Cologne, 12 Oct 2019
/The day started with a relaxing morning and a loop going across the Rhine. We then went to the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, relaxed at a café, then went a bit out of the city to a party.
We slept a bit better than the first night but still could have done better. It wasn't too helpful that there was a bunch of noise in and around the hostel at various times of the night (for both nights; we're talking 2 and 3am), but normally we would be able to sleep through most of that. We had set an alarm and woke up to it, then promptly fell back asleep for over an hour. The plan for the day was to meet Kellen and Noël at the museum after lunch, so we didn’t feel rushed.
After we had grabbed breakfast, we went out walking for a bit. We started out by going back to the Hohenzollern Bridge, this time to the other side. There was an observation area which seemed to be a popular place to get good looks at the bridge and the Cologne Cathedral. We continued along the Rhine and crossed back on the Deutzer Bridge which gave us more great views.
It was about lunchtime, so we found a bakery where we got a couple sandwiches. That taken care of, it was time to wander towards the museum.
Wallraf-Richartz Museum
Since we had gotten Museum cards the day before, we were already set for admission to the Wallraf-Richartz. The people at the information desk once again suggested starting from the top floor, but this time we would be going back in time.
Before heading in, we went to drop things off at the coat check counter. The woman asked if we were all together, and when we said we were, she rolled out a wire bin for us to dump everything into. It seemed like a good way to deal with groups, although it does take up quite a bit of floor space.
There were several interesting pieces on each floor, including a special exhibit with Rembrandt etchings. On each floor were windows you could look out to see City Hall, including the excavation we couldn’t see the previous day. The rest of the museum has walls painted with strong colors which made for a really good look. The first floor, with many religious paintings, and the central room was shaped like the cross of a cathedral, had altar panels where the three altars would be, and had some pews set up facing each. Some of the rooms on that floor had stenciled walls that fit well with the objects.
Café
After leaving the Wallraf, Noël took us by Old Saint Alban, the war-torn remains which you can catch a look of. It looked like a working building was directly on the other side of the back wall. We also went back to the Kolumba Diocesan Museum this time took a look inside at the Madonna in the Ruins sanctuary. You could see how the building’s walls were built upon the former runs.
Since we had a bit of time to kill, Noël took us to a café where we had some snacks. Of course, everything was tasty, validating Noël’s high opinion of the place.
Party
It was a short walk to the U-Bahn which we took out to eat off the city where friends of Noël and Kellen were hosting a party. Once we got off the train we went to a grocery store so they could pick up some things to take, and we took the opportunity to get some snacks for our travels the next day. After that, it was another short walk until we got to the party. We meet several of their friends, so all were very pleasant and gracious.
Again, it was interesting to see various things Americans take for granted about their country, such as the cultural and political differences of different regions. One person was intrigued by cowboys, wanting to see them the next time he would be in the states. That, and go to a barn dance.
We did end up leaving before too long since we wanted to get back so we could get to things we wanted to do before we headed out the next morning along the Rhine, so we said our goodbyes, especially to Kellen and Noël, whom we would next see in Seattle. We didn’t have any trouble finding our way back. When we were walking between the station and our hostel, we heard the accordion/violin/balalika group again, but we went the whole day without seeing any bike accidents. After fighting the hostel Internet connection, we did complete our tasks before falling asleep.