulm Minster in Ulm, Germany. Famously, the Cathedral was able to be seen from a three days walk away back when it was first opened in 1880. The Cathedral has stood the test of time, even enduring 14 bomb hits during the Second World War; yet, the Cathedral still loomed over the city despite being heavily damaged. Despite being known for it’s dark color, which makes it stand out as the perfect example of gothic architecture, the stone of the Cathedral has darkened over the centuries due to coal heating systems, factory chimneys, industrialization, and steam locomotives (trains). Today, the Cathedral receives roughly 20,000 daily visitors, and still remains a spectacle in the modern world.
