Mol to Köln - and into Deutschland!

Well, mein deutsches Abenteuer - my German adventure - really starts today, as I've left Kirily behind in Belgium and I'm now in Germany.  By the way, I'm betting it's warmer in Ballarat than it is here!  And my new rain jacket got a workout, too.

Still in Belgium - they're growing corn between the houses and the train line

No Kiri means I need to learn to take selfies!  Liege Guillemins station (Belgium)

And the high-speed Thalys train I used to get to Germany

My hotel is conveniently close to the station.  Quite a cheap hotel, but a very nice single room with a basin and shower.  The loo is a shared one elsewhere on the 3rd floor.  No elevator, so I'm building up my biceps.

I can see the top of the cathedral spires out my window

Quite comfortable for one person

My first priority was to find the music store where I ordered two Helene Fischer songbooks. This meant I walked past the Dom and into the Altstadt, the "old city", most of which was destroyed in WWII.  The Kölner Dom is the notable exception.

Very excited!  And the concert is tomorrow!!

The Hohenzollern Bridge across the Rhein

This is one of the original city gates, circa 50 BC

The email signal is not very good here, so I'll have to limit the number of photos, which is tough.  Anyway, here is the Kölner Dom, the largest cathedral in Germany.

Wow.  Just wow.

From whichever angle, it's simply awe-inspiring

Why is it that whenever I visit a huge cathedral, the gargoyles are working??

This is on the south side somewhere

This is above the main entrance

A lovely fountain around the south side

A full scale replica of the top of the Gothic spires

And then inside the cathedral, which is also amazing.  It's just so high - one is forced to wonder how on earth they managed to build it.

The main "aisle".  It's really quite impossible to photograph

The main entrance is down to the right

It just goes up forever

Vibrant colours in this magical stained glass window