2025 Europe – Day 7- Cologne

The boat sailed all night as we made our way to Cologne in Germany. The flat land of Holland, based mainly around rural production changed quickly to a much more industrial feel once we crossed into Germany. There seemed to be lots of petro-chemical and power generation plants. The terrain was still flat as our boat continued up-river. Due to a couple of delays yesterday, we didn’t arrive into Cologne until about 10 AM. Cologne is Germamy’s fourth largest city, home to around 1.1 million people. It is known as one of the rainiest cities in Germany having an average of 191 rainy days every year, which incidentally is more than London. It’s horizon is dominated by the Cologne Cathedral which surprisingly survived four years of allied bombing in the Second World War.

First, we had a organised bus trip to Augustburg Castle in nearby Bruhl. The Augustusburg Castle was built on the foundations of a medieval castle in 1725. It is surrounded by elaborate gardens. An elaborate paterre for an area south of the palaces was also designed, but later turned into a landscape garden. The house itself in opulent, featuring ornate decoration and some magnificent ceiling frescoes. The building was officially used to entertain foreign dignitaries during the days of West Germany, when the capital was in nearby Bonn. Since reunification, Augustburg Castle has reverted to being a museum, first and foremost.

We returned for the boat for lunch and set off to get close to Cologne Cathedral. By now the sun was out and it was getting quite warm, with no rain in sight. The area around the cathedral was busy and it was hard to get an angle for a good photograph. The cathedral is very tall and it’s dark sandstone construction looks very imposing.

During World War II, Cologne was a Military Headquarters and the allies dropped over 44,000 tons of bombs on the city destroying 61% of the built up areas. Cologne endured 262 air raids that almost completely wiped out the central part of the city. In May 1942, Cologne was the target of the first 1,000 bomber raid in World War II. The Cathedral was miraculously saved because of a combination of a metal roof, all the windows being removed and the allies needing a landmark to target the bombing raids. The interior of the cathedral is magnificent and I am grateful that it wasn’t severely damaged.

Following the Cathedral we stopped for a Kölsch, a style of beer originating in Cologne, Germany. It is bright and clear with a pale gold hue and has a nice hoppy flavour. In Cologne, it is traditionally served in a tall, thin, cylindrical 200-millilitre glass.

We then walked back to the boat, via the Lindt Chocolate store, stocking up on chocolate treats. All in all, it was a 6 km round trip and of course it was dinner time on the boat. Another fun time was had with our new found friends before the four of us won tonight’s trivia competition. We now have an extra bottle of champagne and some almond biscuits to share.

We are back sailing on the river overnight and looking forward to the Rhine Gorge.

Until tomorrow.