Day 11 - May 20 - Cologne Germany

As the days have progressed I've noticed my journaling got less and less. I think the exhaustion caused me to assume I'd remember later and not to document at the moment. Thankfully the photos help. 

This morning we woke up in Cologne, Germany. This stop was one I was looking forward to as well. The cathedral in Cologne is famous and I can't wait to see it. 

View from our veranda

Our tour guide met us by the boat and we were off. It was going to be another hot one. 

Cologne is full of beautiful architecture too. The gothic cathedral is the focus of the town. You can see the spires for miles and miles. 

Let's just get to it. The cathedral is the reason to come to Cologne. Well, the cathedral and the beer. But we'll talk about the beer later. 

Look at this!

Just look at all the little people compared to his massive structure! The spires of the cathedral reach 515 ft into the sky. It's the tallest twin-spired church in the world - so they say. 

Construction of the cathedral started in 1248. They ran out of funding and building halted in 1560. It wouldn't be until 1814 that construction began again. Finally completed in 1880. 

The claim to fame of this cathedral is the Shrine of the Three Kings. This was commissioned by the archbishop of Cologne in 1167. It is believed that his shrine contains the remains of the Three Wise Men, who's relics were acquired by Frederick Barbarossa at the conquest of Milan in 1164. The shrine was opened in 1864 and it contained bones and garments. Did those bones and garments belong to the Three Wise Men? We'll never know, but isn't is a nice story. 

The cathedral suffered fourteen hits by bombs during WWII. It was badly damaged but remained standing in an otherwise flattened city. 

After the walking tour we had a couple of hours before our evening Beer and Culture excursion. So we decided to walk down to the Lindt Chocolate factory and museum. I bought some chocolate to bring home to the BFF who was watching the cats back home. She has a sweet tooth and what better gift than Lindt chocolate? 

Our evening entertainment was to experience beer and culture the Colgone way. Cologne is known for it's kolsch beer.

"Kölsch is a style of beer originating in Cologne, Germany. It has an original gravity between 11 and 14 degrees Plato. In appearance, it is bright and clear with a straw-yellow hue."

This beer is exactly the type of beer I enjoy. It's served in these small glasses and is ice cold. Perfect for a hot day in May. 

So what's the big deal about this beer? 

"Since 1997, the term "Kölsch" has had a protected geographical indication (PGI) within the European Union, indicating a beer that is made within 50 kilometres (30 mi) of the city of Cologne and brewed according to the Kölsch Konvention as defined by the members of the Cologne Brewery Association (Kölner Brauerei-Verband). Kölsch is one of the most strictly defined beer styles in Germany: according to the Konvention, it is a pale, highly attenuated, hoppy, bright (i.e. filtered and not cloudy) top-fermenting beer, and must be brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot."

Technically, you can't get "kolsch" beer outside of the Cologne area. US brewers make a "kolsch style" beer but they can't call it "kolsch". 

Our first stop was Peter's Brauhaus. It's a large establishment filled with locals. We sat at very long wooden tables and were served immediately. Here's how the service works though. If you finish your beer, don't call a guy over for a refill. They automatically replace you beer. They are so small, they assume you want another. The only way to stop them is to place your coaster on top of the glass. 

We had dinner at Peter's Brauhaus too. It was a nice 4 course meal that helped soak up the 4 beers I had before food was served. 

We visited two more beer brauhaus' and experienced the same beer. Our tour guide spent a lot of time talking to us about Germany and how beer was included in part of their culture. It sounded like a lot of hogwash to me, but it was entertaining all the same. 

We stumbled our way back to our boat. Truth be told these beers only have like 4% alcohol and I think we had 8 glasses. But their tiny glasses. 

Tomorrow we enter The Netherlands. Country #4 for this trip. I'm excited to see the windmills. 

Total Steps: 11, 911