Cologne Cathedral

Oh my goodness...it is so tall. Said to have the tallest spire and is the 3rd tallest cathedral in the world. No kidding. Just a shame pollution does it's worst and most of the outside is blackened. Still seeing it floodlit at night was lovely, as was the view from the railway bridge over the Rhine. As in the Cinque Terre the chain link fence was full of padlocks...we never have one handy when we come across these. Had another lovely local meal, more wine and chit chat on our travels. Boys enjoying tasting traditional home cooked food. The waitress was really nice too!! The next day we viewed the cathedral during daylight...still black and tall. Inside massively tall with 3 pipe organs and ornate statues. We visited the treasure rooms full of gorgeous gold and precious jewel religious pieces. The most important artifact being the arc carrying the crowns and clothing of the 3 wise men. It has been restored in full, parts of the original decoration are on display in cases. Also impressive are relics of St Peters chains and other saints bones encased in religious objects. The Bishops rings were lovely. You can see why churches were robbed...a lot of wealth then. An interesting display and well worth a visit. Just down from our hotel was part of the original town wall, cool, and bizarre bridal shops selling all manor of coloured puffy wedding dresses...each to their own! They boys wondering what my problem was...I guess I am a traditionalist!