Day 5: "What do you need 5 Organs For?"

Sorry for the late update! There have been a lot of late nights lately...

After finishing three days in Amsterdam, it was time to get up early and take the train to Cologne, a nearby town. The train ride took about 2 hours, and we enjoyed the many fun parts of the train, like the table seats and the bistro car. The first thing you see when you pull up to Cologne is the massive church, called the Dom, that was started in the 1500s. I'll go into more detail about that later, as the tour didn't start until 2:30.
As for the rest of the morning, the four of us traveled to our hotel room, which overlooked a square by the Rhine. Abby noted that it was definitely a view fit for a princess. Once we dumped our stuff and took a break from the chaos, we headed down the 71 stairs - we counted twice - and headed towards the Dom. We couldn't find a tour until the afternoon, so we decided instead to wander around and enjoy the view. The church was absolutely amazing, and it definitely stood out against the modern background of the city.
For lunch, we stopped at a place called "Curry and Wurst." Mom and Dad decided to daringly try the Currywurst- sausage cut up and put in a spicy curry. Abby and I opted for the humble hamburger, and got our first taste of the legendary "Mezzo Mix." Half Coke, Half Fanta. Once done with lunch, we stopped at the Cologne Fan Store and looked around for a jersey for a family friend. Abby was disappointed at the lack of Hoffenheim jerseys, but hoped that some would be available in the next town.
Finally, 2:30 rolled around and we went down to the Dom for our tour. We got handed headsets so we could hear over the background noise, and followed a guide around the church. Here are some fun facts:

• The Church was technically started at around 300AD, when Constantine legalized the practice of Christianity in the Roman Empire. People have been meeting around the spot of the Dom for over a thousand years, and it's likely a chapel was built there around that time. 
• The building we see today was started during the 1500s by a well traveled architect who was interested in Gothic Style. The church is thought to be the perfect example of French Gothic... except for the fact that it's in Germany. 
• Around the late 1600s, construction was stopped because of several reasons- money was one, of course, but Gothic style of architecture had gone out of fashion. That's, like, so last century. 
• Construction of the Dom resumed in the 1800s, perfectly in style and according to the plans that the architect made. 
• The Dom was made famous because it supposedly contains the remains of the three magi that visited Jesus at his birthplace. We're not sure how credible this is, but the shrine has an interesting history. It was originally in Milan, but was moved to Cologne after the leader of Cologne helped another leader fight Milan and win. 
• The shrine contains many pictures of Jesus- and a picture of Otto X, who decided to put himself on there so as to be portrayed as a follower of Christ. 
• Much of the stained glass is original, but the stained glass from the 1800s was destroyed in the War. The early stained glass was spared, as people moved it underground to keep the church from falling. 
• There is only one non-church related person buried in the church. He was a very wealthy knight. His tomb is covered in a grave, to keep his family away from him. They were angry because the money went to putting his grave in the church instead of to them. 
• The church has 5 organs?
• There are over 10,000 square meters of stained glass in the church, while only 8,000 square meters of floor space. That's a lot of glass. 

After the Dom, we shopped around a while and made our way to a cafe on a square, where I decided that I was going to have a taste of my Dad's beer. 

That was not a good idea. At least Dad seemed to enjoy it. 

We also ordered some pretzels. 

We shopped around a little longer and searched for a jersey for Abby, without much luck. We decided that dinner would be varied things from the Lidl, the small grocery, as some of us were more hungry than others. We bought some pastries and random snacks for the journey. 

It was a long day, so we retired to our hotel for the night. Stay tuned, Day 6 will be up in a few minutes!

Sarah Jackson