If you go, take a jacket

She was at work hours before I ever woke up. She had been outside and already experienced the weather. But of course I ignored the advice over the phone about taking a rain coat. It looked beautiful outside the bedroom window. I'll wear my regular jacket and a bring a baseball hat just in case.

I was awake early and felt good. Two cups of coffee, some toast. Finally, a nice day to go for a long walk through the city. I thought I'd spend a few hours roughly tracing the remains of the medieval city wall and then meet up with Her for brunch before heading home together. I grabbed my iPod and my small city guidebook and made my way to the S-Bahn. It was windy but the sun felt warm on my black jacket. Feel free to tag along...

Here's a copy of the map in case you get lost. Click on the "More" button and switch on the photos to see other (most likely better) photos than the ones I'll post.

I arrived at Ebertsplatz. Much to my surprise, the weather had done a 180 on me and it was now pouring rain, windy and cold. I was frustrated. Still, I made it this far and I was tired of the weather dictating when I can and cannot talk a walk. Just about every shop is closed on Sundays so I had little chance of picking up an umbrella anywhere near where I was walking. I spent the rest of the afternoon carefully plotting my way via awnings. Occasionally the sun came out, although the rain always seemed to come back with a vengance. By the time I got to Neumarkt I was ready to start building an ark.

Though there are movie theaters in the area (including one that shows films in English), Ebertplatz is not named after the film critic. Most likely it is named after this guy. It is a rather poorly designed sunken park surrounded by a large roundabout. As far as I can tell, the main purpose of this park seems to be to serve the needs of overfilled bladders. But if you head out the southwest corner of the park and back up to street level, you'll come across this.




That's the Eigelsteintorburg or Eigelstein Gate, one of only three that remain from the original medieval city fortifications. We'll see another one in a little bit. It is surrounded by flower shops and cafes. If you walk through the gates and continue heading south, you'll walk through a mostly Turkish neighborhood. You'll also find the Gaffel brewery, one of the largest brewers of Kölsch beers.

Incidentally, note the campaign poster in the first picture above. (You can click on the photo for a larger image.) As of last week, it is officially open season for campaigning and these posters began springing up everywhere. Elections take place on September 27, 2009. 2009. I knew this was coming and was looking forward to all the variations on "Yes We Can." Apparently two parties are going to try to lay claim to this one. The local chapter of the CDU (the party of Chancellor Merkel) is going with "Köln Kann's." Meanwhile the SPD is trying to one-up them with "Köln kann's besser." Roughly, that's "Cologne can do it" vs "Cologne can do it better." Well played, gentlemen. Well played indeed.

Anyway, as I hid in a doorway waiting for the rain to slow down, my spirits were somewhat lifted watching the waiters and waitresses set up the tables and chairs at the cafes. I was hoping they knew something about the weather that I didn't.



Nope. I pressed on. Above is a shot of the Dom. Never difficult to get oriented in this city as long as you can spot the cathedral.



Wait a minute, what's this? Blue skies? Just two minutes ago I was hiding under a tree in this park waiting for the rain to ease up. The large modern building is part of the Mediapark, an area I have yet to explore.


Here's another bit of the Stadtmauer, or city wall, near Kyotostrasse and Hansaring. I haven't found much information on this site yet so if anyone knows more feel free to comment.



A little further along at Christoperstrasse you get a view of St. Gereon to the southeast (above) and the Colonius TV Tower lurking in the background to the northwest (below).



Crossing Christopherstrasse and looking again to the southeast you'll spot the Dom (above).


Our photos end here at the Hahnentorburg, the second city gate, at Rudolphplatz. This gate was often used as the ceremonial entrance by kings and emperors as they made their way to the Shrine of the Three Kings inside the Dom.

Note the rapidly approaching clouds. From here it was a bit of a scramble back to the Dom. Ceremonial it was not. I eventually made it to the Dom where it was grey and blustery. My hat was soaked. I met Her and we headed off in search of coffee and food. By the time we arrived in the Altstadt the sun was back out. This time for good. We grabbed a table outside in the sun and slowly re-energized. As far as I'm concerned, that's a Sunday morning well-spent.