I can't believe the time to return has finally come. In spectacular fashion, we had ONE MORE big Griswold European adventure planned before we flew back to the states after the New Year.
I love that the statue in the Heumarkt that shows the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III is all lit up in rainbow lighting and the little Heinzelmännchen are reminding you that this statue is now a rotary!
Hello over there!
Todd snapped this one when he was behind Grant. No wall huggers, here!
But the ice was not in very good shape. It was a warm day - in the low 50s before it started raining, which does not make for good ice. It makes for slushy ice.
They were so super cute, and taller than me on the raised ice.
Natalie took several years of ice skating lessons back in America, so she is probably our best skater.
This was blurry but I liked how it turned out. My boys, stopping in to chat for a minute before doing another lap.
Todd goofing off while ice skating in the December sun.
Hello over there, Grantie!
Then I wanted to take pictures of them from another vantage point, so I went back up to the bridge.
Natalie had separated from Todd and Grant and was just ice skating on her own!
How many mugs of glühwein has he had here? (I kid, he's always like this!) Plus that girl on the right is hilarious.
They finally tired out and we decided to head over to the Cathedral. On the way there, you have to walk through yet ANOTHER Christmas market! Here we are leaving the first one though. You can see it was definitely more crowded at this point. If you go, always go early!
Goodbye little gnomes! I appreciate you and all of the work you do. I would love it if some little gnomes just showed up and clean my house! Apparently this exit sign dates ALL the way back to 2008.
I'm guessing this is Mary and Joseph with Jesus, but I'm not entirely sure!
This market is in the Alter Markt. One could probably argue it was an extension of the other one, but it just kept going!
Ominous clouds began to gather and I knew we were gonna get rain, so we hoofed it up to the Cathedral.
But of course, I had to stop and take this picture. Growing up, my neighbor Emma used to always call my Dad "Papa Joe." I don't even really know why, because his name was Bill! But it always made me laugh! And isn't a "Biersalon" exactly where he would want to be?
Maybe I'll just take pictures of ALL of the brewpubs. This one was just so pretty all decked out for Christmas!
We made our way to the front entrance of the church only to find a really long line. Eventually, people gave up on the line as they were not letting anyone in, so we moved up near the front. We came all the way to Cologne to see this cathedral, so there was no way we were leaving, despite the fact that it was about to rain. We found out that a fire alarm had gone off in the church, so they evacuated it and made everyone else wait to get inside.
As I mentioned before, the Cologne Cathedral has the LARGEST church facade in the entire world! It's also the TALLEST twin spired church in the whole world! Interestingly, it's NOT the tallest church in Europe- that belongs to Ulm Munster, in the German city of Ulm. But it IS the third tallest church in the world! Also interesting: They started constructing the Cologne Cathedral in 1248, but 150 years later, work was stopped on it and it did not resume until around 1840. And of course, much like other sandstone building in Europe, it turns black over time when it reacts with the sulfuric acid in the rain.
I randomly have two pictures of Grant and Todd, and they're both essentially making the same face. Maybe they're rolling their eyes that we had to wait so long to get into the cathedral!
As we were waiting in line outside for the inspection of the church to be completed after the fire alarm went off, Natalie spotted a girl named Amelia from her Girl Scout Camp that she went to this summer! She and her family were visiting Cologne from SHAPE. It is SUCH a small world! Good news though: they eventually opened up the church so we were able to get inside!
We decided to do the hour long guided tour of the Cathedral which was very informative! One of the treasures of the Cologne Cathedral is that it houses the bones of the Three Wise Men. Every year (wah, except this next one!) we get the "20 * C+M+B+19" sign to put on our German front door - little children dressed as the Magi visit the houses to deliver the door sticker. Many say that it stands for Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar - the three wise men. Others say it stands for, "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" or "God Bless this House." It's thought that the bodies of the Three Kings were discovered in Constantinople, and brought to Milan in 344 AD, and then transferred to Cologne by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. He gave them to Archbishop Rainald von Dassel around 1164 when the Holy Roman Empire was dealing with a rebellion of the Milanese. ("Here, keep these safe for me!")
My child can apparently just touch fire. Who knew!? Just kidding. They were little battery powered tea lights. We can't risk having the Cologne Cathedral burn down like Notre Dame did.
This stained glass is from 1846 and is known as the Anbetungs-Fenster. It was one of five donated by Ludwig I, and if you look in the lower left corner of the picture (ABOVE the four prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel), you can see a tiny Bavarian coat of arms surrounded in a gold color. In the lower right is Ludwig's name.
Traditional Christmas trees, especially in Germany had candles on them instead of Christmas lights. Of course, again... we can't have candles on a tree in one of the biggest churches in the world, so they settled on lights that looked like candles.
This Swallow's Nest organ was built in 1998 for the 750th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the cathedral.
This crucifix with the beautiful stained glass behind it was so impressive.
The Relics of the Three Kings sits majestically behind the High Altar, which itself was built in 1322 and is made of black marble.
The amazing floor mosaic was completed in 1899 - this one sits in front of the relics of the Three Kings and the High Altar. You can see the High Altar above it, showing Mary surrounded by the 12 Apostles at her Coronation.
I thought it was really funny that the tile used for the mosaics that cover the entire floor of the Cathedral were made by Villeroy and Boch! So... like, the same people who made my toilet? Awesome! The tile work was finished up in 1899, and according to the Cologne Cathedral website, "The floor mosaic covers three main themes, each of which is portrayed in a different part of the choir: the history of the archdiocese takes up the entire ambulatory and features the names and coats of arms of a number of Cologne’s bishops and archbishops; the Christian world order and humankind are portrayed in the inner choir; and the cosmos is depicted in the crossing."
I stole (ok, borrowed!) this from the Cologne Cathedral website because you really can't grasp how detailed the flooring is until you see how the floor plan is laid out! The entire floor is covered and it's so beautiful! The picture above this one is in the bottom left. The one above it is, of course, up in front of the altar.
Another treasure at the Cologne Cathedral is the Gero Crucifix. It is the oldest known large scale crucifix north of the Alps. Believe it or not, this was carved in 976 (1000 years before I was born!) and it's over 6 feet tall!
The Milan Madonna is from 1290 and was carved right here in the Cathedral after a fire burned the original carving that had come from Milan along with the relics of the Three Kings. Some say this representation of Mary and Jesus has magical powers.
Finally, it was time to leave because everyone was getting hungry. We stopped by the toilette on the way out and we were greeted with this sign in the stall. I think it's interesting that so many people visit Cologne from all over the world, and that part of Germany is one of the most diverse in the entire country, that they felt the need to put up these signs! (This is very much the way to use the toilet in many Asian countries!)
Much like getting a hamburger in Hamburg, it's funny to see a sign for the Original Eau de Cologne in Cologne! (Even if they actually spell the city name, "Köln.)
Our last big European adventure started in Cologne. Thankfully it's been a pretty mild fall and we didn't have any snow when we drove up to Germany's 4th largest city. We arrived late on Saturday and basically just checked into our AirBnB on the southeastern side of town, went out for some dinner and went to bed. In the morning, we headed into the city to check out the Cologne Christmas market! When you cross the bridge from the east, you really can see the enormity of the Cologne Cathedral, which for those of you following along at home has the LARGEST façade of any church in the entire world! Superlative, check!
But first... the Christmas market! We knew it was going to rain later, so we wanted to hit up the market first. What is Heinzels Wintermaerchen, though? Well, Heinzelmännchen were little gnome like creatures who used to do all of the work for all of the residents of Cologne while they were sleeping. Since all of the work got done at night by the Heinzelmännchen, the residents were allowed to lounge around during the daytime, getting very lazy. THEN, the tailor's wife was curious to see the little gnomes, so, one night, she scattered peas across the floor, hoping it would make them slip and fall, so she would then be able to hear and see them. Of course, they were VERY grumpy that she had done this, and they left the city, never to return. The moral of the story: be grateful when someone helps you with your work, and never take it for granted!
We passed by the ice skating rink that is pretty much right in the entrance and the kids were BEGGING to go ice skating. Todd and I, per usual wanted to stroll around a bit and get our bearings (and glühwein!) before they went ice skating. Here is Natalie in front of some cooking salmon. That glass was hot!
Oh boy. BOYS!
Did you guys know Michael Bublé has his own beer? Just kidding.
Inside of the Buble Bier hall. I liked all of the skates that were hanging from the ceiling. I hope those are secure!
The Cologne Christmas market was crowded but SUPER cute! There are little Heinzelmännchen all over the place! Here, they are on the ski lift, although several were missing one or more of their skis.
Can we get crepes? Sure, why not!
After tasty crepes, we crossed the bridge that went over the ice skating rink with our tasty glühwein.
The ice skating rink wasn't TOO crowded at this point, so we decided that Todd would take the kids down to the rink. I love to ice skate but my right hip was hurting so much that I really just couldn't do it.
But they had a blast!
I love that the statue in the Heumarkt that shows the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III is all lit up in rainbow lighting and the little Heinzelmännchen are reminding you that this statue is now a rotary!
Hello over there!
Todd snapped this one when he was behind Grant. No wall huggers, here!
But the ice was not in very good shape. It was a warm day - in the low 50s before it started raining, which does not make for good ice. It makes for slushy ice.
The kids would go around the rink and then come back over to me before heading out again. I was their little pit stop.
They were so super cute, and taller than me on the raised ice.
Natalie took several years of ice skating lessons back in America, so she is probably our best skater.
This was blurry but I liked how it turned out. My boys, stopping in to chat for a minute before doing another lap.
Todd goofing off while ice skating in the December sun.
Hello over there, Grantie!
Then I wanted to take pictures of them from another vantage point, so I went back up to the bridge.
Natalie had separated from Todd and Grant and was just ice skating on her own!
How many mugs of glühwein has he had here? (I kid, he's always like this!) Plus that girl on the right is hilarious.
They finally tired out and we decided to head over to the Cathedral. On the way there, you have to walk through yet ANOTHER Christmas market! Here we are leaving the first one though. You can see it was definitely more crowded at this point. If you go, always go early!
Goodbye little gnomes! I appreciate you and all of the work you do. I would love it if some little gnomes just showed up and clean my house! Apparently this exit sign dates ALL the way back to 2008.
I'm guessing this is Mary and Joseph with Jesus, but I'm not entirely sure!
This market is in the Alter Markt. One could probably argue it was an extension of the other one, but it just kept going!
Ominous clouds began to gather and I knew we were gonna get rain, so we hoofed it up to the Cathedral.
But of course, I had to stop and take this picture. Growing up, my neighbor Emma used to always call my Dad "Papa Joe." I don't even really know why, because his name was Bill! But it always made me laugh! And isn't a "Biersalon" exactly where he would want to be?
Maybe I'll just take pictures of ALL of the brewpubs. This one was just so pretty all decked out for Christmas!
Our first glimpse of the Cologne Cathedral included yet ANOTHER Christmas market! This one sits on the Roncalliplatz in front of the Cathedral. Actually, the entrance to the Cathedral is on the front of the left side (the more famous side.)
Bailey's in front of the Cologne Cathedral!
We made our way to the front entrance of the church only to find a really long line. Eventually, people gave up on the line as they were not letting anyone in, so we moved up near the front. We came all the way to Cologne to see this cathedral, so there was no way we were leaving, despite the fact that it was about to rain. We found out that a fire alarm had gone off in the church, so they evacuated it and made everyone else wait to get inside.
As I mentioned before, the Cologne Cathedral has the LARGEST church facade in the entire world! It's also the TALLEST twin spired church in the whole world! Interestingly, it's NOT the tallest church in Europe- that belongs to Ulm Munster, in the German city of Ulm. But it IS the third tallest church in the world! Also interesting: They started constructing the Cologne Cathedral in 1248, but 150 years later, work was stopped on it and it did not resume until around 1840. And of course, much like other sandstone building in Europe, it turns black over time when it reacts with the sulfuric acid in the rain.
I randomly have two pictures of Grant and Todd, and they're both essentially making the same face. Maybe they're rolling their eyes that we had to wait so long to get into the cathedral!
As we were waiting in line outside for the inspection of the church to be completed after the fire alarm went off, Natalie spotted a girl named Amelia from her Girl Scout Camp that she went to this summer! She and her family were visiting Cologne from SHAPE. It is SUCH a small world! Good news though: they eventually opened up the church so we were able to get inside!
We decided to do the hour long guided tour of the Cathedral which was very informative! One of the treasures of the Cologne Cathedral is that it houses the bones of the Three Wise Men. Every year (wah, except this next one!) we get the "20 * C+M+B+19" sign to put on our German front door - little children dressed as the Magi visit the houses to deliver the door sticker. Many say that it stands for Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar - the three wise men. Others say it stands for, "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" or "God Bless this House." It's thought that the bodies of the Three Kings were discovered in Constantinople, and brought to Milan in 344 AD, and then transferred to Cologne by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. He gave them to Archbishop Rainald von Dassel around 1164 when the Holy Roman Empire was dealing with a rebellion of the Milanese. ("Here, keep these safe for me!")
My child can apparently just touch fire. Who knew!? Just kidding. They were little battery powered tea lights. We can't risk having the Cologne Cathedral burn down like Notre Dame did.
This stained glass is from 1846 and is known as the Anbetungs-Fenster. It was one of five donated by Ludwig I, and if you look in the lower left corner of the picture (ABOVE the four prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel), you can see a tiny Bavarian coat of arms surrounded in a gold color. In the lower right is Ludwig's name.
Traditional Christmas trees, especially in Germany had candles on them instead of Christmas lights. Of course, again... we can't have candles on a tree in one of the biggest churches in the world, so they settled on lights that looked like candles.
This Swallow's Nest organ was built in 1998 for the 750th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the cathedral.
This crucifix with the beautiful stained glass behind it was so impressive.
The Relics of the Three Kings sits majestically behind the High Altar, which itself was built in 1322 and is made of black marble.
The amazing floor mosaic was completed in 1899 - this one sits in front of the relics of the Three Kings and the High Altar. You can see the High Altar above it, showing Mary surrounded by the 12 Apostles at her Coronation.
I thought it was really funny that the tile used for the mosaics that cover the entire floor of the Cathedral were made by Villeroy and Boch! So... like, the same people who made my toilet? Awesome! The tile work was finished up in 1899, and according to the Cologne Cathedral website, "The floor mosaic covers three main themes, each of which is portrayed in a different part of the choir: the history of the archdiocese takes up the entire ambulatory and features the names and coats of arms of a number of Cologne’s bishops and archbishops; the Christian world order and humankind are portrayed in the inner choir; and the cosmos is depicted in the crossing."
I stole (ok, borrowed!) this from the Cologne Cathedral website because you really can't grasp how detailed the flooring is until you see how the floor plan is laid out! The entire floor is covered and it's so beautiful! The picture above this one is in the bottom left. The one above it is, of course, up in front of the altar.
Another treasure at the Cologne Cathedral is the Gero Crucifix. It is the oldest known large scale crucifix north of the Alps. Believe it or not, this was carved in 976 (1000 years before I was born!) and it's over 6 feet tall!
The Milan Madonna is from 1290 and was carved right here in the Cathedral after a fire burned the original carving that had come from Milan along with the relics of the Three Kings. Some say this representation of Mary and Jesus has magical powers.
Finally, it was time to leave because everyone was getting hungry. We stopped by the toilette on the way out and we were greeted with this sign in the stall. I think it's interesting that so many people visit Cologne from all over the world, and that part of Germany is one of the most diverse in the entire country, that they felt the need to put up these signs! (This is very much the way to use the toilet in many Asian countries!)
Much like getting a hamburger in Hamburg, it's funny to see a sign for the Original Eau de Cologne in Cologne! (Even if they actually spell the city name, "Köln.)
We are definite suckers when it comes to our kids. In our defense, it was pouring rain by this point and we didn't have any dinner reservations.
Unlike ... well, EVERY other restaurant in Germany and most of Europe, you don't NEED a reservation to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. They give you a buzzer and you can take a seat at the bar and wait. No Natalie, you may not have my Guinness!
Finally, after a long, fun and exhausting day, we took the tram back to our apartment. Todd likes silly selfies with the kiddos.
I'm pretty sure he only took this picture to show me that Natalie is almost as tall as me now. It won't be long before I'm definitely gonna be the shortest person in the family!
Until next time, Cologne!
