Hohenzollern Bridge

Cologne - The Hohenzollern Bridge is a bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne. It crosses the Rhine at 688.5km. This bridge is only accessible to rail and pedestrian traffic.  It is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany with more than 1,200 trains daily,

Hohenzollern Bridge

Equestrian statue 

Love locks

Cologne's Hohenzollern Bridge is a romantic place for lovers. Tourists and Cologne residents like to immortalise their relationship in the form of love locks on the bridge. As a sign of eternal love and fidelity, they attach their lock to the bridge grating and throw the corresponding key into the Rhine. Thousands of individually decorated love locks now decorate the Rhine bridge.

under the bridge

Deutzer Brauhaus

 Cologne - This  Brauhaus is a 5 mins walk from the Cologne Triangle - there were many waiters but only one guy in black who can check the restaurant seating arrangements and brought you to your table.  The waiter recommended me the pork trotters.

Kosch

a very delicious pork trotters

Almost the same size that was sold in Singapore and I ate the whole trotters.  The skin was crackling good and very crispy.   The pork tasted succulent, tasty and very hot.

Sauerkraut or sour cabbage is white cabbage or pointed cabbage preserved by lactic acid fermentation . Sauerkraut is usually eaten steamed as a side dish . It is internationally recognised as one of the best-known German national dishes .

After dinner, I walked back to the hotel and it took me 30mins strolling across the bridge and then down the esplanade.

Cologne Triangle observation deck

 Cologne - I went to the Cologne triangle observation deck - it gave me a 360 view of the city of Cologne.

Cologne Triangle

The Cologne Triangle is 103 meters (339 feet) tall. The south facade features a double facade which allows for natural ventilation. The building is shaped in the form of a Realeaux triangle and has three convex arched sides around a round center.

The observation deck is on the 28th floor.

Cologne cathedral in the background

Lutticher Koln - German restaurant

Cologne - I went today with Hannah to this quaint German restaurant, Lutticher Koln and the food was delicious.   Being in Germany, I must try their meat.

From where we are sitting I took this pic

The weather was nice and cool, also under the nice umbrella shade of this big tree.   

Hannah and me enjoying our dinner

Rump steak

The steak was fried on one side crispy which was a nice touch to the steak.  Not much fat as it is the rump but it tasted good.   

Brahaus Em Kolsche Boor restaurant

Cologne - I wanted to try real German food - and search for this German Brahaus opposite the hotel, a very short walking distance.  All the patrons was sitting outside under the sun and there were no one inside the restaurant, so I also sat outside.

Kolsch

Kölsch is a style of beer originating in Cologne, Germany. It has an original gravity between 11 and 14 degrees Plato. In appearance, it is bright and clear with a straw-yellow hue.  A beer that is made within 50km (31mi) of the city of Cologne and brewed according to the Kölsch Konvention as defined by the members of the Cologne Brewery Association.  Kölsch is one of the most strictly defined beer styles in Germany.

Kölsch is warm fermented with top-fermenting yeast, then conditioned at cold temperatures like a lager. Kolsch is a style of beer that was first brewed in Germany, and while technically it is an Ale, it also has some brewing traits typical of Lagers. That's because warm-fermenting ale yeast is used during the brewing of Kolsch, but then it is conditioned at a cold temperature like a lager.  It is a hybrid beer.

The waiters do not like to be called and told me to sit down and relax, someone will come to my table.  So I waited and a nice gentleman came and took my order.

Big sausage

Big fried sausage with homemade malt beer sauce, red cabbage and fried potatoes.  I cleaned the plate as it was delicious.  

I had another Kolsch and then asked for the bill.   It took a while to reorder the beer even though my glass was empty.

Museum Ludwig

Cologne - This Museum Ludwig was a short walking distance to the Cologne cathedral.  The entrance to this museum was euro 12.  This museum houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe.

Museum Ludwig

Art is what you make it to be

To me Art is what you imagine it to be, or be in the shoes of the artist when he created it and imagine his thoughts when he worked on the art.   I begin to appreciate art as I travel as it opens different perspective and human possibilities of creation.

mother and her baby

This portrait is of a mother carrying her baby on her back but is there another child?

These are some of the works of the famous Spanish artist - Pablo Picasso.  Irene Ludwig, widow of the chocolate magnate and art collector Peter Ludwig, donated 774 pieces to a museum named after her late husband.

watering can

pop art section 

There was a big section for Ur­su­la Schultze-Bluhm, who is known sim­p­ly as Ur­su­la, was one of the most im­por­tant Ger­man artists of the se­cond half of the twen­ti­eth cen­tu­ry. She was born in Mit­ten­walde, Ger­many, in 1921 and died in Cologne in 1999.

Ur­su­la’s life and work of­fer an un­con­ven­tio­n­al nar­ra­tive of artis­tic in­de­pen­dence. Her art ex­em­pli­fies the idea that Sur­re­al­ism is not a style, but an at­ti­tude.

I spent more an hour walking around the different gallery of this museum, feeling tired and decided to walk back to the hotel. 

Gelato 4D cafe

Cologne -  One of the desert to try is Apple strudel in Germany, so I had one in Gelato 4D cafe.

Gelato 4D

plain Apple strudel

I just love it - very tasted and good.  I could have add euros for jam or ice cream but plain is good.

There was also a drama at this cafe as the family sitting next to me - a man collapse and fainted.  His wife, waiter and manager rushed over to find out what happened and after a while he woke up.  They carried him to his seat, sloughed and his head tilt back in exhaustion.   I asked the waiter and he answered in smattering English which I don't understand.

Nothing further happed, I wish the family well and went on my sight seeing.

Minoritenkirche St.Mariae Empfängnis

Cologne - I walked down one cobble stone lane and came across this church - very quiet and nobody was inside - Minoritenkirche  St.Mariae Empfängnis - translated to English it is the "St Mary Conception" located @Brühler Str. 128, 50968, Cologne.  There was a kindergarden next to his church.

Mary altar

main altar of the church

The cross is hung in the middle of the altar area.

Cologne Cathedral - UNESCO Heritage site

Cologne - The Cologne cathedral was a short walk from my hotel.  I walked towards the Cologne station and was able to see the view of the steeple of the cathedral from a distance.  It was an amazing church and crowded with many tourist.  Today is a holiday but the cathedral is open and it's free. 

This cathedral owes its existence to the Three Wise Men because in the 12th Century, the bones of the Three Kings were brought to Cologne from the conquered city of Milan. This drew pilgrims in their droves and attracted funding to build a cathedral that was magnificent enough to house the Magi’s mortal remains. Their bones are housed in a lavishly gilded reliquary.

The Cathedral is also home to the exquisite 10th Century Gero-Crucifix and the Madonna of Milan, a wooden sculpture said to possess miraculous powers.  

Cologne Cathedral

This cathedral is a catholic church, and is Germany's most visited landmark with its beautiful Gothic architecture.  This cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe.   

twin towers of the Cathedral

Three wise men and baby Jesus

Altar

Another altar of Jesus on the cross

A huge cathedral

So many stained glass depicting the life of Christ on earth.

The stained glass was so beautiful when the ray of sunlight shown on the glass plane, looking up you are able to see the life of christ painted on the glasses.

I spent about an hour walking around as it was a huge church and there was also an underground tombs of 12 archbishops, interred between 976 and 1612 AD, in the cathedral, proper, and more recent archbishops are interred in the basilica's subterranean vaults.

Crypt of the bishops

underground memorial of the bishops