Like Curzon, I too set off last week on a small trip. I spent the past weekend in Cologne, once a Roman colony and today Germany’s fourth largest city. Situated on the Rhine near the borders of Belgium and The Netherlands, Cologne is has a reputation of friendliness unlike most places in Germany. While visiting a good friend, we took in the city’s sights and enjoyed relaxing walks and whiling our time away in outdoor cafes. While Stuttgart is dominated by its hilly landscape and famous industries (Mercedes, Bosch, Porsche), Cologne is dominated by the Rhine river and its 1,000+ years of history. Here are a few photos from the weekend for interested readers.

Great St. Martin Church

Buildings near the river. Sorry for the shadow.


Traditional buildings on the water’s edge.



St Martin’s and the Cologne Cathedral from the other side of the Rhine

“Eaten Pork today” says the sign in the window. Those Krauts and their pork!

Jugendstil doorway, darn umbrellas in the way of a good shot

JFK spoke here on June 23 1963. In downtown Cologne near the city hall.

HQ of the famous cologne from Cologne, 4711



COMMENTS / 2 COMMENTS

Some years ago Samuel Taylor Coleridge visited the city and found it less than enchanting. He wrote:

In Kohln, a town of monks and bones,
And pavements fang’d with murderous stones
And rags, and hags, and hideous wenches;
I counted two and seventy stenches,
All well defined, and several stinks!
Ye Nymphs that reign o’er sewers and sinks,
The river Rhine, it is well known,
Doth wash your city of Cologne;
But tell me, Nymphs, what power divine
Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?

But I suppose the city has been cleaned up a bit since then.

Walter added these pithy words on 28 Sep 07 at 2:36 am

Excellent photos as always Chirol.

Rommel added these pithy words on 28 Sep 07 at 6:30 am

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Colonia

Posted on 25 Sep 07 by Chirol. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 2 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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