We departed Ramstein enroute to Amsterdam. We had two options, drive primarily through Belgium... or drive the German Autobahns at 100+ mph and use the time savings to visit the Christmas Market at the historical cathedral in Cologne... we went through Cologne! (Note to all Honda Odyssey drivers, it does very well at 100+ on the highway).
We parked conveniently in a parking garage right beneath the cathedral. When we popped out from underground, we were welcomed by the sights and smells of the Christmas Market!
When the cathedral was built, it was the tallest building in the world...
All of the surrounding shops/streets were decorated with lights...
Not sure who this was, but perhaps it was Saint Nikolas. The girls went up to get a piece of chocolate from him. He spoke German to them, the girls just looked at Tim and giggled.
There was an evening service that was being prepared for, but fortunately were were at least able to sneak a peak inside...
There were reminders of the bombing during World War II as well. This is an amazing picture following the war. Despite at least 70 direct hits from bombs, the cathedral still stood.
And a picture from the early '80s...
That was the day, we needed to get back on the road to Holland. One question we had about our parking garage... what does it mean to have parking spaces reserved for women?
So we told you that we were we were in an underground parking garage, right? Well, as soon as we drove out of the garage, we had to make some decisions on driving directions but the GPS was quite up yet... what to do? The exit was a different location from the entrance, so we didn't quite know where we were.
Then the GPS acquired its bearings and told us where to go. A couple of minutes later, we found ourselves in the middle of a street that had been converted into a pedestrian zone for another Christmas market. So there we are, big minivan in cramped streets with tons of pedestrians crowding past our car. I was laughing, Tim didn't think it was so funny :-) After a 20-point turn-about, we were able to turn around and slowly get out of there. Only regret is that I didn't take a picture of the car as I was outside spotting Tim in his maneuvering! It could have been a scene right out of the movie European Vacation!
But once we were on our way, we were treated with one final view of the Cathedral... a view from across the river. Stunning!
2 comments:
Maybe dad and I can spend Christmas in Europe next year. It is so full of history.
Oh bummer! So sad you didn´t say you were coming to Cologne! I would have loved to take you! You should have gone to the market on the Alter Markt! You would have loved that one. It is way prettier and more "cosy" than the one next to the "Dom". Next time....
Women parking spots: To much crime, robbery and all that stuff going on in the darkness of the garages = women are affraid to park there. So they make the women spots lighter and close to the exit! Just for safety so to say.
Merry Christmas!
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