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Saturday, April 27, 2019

Day 5 - Cologne and Roermond

By now, my foot was hurting badly. One of the tour members offered to lend me her ankle support sock. Another handed me an ointment made of real snake oil and the tour guide himself gave me Chinese meds that looked like black pearls!

I had to pass up the sock brace as it was too thick to fit into my rather tight boot. I eyeballed the weird black pills skeptically. Snake oil (pardon the pun) or not, I applied the ointment and swallowed a couple of the pills. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

From Frankfurt, we traveled to Cologne, a two-and-a-half-hour journey by coach.

Today's itinerary began with a walking tour of the Cologne Cathedral.

The mere sight of the mega structure from the outside just blows you away.
Cologne is one of the hippest shopping metropolises in Germany and where the most iconic monument, the Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom), is situated.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cathedral is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture. It is the most visited destination in Germany, drawing an average of 20,000 visitors daily.

The nave



Sunlight pours through the stained-glass windows that adorn the walls


The 12th Station Of The Cross


A lapsed Catholic, I have not stepped into a church for a long time and the cathedral was just the sanctuary I needed for some quiet time with The Lord to recharge my spiritual battery and rest my injured foot while the rest of the group wandered off to the streets outside for shopping.
Lighting a candle at the 13th Station, I said the Rosary and prayed hard for a quick recovery.


INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE COLOGNE CATHEDRAL

1. Like other Gothic cathedrals, the shape of the Cologne Cathedral is a Latin Cross, the length and width of which are 144.6 meters(474.3 feet) and 86.3 meters(283 feet).
image source - thetowerinfo.com
2. It is believed that the remains of the Three Wise Men who visited baby Jesus are in this shrine.
image source - thetowerinfo.com
image source - https://commons.wikimedia.org
The shrine is a large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus placed above and behind the high altar of the cathedral.

The Sarcophagus kinda looks like the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones, don't you agree?

3. The Cologne Cathedral was bombed 14 times in WWII!
The Cathedral survived 14 aerial bombs and more than 70 firebomb hits over the course of the Second World War. Whether an act of God or otherwise, the building did not collapse and remained standing in a flattened city.


A street artist at work outside the cathedral


After a quick lunch at McDonald's following the cathedral visit, we journeyed for another hour by coach to the McArthurGlen outlet in Roermond in The Netherlands.

Oh, did I mention you have to pay to pee in Europe?!  We had to pay 50 Euro cents for a pee at McDonald's which totaled up to 150 euro cents (USD1.69) for the three of us! That was almost 7 ringgit and could buy me a McDonald's meal back in Malaysia! Thank God I have a bladder the size of a hot-water bottle!!!

The McArthurGlen Designer Mall, Roermond



Opened in 2001, Designer Outlet Roermond offers bargain hunters 30-70% discounts at a choice of more than 120 shops with over 200 Dutch and international designer brands including Armani, Burberry, Gucci, Scotch & Soda, Nike, Diesel and The Bodyshop.

Designer brands are not my thing so I skipped the shopping and was content to just thaw in one of the heated cafes. Moreover, it was a good opportunity to rest my foot and  enjoy a nice steaming cup of Macchiato while people watching. Besides, the outlet is an outdoor mall and I was shivering despite piling on 4 layers of winter clothing!  Brrrrr!


The Hubs bought himself a pair of shoes and a windbreaker for my other son Josh who couldn't make it for this Europe trip.

After the shopping stop at Netherlands, we adjourned to our hotel in Belgium for the night.

Can you believe we were in 3 countries in just one day!!!
Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

Despite my hot flashes, I was frozen at 3°C!!  How do you guys survive winter year after year???!!!

Hats off to you!!

Musings Of A Tired Mummy

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

28 comments:

  1. That is such a pretty cathedral! I would have enjoyed seeing it and spending some time there contemplating and praying. Pay to pee? I'd be in trouble. I now have the tiniest of bladders it seems compared to my younger days. A good money making business though. I really don't know how people do winter in colder climates. We have very mild winters and there are still days that I'm "freezing." I think our blood does thin down and does make us feel colder.

    betty

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  2. Truly amazing pictures!! Sorry your foot was still hurting. Um, I would be broke paying to pee... I have to go all the time!! And I'm not a cold fan either. It's warm mostly here in Louisiana.

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  3. wow! that cathedral is amazing. I hope one day I can go there. Love your photos. hope the snake oil helped. was it really snake oil?

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  4. Cool shot . Please check out my blog post .

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  5. What a beautiful cathedral! Sorry your foot still had not healed...

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  6. Such beautiful shots!

    Your poor leg! I am glad you toughed it out. I mean look at those photos you got! I like Cologne! It doesn't look like a shopping place around here!

    Gosh our buildings and clothing in the US is lame in contrast to other places! I like texture, color, old things and perspective.

    I hope your leg is better now! True story when I was in college many moons ago I broke my foot and my shoulder at the same time. My ex boyfriend tied my shoes together just to be funny. I got up to grab at his shirt, and he ran. I shuffle chased him. Because he was going so fast, and I was going so slow I flung into the corner of the wall. I walked on that for a good 2 weeks, so I could wait until I got home to see a doctor. By the time I got in to see one, they said it was too late to do anything, but that they both were broken. I just had exercises to help my arm move up more. Then I had to use crutches for a few weeks.

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  7. Paying to pee is ridiculous and quite rude ......doesn't happen here in the USA thank goodness. Lovely photos-!

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  8. I hope you've healed from your fall. What a wonderful adventure. I would love to go someday.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday, my friend. ♥

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  9. Sorry for your fall - heal fast!!!
    These are gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing them at image-in-ing's weekly photo share!

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  10. The photos of the cathedral are beautiful. I hope your foot is healing now.

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  11. As far as surviving the snow I guess when you're raised over here & year after year here comes the snow, building snowmen, sledding etc. get my point??? Also, Girrrrrrrrrrrrrlfriend you are so awesome to take so many pictures and share all the great ones with us... are you sure you're not my sister from another mother? ~hehehe~ Thank you ever so much. What wonderful pictures you have shared here today especially since the Notre Dame tragedy this cathedral looks very similar don't you think? The stations of the cross are phenomenal & the murals on the payments "holy cow" they're awesome!!! You sure take great pics and I feel so honored that you would share with us all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. OH WOW & I didn't know they had the remains of the 3 Kings some place.... WOW YA LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY, RIGHT? WOW! I am just tickled pink about your post. This is the bestest post I have ever seen... you should win an award or something... I could just HUG you!!! Oh I wish you could've lit a candle for me at the 13th station. I was born on the 13th, besides I can use all the help I can get. Those stations are amazing and the windows WOW!!! I have to stop I'm gettin' a rush here. hehehehe Girl thank you so much OMG I FORGOT ABOUT YOUR FOOT.. are you all better now? Gosh, I hope so. You didn't break it did you??? I hope you had it checked out when you got home. Anyway, I'm typing away here it's gonna be a book. hahaha Thank you my friend for sharing so much! hats of to ya and a HUGE HUG!!!!

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  12. Beautiful photos. Such an amazing trip you have had.

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  13. Sorry to hear about your fall, praying you heal fast.
    I have to say, I love that cathedral. I'll have to remember it share it with my children. We have been learning about the Middle Ages and watched videos on how the cathedrals were made. Quite intriguing actually.
    Would love for you to stop by and join in my Wordless Wednesday party.
    https://totsandme.blogspot.com/2019/05/wordless-wednesday-may-1-2019-wlinky.html

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  14. It LQQKS beautiful there love the cathedral

    Sorry about your fall they can be very nasty I hope you feel better soon :-)

    Best wishes

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  15. Wow, fantastic photos, Veronica. And I envy you your trip, as it's been nearly 40 years since I was last in Germany. Though I'm sure nothing's changed in Cologne, or the cathedral since I saw it last. It really is a beautiful city, and the Moselle and Rhine rive valleys.

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  16. The cathedral is absolutely stunning!! How awesome to see it in person. #GlobalBlogging

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  17. Those pictures are gorgeous. And wow! That street artist! The art in the Cathedral is beautiful. I would love to visit.

    With Love,
    Mandy

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  18. The cathedral looks amazing#kcacols@_karendennis

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  19. That cathedral is simply stunning, what a wonderful city to visit. #KCACOLS

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  20. What a beautiful cathedral. Such brilliant photos. Cologne looks a fabulous place to visit #KCACOLS

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  21. Wow, this looks like a wonderful place to visit! You took stunning pictures. I'm especially impressed with the street artist work. I"m glad you showed it to us. #KCACOLS

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  22. Cologne is such a beautiful cathedral. I last visited about 15 years ago and would love to go back. You've reminded me how amazing it is. Glad you were still able to enjoy it despite your ankle. #KCACOLS

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  23. Wow. Amazing photos. They don't build them like they used to! I hope your foot didn't cause you too much trouble on your trip. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time.

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  24. Amazing pictures - looks like you had a fab time! #KCACOLS

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  25. I don't like winters, so I'm happy to live in the UK now rather than Sweden. Plus 3 degrees isn't too bad, as long as it's not wet and windy with it... The Kölner Dom looks fantastic, it's really amazing how it survived the bombings so well! Certainly built to last!
    Hope your foot is much better now xx #KCACOLS

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