Cathedral Town

The main portal into the Cologne Cathedral.
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We made our way back to Cologne (Köln) from Birten on the train.  Immediately after leaving the main station (Hauptbahnhof) we were met with a grandiose view of the famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom).  It has two major spires that reach over 150m high, and it sits directly across from the station.  More about this monument later.

We walked past the Dom and found our hostel.  A nice chain called the Meringer, which has a few hostels in Europe.  It was a little later on in the day, and we were a little tired after our pilgrimage to Birten (and our fabulous free lunch).  We decided to grab a beer from the hostel and walk the streets of Cologne (it was the hostel's happy hour - €1.50 a bottle).  That's another thing about Germany.  You are more than welcome to enjoy an "adult beverage" on the sidewalk, the subway, etc.  Feeling a bit guilty, we took our Beck's through the streets until we stumbled upon a gathering of people in a large square.  We were treated to a short, pantomimed, random James Bond play.  It was a bit weird, especially since the whole thing was done on ropes and harnesses.  A scaffolding was set-up, and the characters swung and climbed around the set, with little plot to speak of.  That being said, it was fairly entertaining to see the bright lights, death-defying stunts, and tedious over acting.  There was no real explanation of why this was happening, but we were just happy to have been there.

A view of the high altar.
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The next day we took transit over to the Kölner Dom.  It was began in the Thirteenth Century, but completed in the Nineteenth after a long hiatus.  An english-speaking tour took us through the amazing building.  There are several impressive treasure and art pieces.  Behind the high altar there is a shrine which is said to contain the remains of the Three Wise Men.  We also climbed the 509 steps to the viewing area.  It was a cramped, circular staircase that was used to go both up and down...I would assume that this was not made for tourists at the time.

Buffet Chang. Before the bloating, and still optimistic.
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Dinner was decided uopn from our guidebook.  Did you know that all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets can be found in Germany as well?!  Buffet Chang took it to us.  Between a couple full plates of food and 0.5L of Warstiener, we were done - literally.  We actually feel alseep at the table.  I'm serious.  Ask Mrs. Chang.  This marked the end of our aspirations to go to a local brewpub that evening.

We went to mass at the Dom in the morning.  Hearing the choir echo through the archways was hallowing.

From there we packed our bags and boarded the train for Berlin!

-Chester