Cologne

I visited Cologne for one reason: the cathedral. I did spend three nights here, though, because I felt that it would be good to at least give myself a chance to explore beyond the cathedral. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t)

Just in case you aren’t familiar with the Cologne Cathedral, here is a picture:

Mind you, it’s not just impressive on the outside. I mean:

The quality of light in this cathedral is phenomenal. I’m not sure how to describe the colors that dance in the air, courtesy of the stained-glass windows. I may not be particularly observant Catholic, but I did choose to attend midday prayers here, since it can be a nice break in the middle of the day. Also, there was an English choir visiting, and they sounded like angels. The acoustics here are pretty much perfect. Then, I made a really terrible decision, one which I refuse to regret: I climbed to the top of the bell-tower. All 533 steps.

After this, I had lunch, walked to the river, and relaxed. The next day, I pretty much just relaxed all day. I was exhausted from this climb. As annoying as the climb up was, the descent was downright terrifying for me. Steep, narrow, circular staircases? TERRIFYING. I was shaking by the time I got back on solid ground, but it was worth every shaky moment of the descent, just to see the view from the top.