Art & Architecture Trip - Day 13

Today was the last day of tours of the churches of Koln. We went to see the Gothic Cathedral (or Dom) at the center of town. Sabine met us once again and then began the tour of the church, including its long history. The Cathedral that stands on the site now took nearly 700 years to complete. Starting in 1200, the church was built for several years before work stopped in 1525. Then, in 1842, the people of Cologne decided to finish their cathedral in the Gothic style. The existence of bones of the Three Wise Men in the church made der Kolner Dom one of the three most important pilgrimages in the medieval world. People came from every part of Europe to honor the memory of the three noble souls who had journeyed to the site where Jesus was living soon after his birth. The presence of these relics in Koln made the Archbishop of the city very powerful because the bones showed that even the Emperor of Germany was below God - that kings had knelt before the Baby Jesus. After the tour, we spread out to sketch. I went to a fountain known as "Dry St. Peter" (to the East of the Cathedral). It is so known because it was not usually possible to keep water flowing through it in older days. While I was at the fountain, I met a Belgian soldier that had been working for NATO since 1959. He knew four languages: English (from his job at NATO), French and Dutch (because Belgium requires this for service in the military) and German (he was brought up in a town on the German border). At 1600, we returned to JGH and I tried to work in my sketch book. When we finally ate dinner, I had nearly destroyed my work. The girls were acting strangely - I don't understand them... At 1900, we traveled to an open air festival outside of Cologne and heard several bands attempt to mimic the accent and words of English songs. They did not succeed in their valient efforts and the music sounded very corny. One of the groups called itself "King Size Dick." We left around 2200. I read for a few hours before going to sleep. I need to go running soon!!!