Going for Golden 2022: Düsseldorf and Cologne

Today, we met Düsseldorf from the boat on our way to Cologne! After a leisurely breakfast, the tour guide started a little lecture about the history of Düsseldorf as we passed by it—you can see its church, government center, market roads, and a little fair set up by the river as you watch from the sky deck, where I tried to listen to the whole lecture. But it was a little bit chilly. It was 60 degrees, a little overcast, and we’re on water—I was freezing! But the couple next to me were sitting mildly by, wearing their short and flip flops, unbothered by the arctic air…. I will report honestly here that I finished the tour from the lounge and looked out the windows there.

With time to kill, I found a treadmill and a Netflix thriller, took a leisurely shower (using ALL the L’Occitane soaps and gels), and then found lunch. The chef changes our menu to meet the new destination, so today’s lunch was very German. Many pickled things and potatoes and sauces, but the rule of traveling is that you try the local fare—all of it—at least once. I left home specifically to try new things! Eventually, the ship docked at Cologne (Köln), and we were off!

By which I mean, we were off at a snail’s pace. We chose the group for the easy walk, since Mom has trouble feeling her left foot and ankle on cobblestones (and Europe is made of cobblestones), but we should maybe have done the next group up. There were some genuinely feeble walkers with us, and it took us about an hour and a half to walk about two city blocks; Mom could have jogged around poor Michael and Tony, whose wives assured us “They’re fine,” when I’m not sure Michael or Tony would’ve pronounced himself “fine.”

But we DID get there! The Kolner Dom is a Gothic cathedral, dating back to 1248, when the city needed a place worthy enough to house the relics of the Three Magi. There were interruptions in the building of the structure, but eventually it was finished in the 1800’s… only to need some cleaning and repairs, and it’s been under reconstruction and cleaning and repairs literally ever since. The church is black with soot and pollution (which I think makes it look more authentically Gothic? like it’s a style choice the church is making? Maybe they should just not worry about cleaning it….) that cannot be removed because its architectural decorations are made of sandstone; you just have to replace the blackened spires with new ones in fresh sandstone… which will soon be polluted… and need replacing…. You see what I mean? I think they should just let the church live its best life in the mysterious-looking black color, and if ever the chancellor asks me my opinion, I’ll be sure to tell him. :-)

After the tour was over, Mom and Dad and I went into the cathedral, which has that cathedral smell. A little bit of incense, a lot of wax, some furniture polish, but mostly, it’s age and stone and prayer and love and all the things churches house inside. Per tradition now, we lit a candle for Camille and now Bryan, and said a little prayer for them, knowing it was lifted up to the One who sees our travels and travails and knows we miss our loved ones so, so much.

This was, actually, the first European cathedral I ever saw—Mandy O’Halloran, a dear friend and lifesaver, invited me over after Camille passed, and, deciding life was too short not to take her up on her offer, I went! And landed in the same airport we just landed in a few days ago. This tour is very different for a lot of reasons, but I can assure you that lighting the candle remains forever the same. So do the prayers, and so do the love.

After our visit there, we made sure to buy some cologne, obviously, and some ornaments to remember this trip, and then off on another adventure—we were after some Kolsch and a warm, buttery pretzel. We were told by no less than three guides that we must try the local beer and pretzels, and so we made our best effort—the Kolsch was as advertised: cold, crisp, light, and refreshing. The pretzels were elusive, however, so we made do with German bread and cheese, and as we paid our tab and wandered out into the German bustle again, we turned a corner and found…pretzels. By the dozens. Oy. Oh, well. We’re sill in Germany tomorrow, so I *will* get my pretzel served with butter.

Back on the ship, we had a lovely dinner (as per uszh) and some entertainment! A band was hired to sing in the lounge, so we went up there to listen for a while, just to round out a lovely day. I kind of want to live on this boat now….