The boy who fell in love with the Cologne cathedral
 

Many years ago, I traveled to Marburg, Germany, for a month-long course in German. The group included several adults, mostly American teachers of German and teenagers. We took several excursions, one of which was to Köln/Cologne, where we visited the cathedral.

One of the boys was a big macho sixteen-year-old from California, a tennis player, not a kid you'd expect to be unduly interested in Gothic architecture. But this kid was stunned. He had of course never seen anything like the Kölner Dom in California, and he fell in love with it. There and then he decided to figure out a way to spend one of his high school years in Germany.

It seemed so unlikely. But I know that he arranged with one of those organizations (AFS, maybe) to spend a year in Germany.

I've always remembered this boy and wondered what he did with his life.

Hi Pegontheroad,

I hope that your young friend was able to pursue his dream.

I loved the Cathedral at Cologne – particularly the museum/crypt underneath. It contained the most fabulous liturgical vestments and jeweled chalices and objects of devotion.

If I recall, there was a magnificent cross made of diamonds. Have you visited this museum associated with the cathedral?

I don't believe I did visit the museum, but then this trip took place in 1972, and I've forgotten a lot--except for highlights of the trip, such as when we were walking around Marburg castle, and some of the students saw a plant in the garden that they said was marijuana.

A couple of years ago, we took friends from Japan into Cologne Cathedral. It was Sunday morning, and a catholic service was ongoing, with the priest chanting the liturgy with his powerful voice.

We kept just standing behind the barrier in the visitor zone, and after a couple of minutes the Japanese lady, a zen buddhist, revealed that she just had a spiritual experience which helped her to overcome the her mother's recent death.

Like St. Paul’s in London, Cologne Cathedral somehow survived the devastation of WWII which obliterated so much of eastern France/western Germany.

Here is a pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kt/4465008/

Latedaytraveler: That picture is absolutely stunning!

I believe the same thing happened to another Gothic cathedral, the Münster, in Freiburg am Breisgau. It was only lightly damaged.

The picture is misleading. Cologne Cathedral was hit by 17 bombs and although the visible damage was moderate, these bombs caused haircracks in the sandstone. This is the major reason why you bareley see the cathedral without scaffolding. They still have to repair WWII damage.

I leave it to the readers' discretion to think about the military sense of these bombings.

I think what is dramatic about it, among other things, is its bulk and the way it rises up like something pushing forth from the almost underworld.

When I first saw it in 1970 there certainly wasn't any scaffolding but I vividly remember the BLACK exterior and the years and years of grime.

These days I have found it inspiring to simply sit in that cafe directly across the plaza from the front doors and gaze at it.

Dukey, I was in Cologne around 2008. I thought they had started to clean parts of the exterior at that time.

No doubt it would take a lifetime to complete. Just read that about 20,000 visitors a day tour the Cathedral.

Peg,
a student I took to Italy was so enamored with all the ancient places in Rome and Pompeii, she went to college that fall and majored in Archaeology. She has been on digs all over the world, including Egypt. She went on to become an attorney specializing in issues dealing with artifacts.

Another student changed her major to Art History after the trip, and a third returned to Florence two years later to study painting. You never know how much travel will affect a young person.

Peg,
Even though I lived in Germany for 4 years, I visited Cologne just once, on a recent trip with my husband. We went straight there from the airport and I was exhausted. I knelt in the side nave to look at a painting and fell sound asleep with my head on my hands. From a distance I appeared to be having a religious experience. Someone else saw me and was so deeply moved she crossed herself, knelt down nearby and began to pray.

All of this was wildly entertaining to my husband.