Cologne (Köln)

Having spent two nights in Dusseldorf, it may be strange that I didn't take any pictures there. I did go into town one night with my hosts and we had dinner and drank. It was very beautiful at night and I wished I had my camera, but at the same time we weren't there to take pictures, we were there to eat and drink. :)

Maybe another time I'll visit Dusseldorf. I was more on the outskirts so biking to the city was out of the question.

This day I was heading to Munich. I had been told that I should see a bit of Cologne if possible, so I took a train to Cologne and looked around for a few hours before continuing my trip to Munich.

Anyway..I left the train station and headed towards the largest church in the city, and the largest Gothic church in the world.

On the way I found St Ursula Church and stopped to take a picture of that.



Then I made it to the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral - Dome of Cologne)‎. This church took over 600 years to complete..the foundation was laid in 1248. There were other churches built here previously..a 4th century Roman temple and a Christian church "Old Cathedral" which was built in 818. That church burned down in 1248 just three or so months before the current church was built.



The area around the cathedral, and some street "performers". They didn't do very much, but I guess they were interesting. :)



I decided to take a short bike ride after this. I knew the Rhine River was nearby.

I found this strange statue at a dead-end. I guess I could've carried my bike up the stairs, but it's not as easy with the bags on.



Another angle of the Cathedral. I had better lighting on this side.



A nearby street.



And here's the Rhine and nearby buildings.



The Cathedral again!



Köln Hauptbahnhof



Before going back to the train station, which was incredibly close to the Cathedral, I took another picture.