Cologne

Cologne, Germany

Day 3, Saturday, July 1

Marc's Journal

Cologne

Today, it's raining as we sail along the Rhine River. We've been busy immersing ourselves in travel, schedules, people, and excursions, leaving little time for ourselves. So, we're taking it easy on the boat, enjoying coffee and croissants.

Due to low river levels, our journey has required many adjustments. This morning, small groups were dropped off upstream from Cologne, taking a 30-minute bus trip into the city, while the riverboat would have taken up to two hours for the same trip. Yesterday, we had to take a bus from Kinderdijk to our boat location after visiting the windmills. The riverboat used our three-hour tour to navigate further up the river.

Personal Social Shock

Since COVID in 2020, Diane and I have lived in isolation. I've been working remotely full-time, and we moved to a new state. With Diane taking care of her mom, finding a new job wasn't an option. We've become loners by necessity. But now, everything has changed. Airports are packed, our flight to Europe was fully booked, and Amsterdam's streets are bustling with visitors. On our small boat, every day we meet new people from all over the world. It's amazing, but being friendly and socially aware takes effort! It's like skipping the gym for two years and having to rebuild my strength, only to have the trainer load my pre-COVID max!

 

Despite the initial shock and my occasional doubts about integrating, it's been truly wonderful to meet so many interesting and genuinely kind travelers. I've learned to look beyond appearances and engage, listen, and respect everyone's story. Some travelers may have physical limitations, but their willingness to take on challenges with reduced mobility inspires deep admiration in me. Sometimes staying at home feels more comfortable, as travel is unpredictable. I'm not fully in control, and I don't know Dutch, German, or Hungarian. There are constant challenges, but the new adventures are worth it. I have one life, and while I have the strength, I want to live it to the fullest.


Dreams

As I was musing on these things this morning, I received an e-mail from my Anchorage friend, Kristian, who wrote something similar and powerful: 


"I want to tell you about today's coffee time meditation and prayer. I was considering [my ambitions] and I was saying to God that all humans have dreams, but only the poor among us end their lives with no unfulfilled entries on their lists. You might say Huh? What I mean is that we must always have the courage to dream because if you don't dream, your dreams cannot possibly come true. Never stop dreaming, and continuing to dream means, of course, that we will exit this realm with open entries on our bucket lists. I told the Lord that I planned to keep adding entries to mine for as long as I could, lots of small ones and some (from my perspective) big ones."


Included with permission

Diane's Journal

So far I am loving this cruise. Our days are full of meeting  some wonderful people, eating delicious new foods, and lots of unexpected adventures.  

Today was a day to remember. A mix up turned out way better than planned.

We got on the wrong bus for our onshore excursion to the Unesco Palaces. Long story short we were able to go on an inside tour of the Cathedral in Cologne. Wow! I touched the lead roof of the cathedral (and washed my hands afterwards).

We did get ourselves back on the boat.

I love floating along the river. On the river banks, we have seen camels, cows, sheep, horses, along with a lot of summer campers. Driving through the towns makes me feel like I drove to Leavenworth; but oh! this is real.

An unexpected experience

Diane and I had paid extra for a tour of the Brühl UNESCO Palaces near Cologne, scheduled for the afternoon. We connected with a couple of new friends, were ushered onto a bus, traveled into town, then followed the tour leader down the street. She appeared to be walking toward the famous Cologne Cathedral—which was not our destination! We were ushered wrongly and mistakenly were connected with the Cologne Cathedral in the Sky tour. With no way to catch up with our original group and the current group already at capacity we were at a very disappointing intersection. The tour representative said emphatically to the wayward four, "Unfortunately, the Cathedral does not make exceptions." The guide leaned over to the tour lady and whispered briefly, then they both smiled. The tour lady then said, "but today they will."

With zero expectations, we joined the group of 12. It turned out to be one of the biggest, unexpected delights of the trip. This tour did not visit the church sanctuary like the masses attending mass, rather, we got the rooftop and attic behind-the-scenes view! This excursion was not for those wary of heights or fearful of creaky construction elevators (with signs posted: Maiximale Belegung 13 Maximum Occupancy 13) The next several hours were a pure delight.

Crazy Phony Tony

The cathedral has a full time staff of stone masons. These artisans identify the crumbling parts of the cathedral and create exact replicas to replace them. Tony was a foreman who had been at the job for several decades and was about to retire. In honor of his service, his crew sculpted what he considered to be the perfect likeness of him: "Tony on the Phone." The back story was that he was reluctant to use a cellular phone, but once he started, no one ever saw him without it being glued to his face. 

Any stone carving above 100' is difficult to see, yet the incredible detail in the cathedral continues, without compromise, to the top of the tallest spire, "so the angels may enjoy the work." So, out of sight from the adoring masses below, Tony's crew installed his likeness. It will be a reminder for those in the coming centuries of the army of artisans that built and maintained the cathedral.

A copy of Tony on the phone in the locker.

Can you spot him?

Click here for more images, videos and stories about the Cologne Cathedral