Cologne and Düsseldorf

After a great night’s sleep (I highly recommend Hotel Excelsior Ernst!), we met our guide Ulie for a private tour of Cologne Cathedral. What an unforgettable way to start the day. It’s towering twin spires are like an architectural exclamation point rising over the city, and the interior of this beautiful, massive cathedral is awe-inspiring.

Inside, Ulie shared some fascinating, lesser-known stories about this Gothic masterpiece. Although much of Cologne was destroyed during World War II, the cathedral survived despite taking fourteen direct bomb hits. The reason it remained standing was partly because Allied pilots used the spires as a navigation point along the Rhine.

The choir area nearest the nave houses the Shrine of the Three Kings, a golden relic monument said to contain the remains of the three wise men. It’s the largest medieval reliquary in Europe, glimmering with almost 1,000 gemstones. The cathedral also houses a crucifix that’s more than 1,000 years old. Known as the Gero cross, named from the archibishop who commissioned it, dates from around 965 - 980 AD, making it the oldest large-scale crucifix north of the Alps. Carved from oak and painted, it was one of the first to depict a realistic Christ after he had suffered and died.

The cathedral’s stained-glass windows are a sight to behold. The windows above the nave are the 14th-century originals (those were removed during the war; many of its other stained glass originals were destroyed). One large window in particular was replaced in 2007 with a striking modern installation using more than 11,000 squares of colored glass arranged like a pixel mosaic. It’s a stunning intersection of past and present, and somehow, it all works.

Afterward, we stepped back outside into the festive hum of Cologne’s Christmas markets. The market nearest the cathedral spreads out beneath the spires like a whimsical holiday village, with rows of wooden chalets, the smell of roasting nuts, and the welcome warmth of glühwein, which Mark immediately sampled for good measure.

Later in the afternoon, we transferred to our home for the next week – the Uniworld Elizabeth, for our cruise up the Rhine. Fun fact: the Rhine actually flows north toward the North Sea. So even though we’re sailing south, we’re technically traveling “up” the river. Once we settled into our cabin, we enjoyed a cozy happy hour onboard and reconnected with other Inspirato members we’d met on earlier Experiences. There’s something fun about running into familiar faces in an entirely different part of the world.

We remained docked in Cologne overnight, and Wednesday’s itinerary took us to nearby Düsseldorf for a short city tour and our next round of Christmas-market exploring. Düsseldorf has such an interesting personality; it’s part modern business hub, part historic river town, and part fashion capital. Its roots go back to the 12th century when it began as a fishing settlement at the mouth of the Düssel River. Today, it’s known for its cutting-edge architecture, its world-class art scene, and its famous “Kö,” the Königsallee, one of Europe’s most elegant shopping boulevards. Düsseldorf has one other thing going for it – it’s the mustard capital of Germany! Of course, we had to taste test the local yellow stuff atop a hot, tasty bratwurst!

Its Christmas markets are wonderfully varied and spread across several themed squares. One market was located along the river bank and features fully-glassed stalls and decorated Air Stream-like trailers. We also stopped by the oldest bakery in Düsseldorf, Hinkel, for some streudelkuchen and apfelkuchen!

After wandering the markets and soaking up the festive atmosphere, we made our way back to the Elizabeth.

Wednesday evening following dinner on the boat, we were driven to Beethoven’s House – a complex of several buildings including the one where he was born – about 45 minutes away for a lovely private concert. I am taking Mark’s word that it was, indeed, lovely, as I made the mistake of closing my eyes after dinner for a few minutes only to fall into such a deep sleep, I couldn’t rally!

Mark got a great (but a little out of focus) shot of the distant Cologne Cathedral lit up at night as our boat pulled out of port and began our cruise up the Rhine.

More adventures ahead as Thursday we explore two more quaint German towns on the Rhine.