Our river cruise brought us to Cologne this morning – Germany’s fourth largest city.
As we approached Cologne the massive cathedral dominated the skyline.
Before venturing out into the city we had breakfast in our ship’s dining room. We try to get a window table each time. The food at all meals has been excellent!
Our German tour guide led us on a two hour walking tour of Cologne – a city originally founded by the Romans 2000 years ago. We learned that 90% of Cologne was destroyed by allied bombs in World War II. Most of the old buildings we saw were reconstructions built after the war.
The highlight of our walking tour was a visit to the Cologne Cathedral – the largest Gothic church in Germany and tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world. The church took 600 years to build dating back to 1248.
The cathedral was just as impressive on the inside. While the church was bombed during the war some of the original sections were undamaged. Services are still held here – we exited the church before the 12 noon gathering.
We are skipping the optional tour Viking is offering, a night time walking tour of Cologne’s beer halls, instead preferring to remain onboard for another delicious dinner, a lecture on the European Union, and a concert of classic German music. Our ship remains docked until 11 pm, when we set sail for Koblenz, Germany.
