You can see the cathedral in the background of this shot.
Apparently, over 90% of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing during the war. There are a couple of stories that attempt to explain why the cathedral was left standing while everything around it was demolished. One was that there was a back room deal between the Germans and the Allies to spare the cathedral. Another was that the Allied pilots needed the cathedral as a marker for their bombing runs and left it standing.
We discovered that Gaffen Kölsch indicates a place where you can get beer.
The cathedral is very dark due to the action of pollution on the limestone. They only clean a few of the statues using a laser method.
The inside of the cathedral is quite magnificent.
This golden container supposedly contains the remains of the three wise men and was the reason that the cathedral was built.
These choir loft seats were built hundreds of years ago and were protected by a heavy box during the war. The seat shown in the front corresponds to Marilyn's seat in her choir.
After our church visit we were very thirsty and decided to try out Kölsch, the local beer. It comes in very small glasses, 200 ml, so you need to have 2 or 3.
Marilyn and I did our own walking tour after the official one so we could explore a bit more of the city. After getting slightly lost, we found the Rhine again and made our way to the Lindt chocolate store. We ended up with this haul, some of which won't make it home!
Tonight's dinner wasn't quite as fancy as the Captain's Gala but it was still an excellent meal. We are trying to eat smaller, somewhat healthy, meals during the day to make up for the extravagant dinners!
Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio and River Duchess Salad
Local Pork Tenderloin
Brownie Cheesecake and Cheese Plate
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