We started our morning on a wander to look at shops. But the area we are in is not great for unique or local shopping experiences.

There were other interesting sights.

This statuary collection seems to have something to do with the unification of Germany. The guy on top is Wilhelm Friedrich III.

The river cruise boats were gathering again.

The weather was so nice we had lunch outside.

Local beer:

The main reason for coming to Köln was to see the Cathedral, one of the largest Gothic churches in Europe.

I travel in order to experience art and architecture first hand. While slides can sometimes be useful to see details you cannot see in person, when it comes to architecture, no slide can replace the three dimensional experience.

The area around the Dom was busy. Because of the nearby train station, roadways and construction, it is hard to get perspective. And it is even harder to photograph.

Inside, the height is impressive. I treasure the experience of walking the length of the church and craning up to see the rising levels. That experience cannot be reproduced in a classroom.

The Cathedral was a pilgrimage church because it holds the relics of the Three Kings who visited Jesus at his birth. The reliquary is a good example of Medieval goldsmithing. Too bad I could not get close.

The stained glass windows were destroyed in WWII. One of the replacements is by Gerhard Richter. Some people do not like that it is abstract and not representational.

The photos do not reflect the colours. By zooming in and reducing the light, the colours are a bit muddy. They are very clear and intense, but the sunshine outside was making the glass look almost colourless.

Some other work looks modern as well.

The signs explaining things were in German. I downloaded an app for the Cathedral but it would not open and I think it was in German in any event.

Other views inside:

More exterior views.

We wanted to make a dinner reservation at a restaurant that turned out to be fully booked. Instead we set off early to see if we could get in somewhere.

Scott wanted to go back near the Rathaus.

This place was called Gasthaus and looked like it might have been in a building that survived WWII bombing. There were photos that looked like the building post-bombing.

We said we were going to have a lighter dinner but both ended up having braised veal cheeks and spaetzle. At least the serving wasn’t too huge. It was tasty.

One last attempt to get close to the Rathaus.