Am I addicted to great architecture and lead-glass installations? Why, yes, I sure am.

That statement means cathedral and church-hopping is on my A-list of things to do and sights to see. The Cologne Cathedral (Or Kölner Dom, as the Germans call it) is AH-MAZE-ING. It is, without any trace of a doubt, the biggest structure I have seen in my life.

The Gothic style has always been one of my favourites. The detail, arches, gargoyles and just everything about it screams to me, and I feel a deep affinity with it. The Kölner Dom does not disappoint. The structure took over 600 years to build (with a time of rest included in that period) and was only complete for a short time before the Second World War, which saw it heavily damaged by bombings. The tall peaks of the cathedral were easy targets in the war, so it was often attacked. This tragedy means that a lot of the structure as it now stands is the work of modern repair, clearly distinguishing the original stones from the new ones.

Having said that, the building is still absolutely majestic and unbelievable. The sheer mass of it is mind-blowing and has already inspired magical stories in the back of my mind. I would recommend it to any lover of architecture and anyone else who wants to be awed. It’s absolutely worth the trip.

We also made a stop at the Christmas Market next to the Dom. Awesome fun! Though we did have the hardest and most un-yummy sandwiches in the history of the world there. Don’t let the picture fool you. We didn’t even finish them. 😛

Awesome, don’t you think? I really want to go back there some day, I could spend an entire day just staring at the details. We also went down to the treasury, but the quality of the photos from there are not too good. No flash photography is allowed, so the result is pixily and dark photos. The outside of the cathedral more than made up for it though.

Have a good weekend, folks!

Yolandie