Day 7 – Walking Tour of Cologne
I meant to mention in yesterday’s post Dan’s exchange with the Hotel Manager when we checked in on Day 2 of the cruise, in which his response to Dan’s comments that we’re not used to getting waited on hand and foot was to “Get used to it.”
On Day 3 of the cruise, we got to have a “lie in” today, as Cathy the Canadian Cruise Director would say, before going on our shore excursion walking tour of Cologne. We didn’t arrive in the port until around 2:00 p.m., so the morning was a leisurely exercise in waking up at the more reasonable time of about 8:30 a.m., followed for me by a deep tissue massage from Vera, the Wellbeing Coach. Oh, my god, I desperately needed that and she delivered. My lower back and hips have been horribly out of whack since flying into Paris. I met with her again later in the day to help me do some stretches and recommend alternatives. She also suggested adding a pinch of salt to my water bottle to add electrolytes to combat water retention.
Our tour of Cologne (Koln) started pretty much as soon as we docked. Naturally it was pouring rain the entire time, right up until the tour ended. It was still better than the weather we left at home.
The tour guide was a really nice young guy (I regret I have forgotten his name) who gave us an overview of the community’s history, with a bit of the ridiculous tidbits thrown in for good measure.
This fountain (not currently working) commemorates the work that women historically did for the community.
About 90% of the city centre was destroyed during WWII following 262 separate Allied air raids. They rebuilt around and attached to the pieces that remained standing. The year the original buildings were made had been written on the buildings, and rewritten on the new buildings that replaced what had been destroyed. They were usually written with iron(?) numbers that you can see on two the following buildings.
In 1969 the community decided to erect this column to commemorate a local family by the name of Schmitz. For some unknown random reason, they also decided to acknowledge Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to walk on the moon with his left foot, 389,994 km and 100 metres from where this column was erected. Nobody, including Neil Armstrong at the time when he was told about it, knows why the community decided to make this connection.
Another weird thing, way back in the 1800s a puppet theatre comedic duo named Tuunes und Schal was created to reflect the opposing aspects of rural and urban German life. The rural population was represented by the round, large-nosed Tuunes as a simple, good-natured, tranquil soul. The urban population was represented by the tall, skinny Schal as a cunning, sly character usually wearing a tailcoat. The characters are best friends despite their differences. These life-sized bronze statues of Tuunes und Schal are placed just outside a pub named after them. It is said that if you rub Tuunes nose you will have good luck or romantic success, but if you shake Schal’s hand you will become wealthy. If you look close at the picture you’ll see that Tuunes nose is shinier than Schal’s hand. Dan rubbed Tuunes nose only after I had put my camera away.
Okay, the story behind this statue: The soldier at the top is Jan von Werth. The seated woman is Griet. Jan was originally a poor farmer who fell in love with Griet. Griet was a beautiful snob who spurned Jan’s proposal because she wanted a wealthier and more prominent partner. Devasted, Jan signed up to go to war. He worked hard as a soldier and became a celebrated general. When he lead his triumphant troops into Cologne he saw Griet selling fruit at the market. Griet exclaimed at Jan’s success, “Jan, who would have thought it?” to which Jan replied, “Griet, the person who should have done it!” and turned away from her. Jan had a full, successful, wealthy life and Griet remained an unmarried virgin for the rest of her life.
Underneath this clock (you probably can’t see it very well… I kind of wish Dan had brought his real camera with him today) is the head of a bearded man. I can’t remember who he’s supposed to be or what the history is supposed to be about it, but he’s called the Platzjabbeck and when the bells ring every hour he rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue. Like I said, some weird stuff here.
Speaking of weird, one more for you: the Kallendresser copper sculture on a building across from the old town City Hall. Apparently the motif of exposing one’s butt in the general direction of authority dates back to the Middle Ages, although this particular sculpture was created in 1957-ish to replace the old one that was on a building destroyed during WWII. This one is of a boy mooning in the direction of City Hall, meant to convey disrespect to authorities.
Did you know that this is where Eau du Cologne was created? Now you do. We did not get any; not a perfume person.
Also, Cologne’s favourite snack apparently is a donut called the Berliner. We had one, and it’s pretty much what we in Canada would call a Bismarck. Funny story, and one I wish I had found a T-shirt with the meme about it, when JFK came to Berlin he said, “Ich bin ein Berliner”, which the people of Cologne laughed at because all they heard was “I am a donut”.
The Cologne Cathedral is “a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture” (quoting Wikipedia here, so…). It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is massive and detailed in its architecture, and is the tallest twin-tower church in the world. But what it’s also known for is that where the majority of Cologne was destroyed during WWII, the church remained standing as a landmark for Allied Forces to navigate from. The Allied bombers absolutely flattened the rest of the community.
We took a stroll through the train station, where Dan required assistance with using the self-help checkout till at the grocery store. It was in German, and didn’t have an English option. The police arrived in force shortly thereafter, but don’t worry, it wasn’t for us. It was for the fans of the Arsenal football (soccer) team, who were being rowdy on their way to the match against Bayer Leverkusen.
Cologne is also known for their love-lock bridge, which they blew up in WWII to prevent the Allied Forces from crossing the Rhine. They rebuilt the bridge to accommodate train and pedestrian traffic, instead of vehicles, and now 12,000 trains a day pass over that bridge in both directions. In the 1970s someone (a bunch of someone’s) started locking padlocks to the bridge with their initials engraved as a demonstration of their everlasting love. They would then toss the key into the river, symbolizing the impossibility of breaking or removing the lock. Since then there have been so many locks added that they are estimated to number over 300,000 and collectively weigh over 100,000 pounds.
We returned to the ship, relaxed for a bit writing the previous (original) blog on my iPad, before attending the Daily Port Talk. This evening’s dinner was in the Crystal Dining Room, yet another fine dining experience (really, “chef’s kiss”). The evening entertainment was from a local singer performing a variety of songs old and new. I think her name was Jeneanne (?). Anyway, she was very entertaining. We turned in shortly after the performance, as tomorrow will be another relatively early day.
Gute Nachte!
Adelle and Dan
Guigon Travels 