I had a chance to visit Cologne, Germany very recently. For me, it was not just a visit like most trips that I had done so many times since work and life brought me to Germany ... almost 10 years ago. For me, it was more than that. It started years before I even had a dream about travelling to faraway places in this world. And when it did, the dreams started too ... I remember meeting a German tourist in Miri, Sarawak who seem to be lost in the small city (still a town back in the late 90s). As in a truly Asian hospitality, I asked if I could help him and he said he was looking for a direction to somewhere. Somewhere the place escape my memory. So that was the starting point ... and one day I received a postcard, sort of a thank you postcard, from Germany. And on it, was a picture of the famous Cologne Dom, the Cathedral. Last weekend, I was realizing the dream. One of the many that I am still dreaming of achieving ...The journey to the city was a joy in itself. I loves road trip. Just putting everything in the car and drive on for the weekend. Packed the picnic bag with cheese, olives and some fruits, with a few bottles of water. Filled the car with one or two blankets and drive on. Germany is one of the countries where it is perfectly safe (as far as I know, from experience) to stop at the rest area at night and sleep when you get tired. Everything will still be in one piece in the morning, just energizes you more to continue exploring the country. In spring it is a lovely sight all along the autobahn. Yellow fields of mustard are everywhere. Trees back swaying in full green. The road filled with travelers in fast cars, small and big camper vans ... Oh well, maybe it slowed down the traffic last weekend, but then again, everybody was going somewhere to enjoy the sun. Going for a short holiday somewhere. Good times were in the air, so why bother ... For me, the ride was fun. Even when the time we stopped for the sleep was within half an hour to midnight, and when the sun came up brightly red at around half hour after four in the morning ... I was excited to continue and get to the city of our destination.
It was a glorious day too when we get to Cologne. The sun was shining. Not a single jacket was on anyone and I regretted taking along mine. Well, though I did checked the weather forecast before we left Hamburg, and it said 22 degrees Celcius on Saturday, I was so unsure about the temperature from living in Hamburg for a while. Even a few weeks ago some people were still walking around in their winter jacket! ...
I was determined to have a good time. Lucky for us, when we arrived in the city, we were allowed to check into our hotel even though it was not yet ten in the morning. So we managed to freshen up and get really ready to explore.
Looking at the Cathedral (naturally the first on our list), I was amazed. The dark intricate facade of once the tallest structure in the world remained just as how it was on the postcard. I believes, any picture taken of the Cathedral would fit for a postcard, though mine were debatable I'll have to admit ... The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, being one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest facade of any church in the world.I was trying to soak in it, trying to see it all in at once but somehow I got distracted ...
Just in the proximity of the Cathedral's plaza, there were a few buildings boasting the names of Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Aigner, Chopard ... I knew I had to move on. It would be a disaster to even start window shopping in the area.
Before we started this trip, we made a list of places that we'd like to see. I realized now that I actually didn't refer to that list last weekend. To be honest, I think I've lost that list. I know that whenever I make a list, be it a shopping list, a to-do list, I have more than once managed to do way out of the plan. Nothing disastrous have even happen from my careless behaviour though. Anyway, we decided that we were going to follow the city map given by the nice receptionist at our hotel.
Our next stop was at Glockengasse 4711. That number should ring a bell. No? Well, in 1796, during the French accupation of Cologne, the French commander General Daurier ordered that all buildings should be consecutively numbered. Wilhelm Muelhens' house was given the number 4711.
The Muelhens couple, in 1792, were given a valuable wedding gift by a Carthusian monk. It was a secret recipe for how to make "aqua mirabilis" - which later became known as Eau de Cologne. They quickly realized the value of this recipe and founded a company to produce Eau de Cologne in Glockengasse. And their house number was later registered as the company's trademark in 1875.
Not many of us have use this product, but I am sure some of you might have seen it somewhere ...
From there, we moved on. Even with the map in hands, I must confess that we were rather wandering around quite aimlessly. I wanted to figure it out what was really intriguing me about the city. I once heard that if you want to visit Germany, do so in Spring. It would be a beautiful sight to see with the greenery and happy smiling faces all around. But it was more than that. Cologne is easily a nice cosmopolitan city of Germany, with abundant supply of old charm. Pedestrian streets for easy strolling, lined with cafes and nice little restaurants. There were warm dark Irish pubs. There were bustling Italian restaurants. There were also designers outlets! I won't go there ... not today ;-)
We ended up having lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. I had a nice grilled salmon with beans. And a glass of Exotic Margarita. I had only a glass. I was being good. Other than it was very very nice, I won't say much about it. Suffice to say, I deleted the pictures taken during lunch. They were not nice.
By then, the day had dragged on ... My feet was beginning to beg for mercy. Too much cobbled streets I think. We decided to go cross the Rhine River via the railway bridge we saw on the way into the city earlier. Looked really nice and we saw a lot of people were walking across slowly. The bridge was called Hohenzollern Bridge. And on this bridge I saw something that I think will forever changed me.
On one side of the bridge (only one side), was a pedestrian walkway. And between the walkway and the railways, there were fence. On this fence, there were thousands little padlocks inscribed with names in various style. Some were done in marker pen. At first, we thought it was a bicycle lock, as Germany is a country where almost everyone ride a bike. But then walking along, we saw more and more of these padlocks. We inspected some and realized that most of them had two names on them. With dates too. So the only thing that came to mind was that these are made by lovers. Locking their love away in a very simple yet poignant way. I bet they throw away the keys into the river below.
Some of these locks were attached with smaller padlocks with single name and date a few years after the first lock. The children, maybe? Most probably. Maybe it was a dog's name. or a cat's ... There were also lines of padlocks put next to the other. Friends to keep forever? I wish I had a padlock, I was definitely filled with LOVE!
Our day in the city ended there. I hope it was longer, but tiredness doesn't go along very well with old age. I was glad to get back to the hotel room and succumbed to the exhaustion. But I knew, I had a great day. And I don't have to remember the postcard to imagine the city now. I have the images planted in my head to remember it by. A vivid image of the dark intricate facade of the Cathedral of Cologne.
We are leaving Germany, too. Life has presented us with another twist yet again. Another adventure I would like to say. There is an opportunity waiting Down Under. I have come to love this place, Germany. It was one of the first foreign countries that I came to know about early in my life (I won't count the Geography lesson in school in this matter :-) ! It is a country that more than not been said to be cold, unfriendly, hard to deal with especially when you don't speak the language ...
But, as there's always a but (and if), it has presented itself differently to me. I've had the chance to meet a lot of wonderful people. The language barrier have never seem to stop anything in a lot of cases. I have never felt left out or unwelcome. The many occasions I've enjoyed sharing with our German friends were my best memories.
I've seen a few old romantic and magnificent cities. I've past through some beautiful and lush countrysides. The seasides or lakes that can easily won a movie in a best cinematography category award. The centuries old buildings. The castles ...
So, auf Wiedersehen. Vielen, Vielen Dank!
And next is Paris ....
