The Holidays (and snow) are Here

So much for the mild temperatures around here.  It snowed yesterday.  And it got cold this week, too.  So cold in fact that we learned a few different ways to express that in German class.  Have your pencils and notebooks ready.  These might come in handy.

Es ist... (It is...)

• sehr kalt (very cold)
• richtig kalt (really cold)
• eis kalt (ice cold)
• schweine kalt (pig cold)
• tierisch kalt (animal cold)
• arsch kalt (ass cold)
  

As for yesterday's snowfall, it wasn't much.  Well, according to my Chicago standards of snowfall it wasn't much.  Still, you wouldn't know that from all the sounds of the kids playing outside.  The ground was barely dusted with snow but that didn't stop two wishful little girls from trying to sled down the small hill next to our parking lot.  With barely any snow on the grass, all they wound up with were a couple of face plants on the slope.  And while walking to and from the grocery store today I watched so many cars driving extremely slow.  When people get this excited over so little snow,  I'm pretty sure I shouldn't expect much (if any) major snow here this winter. 

Monday was my first day back in German lessons after a month's absence.  I was back for one day, then woke up on Tuesday with a terrible sore throat.  I went back to school Tuesday but wound up taking Wednesday off.  Needless to say, that was a rough start back at school.  Today I'm finally feeling like I might be over whatever I had.  Still, that's the third time I've been sick in about four months time.  I'm a little worried about that. 

Now I know why we watched movies in school as a kid.  What a break for the teacher.  This week as my little gift to the kids in my English classes, I decided to show the classic 1966 version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  Though I'm sure they didn't understand about 98% of what was said, they all seemed to enjoy it.  Another bonus to showing a film: sitting back and watching how many kids seem to think that because the lights are out they can pick their nose.

I hope you're done with your Christmas shopping.  We're not.  I think we'll head to the city center Monday in search of the last few items.  That place is packed on a normal weekday.  I can't imagine what that'll be like just a few days shy of the holiday.  Nevertheless, that should give us an excuse for one last trip through some of the Weihnachtsmarkts before they close on the 24th.  We've already gone a couple of times.  It's too bad they can't leave them open for the rest of winter.  It is nice to walk through and see so many people out and about in the cold, having a good time regardless.  Once the markets are gone, those large wide-open squares are going to feel a lot colder. 

Here's some (mostly blurry) photos from our previous trip through some of the various Cologne Weihnachtsmarkts.

From the square in front of the Dom

 

 

Mmmm, Glühwein...

Fresh grilled Champignons (mushrooms)

Yes, there's even a market on board a boat.  While I felt good that the admission price went to UNICEF, I would not recommend visiting this one.  The heat was cranked up so high that it became really uncomfortable.

On to the market in Alter Markt.

The dwarves help you find your way through this one.

In between the Alter Markt and Heumarkt Weihnachtsmarkts

Wish I had a better one of this sign. Need the bathroom? Look for the dwarf with the crossed legs.

 

A jazz combo playing to the passersby

Elvis and Madonna apparently take front seat to Queen Elizabeth, Blair and Sarkozy.

Back near the Dom, on our way home.

Last but not least, here's a little holiday tune for ya... click the small play button below.

Brett Dennen - The Holidays Are Here (and We're Still at War) from http://innerstizzle.vox.com/
http://brettdennen.net/

Spooky Sights

This is some old video taken a little over a month ago. Towards the end of this summer a strange site was seen over the Dom. Why this never happened before, no one knows. For some reason, birds were attracted to the Dom this year for a massive feeding frenzy of moths never before seen at night. I would think the flood lights always attracted the bugs. Why the birds only just figured this out, I don't know. Anyway, I thought if I was ever going to post this, today would be a good day for that.

Boo!

The Inevitable Kölner Dom Edition

It is kind of like that 800 pound gorilla in the room. Unavoidable. Its image is everywhere. You can see it here. And here. And here: 24 hours a day on the webcam to the right! Spend any amount of time here and you can't help but notice the Cologne Cathedral (aka Kölner Dom, or just Dom). So it is about time we get this one out of the way.

Here's some background information via the Wikipedia entry:

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria) is a church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne (currently Cardinal Joachim Meisner), and is under the administration of the archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of German Catholicism in particular, of Gothic architecture and of the continuing faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an "exceptional work of human creative genius".^[1]

Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete – a period of over 600 years. It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its two towers are 157 m tall.^[2] The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Cathedral, completed 10 years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir of the cathedral, measured between the piers, also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any Medieval church, 3.6:1, exceeding even Beauvais Cathedral which has a slightly higher vault.^[3]

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship of the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe",^[1].

For those of you scoring back home in the States, the measurements are 474 feet long, 283.8 feet wide, and the two towers are 515 feet tall. The city does not allow taller buildings anywhere near the Dom, ensuring its visibility throughout the region. As I've said before, as long as you can see the Dom or the Rhine River, it is fairly easy to get around the area.

I've never been a religious person but I have always been fascinated by relics. And the Dom's whole existence is based on the Shrine of the Three Kings. Whether these items are legitimate or not is (to me) irrelevant. The fact is they've inspired people to spend over 600 years building and maintaining such a structure. And millions of others have traveled from all over the world to view the building and its relics.

With all that in mind, here are some more photos taken one day after class a few weeks ago. The weather wasn't all that good in the morning so I had planned on visiting the Museum Ludwig. When I arrived at the Dom, however, it was beautiful outside. Sunshine like that had been rather rare so I decided to take advantage of it and make another long walk.

Grab your map here and let's go!

Dom edition auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen

This was taken toward the back of the Dom, near the Museum Ludwig. As always, you can click on the photo for a larger image.

The Dom reflected in the windows of the museum.

Museum Ludwig. If it was still raining, I might be writing about the museum instead of this walk.

DB train leaving the main station. Someone is definitely NOT going to like seeing this one.

The Dom as viewed through a sculpture on Heinrich Boll Platz.

Just as I'm about to cross the bridge I turned around to take a photo of the Museum Ludwig. Lo and behold, storm clouds. Maybe I should have visited the Museum instead.

Eastward across the Hohenzollernbrücke. (German word of the day: brücke = bridge.)

One last check of the weather.

You'll find padlocks all along the fence on the bridge. Each padlock has the name of a couple etched on it. I guess the railroad hates this but it is almost impossible to stop.

A couple more photos of the bridge and Dom before heading into the Rhine Park.

This might have been better filed under another entry. I found this while desperately seeking a public restroom in and around the Rhine Park. (Eventually successful although it took a long time!) This Coupe de Ville was parked outside a theater next to the park. It still has California plates on there as well as EU plates in the window. These seem big in the States. Here they are gargantuan.

The only photo I actually took in the middle of the park. I think I was still desperatley searching for a bathroom at this point.

This is the Kölner Seilbahn. It will take you across the Rhine River from the Zoo (westside!) to the Rhine Park on the eastside.

I think I see old naked people. Yep, the Seilbahn lifts you right up over the Claudius Therme. While approaching the Seilbahn enterance, I saw a sight that might be burned in the back of my memory for a long, long time.

I don't know these people but it sure looks like the parents are having a blast.

And finally, the approach to the eastside of the Rhine across the appropriately named Zoobrücke, and good ol' terra firma.

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.