Einmal am Rhein

16 August 2013.

One more stop before we get ourselves to Frankfurt, where the Trafalgar tour will start. I find it hard to believe that we still have an entire two week tour ahead of us.

We planned to make one stop today on our way to Köln. According to research, in 1695, one Hillegard Jodocus Muller was born in Meschede, Nordrhein-Westfalen. On 17 October 1711, he married a Margartha Alberta Adams, and their son, Anthonie Michael, was born in 1719. Anthonie move to the Cape of Good Hope in 1735, and married one Adriana van Rooyen, and proceeded to spawn generations of Mullers, one of which I am now married to. 🙂 So it would only be right for us to visit Meschede.

Meschede is quite a big town, but sadly, like so many German cities, most of the historic part of town was destroyed in the second world war. We found the old church, which was rebuilt a few times, but that was about as historic as we could find. Still, it feels quite special to be in an area where once, centuries ago, your forefathers lived.

The road to Köln was an easy drive along the Autobahn. Except for traffic. It should come as no surprise that the Germans drive like speed demons on these roads, and passing slower trucks, of which there are hundreds, becomes a challenge. Driving in big cities can be even more stressful. There seems to be so much construction going on all over Germany, that someone like our (not-so)trusted Emily, could not possibly keep her maps up to date. So it took us a little longer than necessary to find our Hotel.

Köln is clearly an industrial city. You can see it by the people who spend their Friday evenings on the banks of the Rhein. And with the weather this beautiful, it becomes a very popular spot.

There may be many attractions in Köln, but I really only wanted to see one. The Dom. Said to be the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe,  it stands a massive 152m high.  It suffered seventy hits by aerial bombs in World War II, but failed to collapse in an otherwise flattened city. It is said that Allied forces used it as a landmark to navigate their way deeper into Germany, which is why it was not destroyed. I suppose when you are at war, saving the world’s heritage is the last thing on your mind. Sad….

Sitting inside the Dom, we realised that no photo could ever reflect the experience of the vastness of this cathedral. It’s just phenomenal.

After supper at an exclusive Kölnische brewery, we crossed a bridge to the other side of the Rhein, to get some better photo’s of the skyline . I have no further words……

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