So, for a while I have been telling you about our Viking River Cruise in Europe and about touring different ports along the Rhine River. And I am still in Cologne. Still on the third day of our cruise. Well, there was just so much to see and do in Cologne. And the highlight of the day was the Cathedral, or Kölner Dom. It towers over the city. Here are a view of the spires over the Roman Germanic Museum.
Below is detail of one of the spires. You can see at the bottom scaffolding. They are constantly working on the Cathedral due to damage inflicted by pollution over the years.
You can see more scaffolding below. Not a job that I would want.
Below are the spires on the twin towers, which at 515 feet high make them Europe’s second tallest spires on a church.
Some of the gothic detail on the East end, showing some of the flying buttresses and spires.
You can see we were quite far down from the Cathedral and had some steps to climb to reach where the church was.
When we did reach the top, we were greeted by these wonderful street performers, a group of Russian musicians called The Compatible. It was Easter Sunday and there were quite a few performers out that day as well as some demonstrations, too.
These guys were wonderful. We listened to them for quite some time. Below is a little video of one of their songs that we listened to.
You can find more on You Tube here, here , here and here.
I always thought accordions had to play polkas.
I am now a fan. These two accordions sounded like organs. They really were an amazing group. They were playing in a walkway between two areas of the Roman-Germanic museum and the sound was just perfect.
When we came out of the walkway, we were right in the middle of the square. There was so much going on, like a protest happening on one side. We think it had to be about animal cruelty or vegan in nature. It was peaceful, no yelling or chanting, I think just trying to capitalize on the amount of people present that day.
On the complete opposite side of the square we did spot these colorful people. Not quite sure what the baby pacifiers symbolize on the one guys plastic chains around his back. He had quite a collection going.
And check out the Rainbow and bright orange Mohawks. They really stand out, don’t you think? These were really the only punk dressers that we saw during our entire trip. And it appeared here to only be this little group of friends.
Another part of the square had a street performer entertaining children with his bubble magic.
These two girls were really enjoying themselves chasing the bubbles as he waved his magic wands.
We had a lot of fun watching, too.
I think besides The Compatible, this guy was my favorite. Organ Grinders are something I remember from my childhood or seeing in old movies.
Of course, the live monkey was missing. But I don’t think that would have went over well with the protestors on the other side of the square.
Betsy liked the Organ Grinder, too.
And here are a few shots from the crowded square of the Cathedral that I snapped with my phone.
There were people everywhere. It was Easter Sunday after all.
Yup, got photobombed by a random tourist.
There just wasn’t any way to get it all in on my phone. But, here is proof I was there. Well, next post I will have to show you more of the outside of this impressive structure. Until then….
This is not a sponsored post. This is my experience from my trip with Viking River Cruises. Email me to find out how you can save $100 when you book your first cruise with Viking through their referral program.
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