Visitors and Visiting: Münster and Köln(Cologne)

Finally, Visitors!

Our time in Germany is starting to wind down, so we have been trying to make the most of our last few weeks. A few family members and a very good friend have been able to come and visit us. It was fun to show our friends/family around our little bit of Germany.

Another good thing about visitors is that you are more inclined to go on outings. We finally made it to Cologne (Köln)!  Love Locks are something we have seen in various places in Germany, but Cologne is famous for them. The lock tradition is relatively new in Cologne (less than 10 years). There is a bridge that crosses the Rhine. Safety panels, like the one below, are completely covered with locks almost the entire length of the bridge.

Directly next to the train station in Cologne is the Cologne Cathedral. It reminded me very much of Notre Dame in Paris. We were in Cologne for on a religious holiday, so services were taking place. We happened to be in the square when a service let out and were able to see an impressive procession.

For a relatively small fee, you could climb the spiral steps to the top of the tower to see a bird's eye view of the city.

By taking a small detour, you could visit the bell tower, complete with gigantic bells. 

We were able to sneak in to the back of the cathedral, but they wouldn't let anyone go to the front unless they were attending the service. It is hard to appreciate how huge this Cathedral is.

Ice cream Break!

After spending a bit of time looking at Museum Ludwig, we were ready for a bit of a rest. Museum Ludwig is a fantastic modern art museum with the largest collection of Picassos in Europe.

Remember the story of the shoemaker and the elves?  Well, in Cologne those elves are called Heinzelmännchen, and they also helped finish the Cologne Cathedral. The Heinzelmännchen are especially beloved in Cologne and even have their own monument that you can see part of below.

Below, those talented elves are making sausage from scratch.

I have mentioned before that memorials of the war are sprinkled everywhere. Often, a building is left in its bombed out state while all of the buildings around it are rebuilt. This sign is in an old church. It translates to, "Waiting for the prisoners to come home".

Here is the interior, bombed out and not restored.

By the time we finished looking at the church it was time to make our way back to the train station. We stopped for just a moment at this water play feature.

The next night, some friends of ours had invited us to share a special dinner. After dropping our nephew off at the train station for his trip to Berlin, we hopped on a bus to meet our friends.

Our friends wanted to share the springtime tradition of eating Spargel (Asparagus)! Spargle is something the Germans look forward to with great anticipation. The typical way of eating Spargle is covered with hollandaise sauce and served with potatoes and a delicious smoked ham. Spargel is white rather than green. To get Spargel to be white, they cover the asparagus shoots with earth so that they don't get any sun. We also learned that there are certain farms that are better than others, and that to get the best taste, they first boil the peels, then use that water to boiled the peeled Spargel. This was so fantastic.

Be jealous! Of course, where you live it is probably warm and you can see the sun!