cologne... a brief visit.

cologne was another destination we had wanted to see, especially because of the cologne cathedral. i probably mentioned this before, i don't believe in god or any religions, but the architecture of buildings dedicated to churchly things were always a big interest of mine ( and my family ). isn't it strange that people built something so gracious, monumentous and otherworldly dedicated to something that also stands for oppressions, small minded-ness, and someone who's not even here to help us solve the problems we have?
it is extremely mind-boggling to me that some of the most intelligent and brilliant heads were used to built these architectural exclusivenesses. just for someone called god. just because of believing in someone called god.

what also strikes me everytime i visit an old site is the fact that people built these buildings in a time were it was stinkin' hard work to achieve a good outcome. it's not like they erected a steel crane and pushed on a button to start heaving stones up. it required thousands of helping hands and it also ended with a dozens of accidents and deaths. there was no gear that roped you up and helped not falling down a couple of deathly meters. i say, it is incredible what they accomplished and even these days those artifacts and wonders are still around. and look so much more impressing than a modern day functional building that strikes you with blankness and also ugliness. ( not that i find this accurately ugly, clear lines and minimalism is something that i also value as something beautiful. just in a different context. )

cologne itself didn't quite knock me off my feet. we attempted to walk cologne's shopping streets and i felt like i was trapped and it was no pleasant feeling. too many people, the streets not wide enough to properly go windowshopping or any slow walking in general. you were pushed and scooped forwards, there wasn't nearly a chance to go back. it kind of stressed me a out a lot. it got me tired. not everything was bad, though.
i really loved walking by the rhine. where there is water, there is peace. maybe i'll return soon enough, there is a zoo waiting to be explored, museums to be visited and maybe, underneath this image of a huge, over-crowded city there a still jewels to be found.

let's have a brief walk through cologne:

hohenzollern bridge in the back. and also the town district deutz.

random medieval tower between a modern day building and a house from the end of the 19th century.

st. kunibert.

cologne cathedral from afar.

kaiser wilhelm on his bridge.

cologne central station. it's situated directly next to the cathedral.

overcast cathedral. there's always something to repair, mend and overhaul. people say they've never seen the cathedral without scaffolds.

the nave's ceiling with an organ.

beauitful glass windows with symbolic paintings. window of the three holy kings.

better details.

and more.

johannes klein windows.

st. michael.

altar of the poor clares. with the eagle lectern. it is crushing a tiny dragon, which was kind of sad.

again, without eagle.

arch paintings - kind of creepy.

the stairs down the crypt.

new built crypt. the bishops of the recent history are buried here.

floor mosaics. there were really delicate. huge puzzles!

the entry to a praying chapel. kind of looked very art nouveau to me.

right: window of st. barbara & st. evergislus; middle: st. james window; left: window of st. catherine & st. heribert.

window of the south transept. this is a modern verion of a glass window in churches. i really liked it. it shows that even modernity sometimes has a chance to enter these old houses.

the shrine of the three holy kings.

st. christopher statue.

lion head door knocker.

 the portals were simply gorgeous. i could've spent a lot of hours examining the scenes carved into stones, engraved into metal doors.

there were sad creatures all around.

the sun came through! very ancient and very modern side by side.

random sculptures.

great st. martin church.

another view onto the cathedral.

though cologne is a very ancient town the overall look of this city is very modern.

hohenzollern bridge again.

old constructions.

a skeleton above the rhine. seems like it should argue suicidal persons out of jumping to death.

the musical dome of cologne.

the hohenzollernbridge was covered in small love padlocks. on the other side of the bridge there were a lot more but somehow we didn't end up there.

with mom in the background.

view onto cathedral, the emperor & central station.

modern architecture. see, it still has it good sides. when it stands alone it looks much better than paired up with ancient buildings.

yeah, tattoo show-off.

and some self portraits.

we were parking in the zoo car park. i loved the wall graffiti!