Travel - My incomplete journal of visit to Cologn (Koln)

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Today, Friday 16 2004, I went to Cologn (Koln as the Germans call it). I am staying in a town called Wuppertal towards north east of Koln. Kolon is a 35 min ride by train, costing 6.90E (Euro 1Euro = 76Rupees) each way. The train I took was a double decked, and had a ticket checker, and left the station at 8.05am. The ticket checker was all equipped with gadgets, and I could have easily mistaken him to some electronic technician had he not asked for the tickets. The journey was thru some open farmland, and hardly any industrialization. But, just before we were to reach Koln, there were vast yards of industrialization, with steel rollers and others. There is a huge railway goods yard too. Unluckily, there was no English speaking co passenger. I got down at Koln Deutz at 8:40am. This station was on the eastern bank of river Rhein, and my destination was on the western bank.

Welcome to Koln. There were a wide verity human hues that were in the station. In this part of the world, rail stations act as a shopping arcade and has all necessary facilities like Information Centers and hotel reservations. I went to the Information Center and got my initial information, and that included that I was down on the wrong station and my train halt at the Koln Hbf. But I like it that way. I decided to see the life around walking across Rhein. I found taking a cycle was very cumbersome, as there are lots of traffic rules a cyclist has to follow, and there are specific paths which a cyclist must take or never venture into. Also if I ride on a highway I need a helmet. A pedestrian is okay, till one don’t comes in front of a speeding vehicle or train. So I marched into the city, which was the heartbeat of European trade, commerce, religion and culture.

I took a longer route instead of following the railway tracks into the next station. There is a pedestrian track along the railway track on the railway bridge. My route was thru the grounds of Koln Trade Fair and hotel Hyaat across Deutzer Bridge. The walk across the bridge gave me a panoramic view of the city. People were taking their morning walks and I found an old lady all alone on her electric wheel chair overtaking me and speeding ahead. On the river were huge liner size ferries. Beyond it were some conical roofs, stone houses and beyond them stood the Cathedral majestically. The railway bridge that was the shortcut for me to the city which I avoided was there, a huge monster of steel. There was a suspension bridge on the other end, and another RCC bridge beyond the railway bridge and another beyond the suspension bridge. A city of around a million people at the most, and 5 bridges to commute! The bank I left behind had lower houses and on the horizon were a few church towers and an eye catching roof, which was the newly build Koln Arena.

I got down from the bridge and landed on the promenade on the west bank of Rhein. Along it were the huge multi storied liners, and people gathering at the ticket booth. Enquiries brought into light that these people were to go for a 2 hours ride in the river and enjoying food and song along. No intercity ferries, today, else I could have taken a ride to Düsseldorf on my return. The people seem courteous and language was not am issue. There were information broachers for grabs, and people like you were all over. The small walk to the Cathedral was thru stone path and stone walls. There was symmetry in all layout and that makes one uncomfortable, as real constructions are on different time lines and hence cannot have symmetry.  I reached the Cathedral, and it was 10 min past 9. The Koln Tourism Office was located at one end of its courtyard. I collected all the necessary maps, directions and local specialties and secrets. The best way to travel is to buy a Koln welcome kit for 9 Euro and that gives you access to quite a few things, and also pay for the local transportation, ie., bus, train etc.

I tried to figure out my plans and found that its too vast to cover in a day. Although 80% of the places of tourist interest were within walking distances, peeping into each of them was a nightmare. They were too many.  I took a guided tour of the city that was on a Bus with an English guide. It was worth 14Euro and was worth it. It took me across the city, and told the history and showed me the headquarters of some insurance company. The trip took me across the city centre, thru the vast networks of subways, and went by many historical places, gardens and fountains. It gave one a brief glance of the places of interest and make you zero in on the places you plan to visit. This was a two hour tour and left me back in front of the DOM.

The Cathedral is a stone and masonry work, that was completed over 650 years. It is enormous, and to think of the vision of the Search pre dark age, its worth pondering.,
The Cathedral's Dimensions

(Images used are not mine and is sourced from Internet) 

Towers:
157,38 metres tall
Facade:
61 metres in width
Cathedral:
144 metres long
Cathedral area:
covers 8,000 sq.m.
Floor space:
6,166 sq.m.
Windows:
10,000 sq.m.
Roofs:
12,500 sq.m. in size
Cubical content:
407,000 m3
Transept:
86 metres wide
Central nave:
43,35 metres high
Roof ridge:
at a height of 61 metres
Ridge turret:
at a height of 109 metres
Observation platform:
509 steps
Bells (the 3 largest):
St. Peter (1923) - 24 tons
Pretiosa (1448) - 11,2 tons
Speciosa (1449) - 6 tons
Foundation stone:
was laid in 1248
Finishing touches:
were put to the facade with the placing of the finial on the south tower on 15th October 1880. At this time the cathedral was the tallest structure in the world


The other places I visited were a few Museums. Remarkable out of them are the .........