On to Köln

As it was Saturday we did manage to snooze a little bit in the morning, but got out and about to have a little look around first Bonn, and then on up the road to Köln.

It had turned decidedly cool, and we did wander around in the market area for a bit, but there was nothing that was jumping out at us.
Gabe was about to make a small purchase in one store (after what I thought was a painfully long time) but when she came out empty handed she explained that they not only didn't take American Express, but only "German cards". Huh??
She left her purchase on the counter.

Most of these market areas all look the same, with the only difference being the decorations used, and the cold.
If I look cold, it's 'cause I am.


Not sure what caught my interest here. But you can see they have their Christmas trees out and on sale.
I just realised that I never did look at a price.






Just more examples of really cool old architecture. I took no pictures in this particular church, as it didn't seem appropriate. (hey, sometimes it just doesn't feel right)

Skaters in the town square is probably another fairly typical thing...




So....headed to Köln, because we definitely wanted to see the cathedral.
Didn't seem like a long drive, no more than maybe 30 to 40 minutes. Didn't really need stupid GPS, but it's reassuring to get the voice prompts at the intersections.

I mean, you could see the spires from well outside of town.



You read about how huge it is, but then up close and personal, it's a little overwhelming.
I now get why it took six hundred years to complete. And it looks like they're still working on it. (ok that's not fair, I'm sure maintenance is never ending)


I couldn't resist including that other well known landmark in most cities all over the world...



....wait for it.....

There ya go.....and yes, I had to go in for a....well, I won't repeat that. Let's just say I didn't buy anything, but did part with some dough.


Such "relief" when I see those golden arches.


I'm going to throw in some random pics, just to try and convey the grandeur of the inside.
...and , even though it was not the best weather, there were many tourists, quite a few of whom were German, judging by the number of tour groups getting the mini lectures.




The twelve apostles came out a little blurry, since I was taking all photos without flash, and once in a while that doesn't quite work.







A person could stay there for hours reading and wandering around, but the day was passing us by so it was time to get home.
Darkness comes pretty quickly these days, and muggins here isn't overly keen on coming home too late at night.
As it was there were a couple more snow squalls, and I see on the news that there were a few traffic mishaps.
We didn't see any of that, thankfully.