Quo Vado: 2/8/09

Saturday 2/14- Before I mention my travels around Cologne, let me just say that there are some weird design touches in this hotel. For instance, mood lighting in the bathroom and by the main door. Sailing rope used as moulding. But perhaps the strangest is the huge framed 'painting' of Goethe that stares at you while in bed. Totally creepy and bizarre.

The city is huge, much more so than I thought, so the priorities are the Roman museum and the cathedral. The other Romanesque churches and museums that hold the medieval, Renaissance and modern art would have to be skipped. First the Cathedral, where I took the guided tour in English at 10:30. Very informative, but it took up some time. Only 10% of the church was lost to Allied bombing in WWII, which is a miracle. Practically every other church I have visited on this trip was partially or almost completely destroyed in the war and had to be rebuilt. After the tour and the slide show, it was 11:50. I was going to go through the church another time on my own for some more pictures, but there was a prayer service beginning, so I went to the museum.

The Römisch-Germanisches Museum turned out to be much larger than I thought. Thousands of glass and clay objects, jewelry, decorative bronzes, gravestones, and portraits. I photographed nearly everything. The highlights were several gravestones with children, a few Imperial child portraits and some toys. Unfortunately, some groups of school kids had the same idea, and, separated into boys with gladiator equipment and girls with Roman clothing, they camped out right where I needed to stand to take pictures. So annoying.

Which leads me to my next rant, that of museum behaviour and etiquette. I am a keen observer of human behaviour- perhaps due to my training as an art historian. On this trip I have seen it all- little German school children, Italian teenagers, screaming babies, Japanese tour groups, hick Americans, bumbling English people, the whole lot. Though I yearn for the day when museums open their doors just for me, that day may be far off. My visits would be at least 10-20% shorter if people wouldn't stand in my shots and where they don't need to me. Look, I'm taking multiple pictures of everything. I hate how people come to look at a random sarcophagus that I'm photographing as if I am validating its importance by studying it. IT WON'T INTEREST YOU- GO AWAY!!! Maybe if I proclaimed a bronze fibula the greatest artwork in the world, people would let me photograph what I wanted. You don't know how often I have to back away and wait while a person has to realize this for himself. Of course, there is a good deal of snobbery coming from me, but I admit it. End of rant. For now.

So I finished the museum and went back to the Dom to climb the tower, one of my favorite pastimes. The stairs were the usual winding type with some openish areas. At 323 feet, my quads were burning by the time I reached the observation level. The view was predictably fine. Downstairs, I attempted to finally go around the apse chapels to get a better shot of the Three Magi shrine, but now it was confession time. Great. I went to the train station to grab a bite to eat as I hadn't eaten all day besides a Cliff Bar I brought from the US. While there I happened upon a children's talent show thing, so I watched for a while. It consisted of German kids dressed in faux traditional dress dancing in troupes. Hard to explain, but it was very entertaining. Kind of like 'Bring It On' Deutsch-style. The judges wore getup like Shriners on acid. After this mess, I went back to the Dom for the Vigil and then home sweet home with more ill-gotten grub at the train station. So endeth the twelfth day.

Interior of Cologne Dom

Modern window from a few years ago that was so controversial- actually better than most modern glass

Medieval statue of disciple

The soaring vaults of the choir, the only completed portion from the Middle Ages

The High Altar

The Shrine of the Three Magi (inside are the kings' skulls)

The Madonna of Milan

Early Renaissance altarpiece

St. Christopher

Light from the modern window

Flying buttresses

Child and father's tombstone

Girl with bird miniature

Toy horsemen

Relief with mother and swaddled infant

Caius Caesar

Young Commodus

Young Marcus Aurelius

Young Nero

Augustus

Interior of Dom spire

View of Rhine river

Square in front of the museum with annoying skateboarders

Scariest ladder in world

Every German city has a TV tower like this one

My fellow climbers

Pondering the view

Shrine where gypsies donate their jewelry to the Madonna and Child statue

Oldest monumental crucifix in the West- c. 975

Closeup of the Jewelry Madonna

Even closer

Cheesy candle shot

Obligatory vault shot

Thursday 2/12- So much to do today. Went to breakfast- it was fit for a king! Real bacon and eggs, breads, croissants, fruits, yogurts, cakes, teas, etc, etc. Ate. A lot. With my city map in hand, I headed off to my first of many destinations, the Imperial Baths. I managed to find the entrance, got a kombicarte for a few different sites, and entered. Though it was lightly snowing most of the day, it wasn't really sticking. Another benefit of the weather was that I was practically or actually alone wherever I went. You could go beneath the baths in the subterranean tunnels that were used to heat and pipe the rooms. Pretty cool.

The next stop was the amphitheater which is located on the edge of town up a small rise. The outer walls were mostly earthen, but the interior seating was clad in stone. The stonework has all but vanished today, most likely used to build later structures in the post-Roman town. Underneath the arena floor lies a cavernous maze of tunnels of which one can walk through of portion. After walking around a bit, I started a quest to find a lookout called Petrisberg. I walked quickly up a steep and windy road and passed a bench or two. After going a bit further to make sure, I went back down to the benches. I guess that was Petrisberg. The view was ok since there were no leaves on the trees, but in the summer it would've been a bust.

After a brisk walk back to the city proper, I realized I had no euros left, so I had to go into town to find an ATM. Flush with cash, I tried the basilica, but it was only open from 11-12 and 3-4. It was now about 12:15 or so. I would have to time this day to perfection. Off to the museum where all of the Roman artifacts are located. The museum is in the process of renovation for an upcoming exhibition on Egypt, so not quite everything was open, but there were some very nice grave reliefs depicting children, including a rare school scene. Luckily the collection wasn't too big, and I got out just after 2:30.

Went to the town square to take some pics of the old houses and finally tried a fish sandwich at the Nordsee sort of like Long John Silver's I suppose. Nothing to write home about (besides that sentence). After passing some bum's vodka collection, I went on to the Porta Nigra and got a bad picture taken of me. Everytime I've asked for a picture, it's been bad. I'm better off MacGyvering a self-timer shot. The old Roman gate was converted into a church and then back to a monument, so there's a bit of everything. Good views from the top. Something I've wanted to do since my Roman architecture class freshman year at Yale. Then a literal back run to the Basilica, which was the Imperial throne room when Trier was elevated to an Imperial residence. This structure also had an interesting history- castle, palace, and now a protestant church. After WWII it was brought back to a more Roman state, of course without the interior decoration. It gives a sense of the vast space allowed by Roman architectural methods.

Trier wasn't quite over. I went next door to the cathedral, a vast Romanesque mass. The day was pretty much over, so besides popping into a couple of churches, I contented myself by walking along the Mosel on a path. The old cranes that hauled the cargo off the skiffs are still in situ. So is the 'Roman Bridge' which retains the ancient foundations. I walked past the Barbarathermen, the synagogue and Karl Marx's house, which had some Italian devotees fawning over it. Not surprising. Back to hotel where I asked for a cheap but not too cheap German restaurant. They ended up sending me to the equivalent of a TGIFriday's, so not too cool. Filled with Schnitzel "Weiner Art", it was bedtime. So endeth the tenth day.

Imperial Baths

Brick arch of the Imperial Baths

Underneath the Imperial Baths

Me at the Imperial Baths

Detail of the Imperial Baths

Aerial view of the Imperial Baths

Entryway into the Amphitheater

Under the arena floor of the Amphitheater

Looking into the Amphitheater

Looking at one of the entryways into the Amphitheater

Amphitheater with vineyards of Petrisberg above

Closeup of Dom from Petrisberg

Me at Petrisberg

Palace and Basilica

Basilica, west side

Basilica, detail

Column of Igel, reconstruction

Funerary monument of Roman family

Sarcophagus with relief of schoolboys

Monument of galley

Mosaic of Venus

Detail of Mosaic, young man

Portrait of Roman girl

Detail of Trier Dom

The town square

Monument in the town square

(probably rough) vodka

Porta Nigra, south (town) side

Why are there so many bad photographers out there. From now on, self-timer only.

Porta Nigra, north side

Nice shot of pedestrian walking through the gate

Totally insane tour guide

Baptismal font from old church?

Old church decoration?

My shadow

Town framed by a window

Me on the top level of the Porta Nigra

Apse of the Basilica

Me in the Basilica

Interior of the Basilica

Shot of Dom

Crucifix on arch in town

Marian shrine

Interesting window ornaments

Interior of the Dom

Various oils

Dom and Liebfrauenkirche

Frankenturm

Church by Mosel

Old Crane

Roman Bridge

Karl Marx's House

Friday 2/13- I awoke to the news of the plane crash in Buffalo (unlucky day indeed), so I watched that for a while in bed instead of rushing to the Jesuit church and the viehmarktthermen. Next time. Slowly I showered and made my way down to breakfast where a lady asked for my room number. Then as I sat down with my food, she made me sign something. I noticed a "€15" written on it- so breakfast isn't free? Well, I ate as much as I could stomach- for $20, I'd better! Checked out, called a taxi and got the trainstation. Made sure my tix were legit, then waited in the light snow for the train. Got my seat ok (a reserved window seat with no one next to me) and started typing this blog entry. The countryside is very pleasant, with small towns along the Mosel with mini-mountains for the majority of the journey's scenery. At times the snow level was down to the river, other times it was only on the higher hills. The only real notable incidents on the train were the bunch of German soldiers who sat in my coach and the man across the aisle from me who ate no less than three salami sandwiches in less than two hours. I mean, is he addicted or something?

Pulled into Cologne on time and lugged my bag toward my hotel that is quasi-near the station. The air seemed warmer here and there was no snow on the ground. I only had time for a few churches, including the Cathedral. The Dom is a huge hulking mass of blackened stone. It is truly an impressive architectural feat and dominates the cityscape. I really only had time to visit the church's treasury which is located in the medieval and Roman levels below the church. It contains vestments, chalices, crooks and other religious treasures from the past thousand years. Also there was a bulla, an amulet that Roman boys wore, included in a Frankish woman's burial. Something to think about.

It was getting dark and the weather had turned worse. Now it was raining then snowing then both. But, I had to get a feel for the city, so I walked for about two hours around the main shopping drags and the smaller streets. Cologne is a very cosmopolitan city and has all the busyness that goes along with it. I did see a antiquities shop or two, but seemed a bit expensive. There was a mini-quest for a supposed Roman tower, but I gave up after an hour. The rain and snow and cold had taken its toll on me and it was time to get home. Takeout in the train station and BBC/CNN as usual. So endeth the eleventh day.