Day 7 – 7/7/2019 – Cologne!

Today started late.

We were due to dock in Cologne by 8:30 but it was more like 11:00 when we finally arrived in port.

As soon as we docked we headed out on a city walk.

Our tour guide at the column honoring Niel Armstrong

New Sandwiched between the “old”. It should be mentioned that Cologne was seriously damaged during WW II. With the exception of the cathedral, nearly all of the city dates to the 1940’s-1950’s

This is probably a good time to mention that Cologne was celebrating the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969. We were told to expect up to 800,000 revelers cramming the streets. That estimate wasn’t far off.

Crowd watching the parade cross the bridge.

So our city walk was adjusted majorly to lessen the impact of the crowds. We still hit some of the high points (including a few minutes in the cathedral) and were back on the boat in time for lunch.

It being Sunday we were confined to the back of the cathedral during mass.

Priest celebrating mass. Not the Gold casket behind him. It contains the bones of the Three Kings.

Notice the lighter section. Not all the cathedral escaped damage from allied bombs.

Two gargoyles facing off. The gargoyle on the very left is the architect of the cathedral.

Stone mason’s workshop. Repair and restoration is an ongoing process.

The lighter statues have been cleaned with a laser process – effective but ver time consuming.

Next door to the cathedral they were excavating a large Roman villa. The dig was closed (Sunday) but we were able to see this section of the dining room floor thru the window.

Following lunch Cheryl, Bill and Madeline headed for bed while I wandered back into town to experience the festivities, spend a bit more time in the cathedral, and find an art gallery that I particularly wanted to explore.

OK, so, the festival. As a veteran of the Boise Pride festival I can tell you that this was much the same – on a much larger scale, but with the same character. I felt very comfortable.

The Cathedral was as amazingly grand as you’d expect.

Casket containing the bones of the 3 kings.

Labyrinth in tile on a landing in the stairs down to the crypt

The art gallery was a great respite from the crowds with an excellent (though small) collection from the 12th thru the 18th centuries.

Aert van der Neer, Winter Landscape with Amusement on Ice, 1655

Claude Monet, Houses in Falaise, Mist, 1885

I was back on board in time for dinner. (Dinner on this cruise is a 2 our affair.) Following dinner the others retired and I repaired to the lounge to write this up.

Tomorrow is our last full day on the boat. It’s hard to believe it’s already over.

Till then, Nite all,
R