Ahrweiler - Aachen, Germany

Wednesday 27th October 1999

We'd have liked to stay another day with Thomas and Marella but the days were getting shorter and colder and we knew we should move on. We headed north for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most densely populated in Germany with five of the ten largest cities. We weren't too interested in the megalopolis surrounding Essen and Dusseldorf but thought that the city of Cologne would be well worth a visit.

After looping around the ring road we found a way in and soon came across a park-and-ride parking station. The twin spires of the famous cathedral were in sight so we knew we were on the right path.

We parked the car and headed across to the tram stop. Not much information was on display but a man came across to help us out, explaining the ticket system and which routes to take. We were soon next to the cathedral and, feeling dwarfed by its immense size, went inside.

The interior is difficult to describe other than to say that it is astounding. It is hard to pinpoint just what it is that so impresses but it would have to be one of the top two or three cathedrals in Europe. We spent a long time just sitting in one of the pews and trying to take it all in. Everything about the interior is superb. The details are fascinating but the overall structure has a balance and lightness that defies its incredible dimensions. We began to look around and examine more closely the many statues and alter-pieces. Pride of place behind the main alter belongs to the Shrine of the Three Magi, said to contain the bones of the three wise men. The golden sarcophagus was taken from Milan in 1164 as spoils of war by Emperor Barbarossa's chancellor.

We eventually left the cathedral and began to explore the rest of the city. I'd somehow expected quite a bit from Cologne but the city itself was a bit of a disappointment. Pretty much just like any big city apart from a few traces of Roman ruins. We found a couple of attractive Romanesque churches but overall found ourselves struggling to find an appealing city.

Back at the cathedral square we decided to have a look at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, containing a comprehensive display of Roman artifacts. Most impressive was the huge Poblicius grave monument, at least two stories high and built in about 30AD for a fairly common man. He was a soldier in the Roman army and used his 25 year service pay-out to pay for the monument. Certainly achieving a degree of immortality. Other exhibits in the museum were equally interesting and we found ourselves, as usual, being thrown out at closing time.

We headed back across the square for another look inside the cathedral before making our way to the underground and back to the van. We'd spent most of the day in Cologne so our main task now was to get out of the city and find a place to stop for the night. Getting out of the city proved a little more difficult than expected but we eventually managed it. We began heading west for our next target of Aachen but veered off the road and into a forest reserve. We soon found a quiet spot and after some struggling managed to get the van level enough to cook dinner and sleep. Tomorrow would be day 50 in Germany and our last. There turned out to be a lot to see in this place.