Trip to Köln!

This week we went to Cologne for the first time! As soon as we stepped out of the train station we saw a huge and beautiful cathedral. We walked to the EL-DE Haus, which is the former headquarters of the Gestapo and is now a museum. The most interesting part of the museum for me was the propaganda used by the Nazis. Even though the Gestapo was supposed to be the secret police, they had put out a Nazi flag advertising where the headquarters were located so that people could betray each other. They also organized extremely large crowds for the parades and such when Hitler came so that people would get swept up in the celebrating with their community. Our tour guide related it to being in a large crowd at a football game: even if you didn’t know the people around you, you would celebrate a win together as if you were all good friends. I also learned that Hitler subsidized radios in order for his propaganda to reach more people. Downstairs from the museum were the prison cells where forced laborers or “political enemies” were kept. These were interesting to see because the walls were covered with inscriptions from the prisoners, so we were able to get some insight into what it was like there. It was so moving to see the prison cells and read the inscriptions, as well as reading individual people’s stories from their time there.

After the museum we ate lunch and got Berliners from a bakery on the street. We took a tour of the city of Cologne, which was especially interesting because there are still many things left over from the Roman Empire. We saw pieces of the old city wall, a beautiful tile floor and other artifacts that had been buried long ago and recently dug up, and we walked through the old sewer system. The city ground now is quite a bit higher than it used to be, so there is so much history just buried beneath where Cologne is now.

Next we went to the chocolate museum! This was really cool because we got to see the machines used to make chocolates and each one was labeled with a description of its step in the process. I really liked that we actually got to see it in action when we went, and of course that we got free samples!

The last event on our trip was the rooftop tour of the cathedral. Words cannot even describe how amazing this experience was. We went up to the top of the cathedral and looked out at a 360 view of the city all lit up at night, and the rest of the beautiful cathedral below us. Then we saw inside the roof of the cathedral where the bell system was and got to see/hear them chime. Our tour guide also explained the incredibly long process of building the cathedral and the different stages it was in in the past. We then walked along the outside of the roof and got a view of the city and the church from all around. Then we walked along the balcony inside the cathedral and saw its huge interior and all the stained glass windows. We then climbed down the endless spiraling staircase. The whole tour was just stunning.

            The trip to Cologne was the highlight of my week and I am so grateful that had such a wonderful opportunity with such great tour guides!