Cologne

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29 April 2009

Another walk, this time along the Rhine to see another Dom, this time in Cologne and the largest and tallest in Germany. We had a guided tour of the huge and most impressive cathedral and the guide explained that it was built on the site of an old roman church between 1248 and 1880 to house the shrine of the Three Kings. This is a bejewelled and gilded sarcophagus said to contain the remains of the Kings brought there from Milan as spoils of war in 1164. There is also magnificent stained glass, the oldest crucifix in existence and a famous alter painting from around 1450.

After lunch we gave Wendy’s knee a good test by climbing the 500 steps up one of the cathedral towers. I’m pleased to say it passed with flying colours. It was then a visit to one of the restored Romanesque churches in the city before we returned to the van.

We moved 60k south to find a lovely campsite in a hamlet called Rolandswerth again on the Rhine and 10k south of Bonn. It has a great view of a hilly area called Seibengebirge (Seven Mountains).

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