Interrailing Through Germany: Part 1 – Cologne
Cologne Cathedral is the symbol of the city and impresses you from the very first when you step off the train. 1/125s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
I had big plans for 2021. After spending a couple of years learning German, I was going to quit my boring office job and travel around the whole of Germany by train to get a real feel for the country. Sadly, as we all know, 2020 threw a spanner in the works of all of our best laid plans and this big trip never came to fruition. However as I was turning thirty last year I really wanted to do something special, and I decided to revive a portion of my lost trip. I didn’t have the time to do the entire country so instead I spent fifteen days going around western and southern Germany, also by train. The idea of interrailing had interested me for some time, with its fixed price and unlimited travel (at least on my pass) I could cover a large area efficiently and not have to worry about flying with luggage or hiring a car. Naively like many other Brits I thought I was going to be in a for a treat, with a fast and highly efficient German rail system that was going to make what we had back in Blighty feel simply Victorian. I was wrong, very very wrong. It was good to know that the UK is not the only European nation blighted by poor public transportation. That’s why it’s important to travel, to check your assumptions and learn new things!
This major city sits on the River Rhine, although the river banks are far less densely built on than the Thames is in London. Click to enlarge. 1/100s 58mm F1.4 ISO 400 Three Photo Panoramic.
Loreley is a nice callback to my trip to Bingen am Rhein, which unsurprisingly also sat on the Rhine. Boat travel is also popular here. 1/200s 70mm F4.0 ISO 800.
Colonius Tower is another major landmark that can be seen all over the city. 1/640s 70mm F4.0 ISO 64.
One similarity to London however is the abundance of feral parakeets. 1/160s 200mm F4.0 ISO 5000.
On this trip I stayed in several major cities and the first port of call was Cologne, a city that holds extra importance to me as it is where my gran was born. Though she wasn’t German, my family was simply based in the area as part of the army of occupation after the First World War. In theory travelling from London to Cologne is a straightforward endeavour, first take the Eurostar to Brussels and then a high-speed ICE train to Cologne. The first part was fine, but even on my very first day I got a taste of the delights of German trains. It turns out this particular journey is notorious for cancellations, though I had had some forewarning as some who’d travelled to Bingen am Rhein by train had encountered the same issue.
Arriving at Liège-Guillemins railway station in Belgium after my train to Cologne was cancelled turned out to be a boon. 1/400s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
Opened in 2009 this modern train station has plenty of photographic opportunities. 1/200s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
Even if you don't have a cancelled train it's well worth making the detour is you want to see something a bit different. 1/200s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
I had three options:
1) Wait several hours for the next ICE train and hope it would actually show up.
2) Pay extra for a reservation on one of the reliable French trains that run this route.
3) Make a slower journey to Cologne changing at Liège-Guillemins
Ultimately I opted for the third option as I had no idea if the next ICE train would run and paying extra for a French train would in some ways defeat the fun of travelling around Europe on the cheap. It actually turned out to be a very fortunate diversion as Liège-Guillemins railway station is an architecturally famous building designed by Santiago Calatrava. It’s brutalist-inspired modernism is a great place to be taking pictures, with every corner having something of interest which you can explore on different levels. Before long however I was on the next train and finally arriving in Cologne. That night’s sleep was certainly well earned.
Roonstrasse Synagogue is the only pre-war synogogue that was able to survive the Nazis, though it needed extensive rebuilding after the events of Kristallnacht. 1/320s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64. Two Photo Panoramic.
Within Südfriedhof is the British Cemetery which holds the bodies soliders and civilians who died during the times of occupation after the First and Second World Wars. The sword within the cross is a very evocative symbol of death in times of war. 1/640s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
As the British Cemetery contains Commonwealth war graves it is looked after by a team from the UK. 1/200s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
Südfriedhof as a whole is very large and there are many interesting graves, monuments and mausoleums that the public can visit for free. 1/50s 35mm F1.4 ISO 500.
The next day was a public holiday in Germany – The Day of German Unity, which celebrates the reunion between East and West Germany at the end of the Cold War. I’d hoped to witness great celebrations on such an important day, but for Germans allergic to the waving of their own flag this day is about as low key as it gets. A day off work, nothing more, nothing less. Oh and did I mention that almost everything is shut? However this had little impact on my plans as the first place I wanted to visit was the city’s Südfriedhof for a very personal reason. Whilst my family had lived in Germany my great aunt had sadly died here as a teenager and she was buried in the British cemetery within the larger complex. It had been almost thirty years since anyone from the family had visited and I didn’t actually know where her grave was. Thankfully I was able to locate it and beforehand I had found a florist that was open to buy some flowers to lay. Despite having never met her and her death coming decades before I was even born, it was still a very emotional experience. Especially when walking away, leaving her behind once again. I can’t say that there as many points of interest to a tourist as say Highgate Cemetery in London, but there was certainly plenty to see at Südfriedhof and it’s a good illustration of how different German cemeteries look and feel compared to British ones.
Serendipitously my hostel was within a short walk to the Japanese Cultural Institute and the Museum for East Asian Art. A perfect place to escape to on a wet afternoon. 1/320s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
One of the most striking things inside was this statue of a God from the Buddhist religion. 1/40s 35mm F1.4 ISO 800.
Tigers are a powerful reoccurring theme in East Asian art, even in Japan where Tigers were never present. 1/40s 35mm F1.4 ISO 1600.
There's something overwhelmingly creepy about this Noh theatre mask which feels like a real face despite its exaggerated features. 1/30s 35mm F1.4 ISO 800.
My favourite was this series of old photos of Tokyo with some compared to photos of the same scenes today. 1/30s 35mm F1.4 ISO 800.
This fine china tea set is nothing short of elegant. 1/50s 35mm F1.4 ISO 400.
I now had an afternoon to spare, but with the weather taking a turn for the worse I needed something I could do inside. Fortunately for me (and through sheer luck) my hostel was a very short walk to the Japanese Cultural Institute and the Museum of East Asian Art. The latter was closed due to the public holiday but thankfully the latter was open and it was well worth the entrance fee. Covering works from Japan, China and Korea, the museum may not be very big, but what it holds in its collection is very impressive. From more early photographs through to intricately decorated china tea sets to painted screens, there was a great cross section of cultural history on display. I especially enjoyed the photos of Tokyo comparing what it looks like now to what it looked like in the early twentieth century. Finally, to cap off a busy day I took a stroll down to Cologne’s calling card, its gigantic cathedral, before walking alone the River Rhine during golden hour.
The exterior of Cologne Cathedral screams gothic. 1/125s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
The vast interior. 1/40s 35mm F1.4 ISO 800.
The man standing in front of the pillar gives a true sense of scale. 1/100s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
I've noticed in the past that the stained glass in many German churches is much plainer than ones in the UK. That is definitely not the case here. The intricate details are breathtaking. 1/60s 35mm F1.4 ISO 80.
Standing next to the main train station when I first arrived, I was shocked at just how big the cathedral is when I first laid eyes on it. As well as my brief visit on my first full day, I came back the next day to see it in more detail and to pay extra to go all the way up to the spire for the best views of the city. It’s a long way up and there’s certainly a sense of occasion even in the climb. Most the way you are greeted with architecture that isn’t a million miles away from what I was used to back home, but the spire itself was something else entirely. As you can see in the photo it looks like something from an alien spaceship. I can’t think of an equivalent in the UK and I can’t emphasise how much it’s worth paying to go up, there’s just so much to see both inside and outside. If the thought of great heights turns your legs to jelly then fear not, there’s still plenty to see in the Cathedral on terra firma, including some of the most impressive stained glass I’ve seen in Germany. Even when it’s closed you can still marvel at its wonderful outside, and be thankful it managed to survive the Second World War, even if it did need major restoration.
It's a long way to the top, but there's more architecture to admire as well as the views. 1/80s 35mm F1.4 ISO 100.
Inside the Cathedral spire looks like something from an alien world. 1/80s 35mm F1.4 ISO 100.
The view from the top of Cologne Cathedral. 1/1000s 58mm F1.4 ISO 64.
The nearby Dominican Church of St. Andrew looks tiny in comparison. Make sure to take your time to absorb all the small details from such a height. 1/800s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
The Hohenzollern Bridge, the busiest railway bridge in Germany. 1/640s 58mm F1.4 ISO 64.
On the way back down I stopped off to admire the cathedral's mighty bells. 1/50s 35mm F1.4 ISO 800.
Back down on ground level I could walk across the Hohenzollern bridge. It is named after the Hohenzollern kings. 1/250s 112mm F4.0 ISO 64.
In the afternoon I treated myself to a visit of Cologne’s famous chocolate museum, complete with its own small production line for visitors to peruse. This was originally an independent manufacturer but the chocolate making has now been taken over by Lindt. No complaints there. What I really enjoyed about the museum was the sheer variety of things to see and learn about. From where cacao comes from and how its grown to the history of the human consumption of chocolate, there’s plenty to chew over as you tuck into your free samples. I made a conscious effort in the first half to read all the signs in German, but by the time I got to the second half my brain was a bit too fried. A nice addition was the small tropical house where you could see cacao and other rainforest plants up close. The highlight however was being able to make your own custom chocolate bar, selecting up to three additional ingredients for your personalised souvenir. If I remember correctly I picked marshmallows, almonds and cacao nibs. I certainly enjoyed eating it later in my trip. In the run up to that you get to see the step-by-step process of how all the chocolate is made on the factory floor, and if you are coming to Cologne as a family it’s something kids will really enjoy.
The Chocolate Museum is the tastiest tourist attraction in the city. 1/160s 58mm F1.4 ISO 200.
The first part of the museum teaches visitors about the growing of cacao and the importance of preserving our world. 1/60s 35mm F1.4 ISO 400.
A small tropical house shows off a series of rainforest plants. 1/80s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
The middle part of the tour takes you onto the floor of a small chocolate production line which takes you through the steps involved in making bars of chocolate. A true Willy Wonka moment. 1/125s 35mm F1.4 ISO 125.
This is where you get to try some free samples of the freshly made chocolate. Imagine having a chocolate fountain like this in your house. 1/400s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
My personalised chocolate bar being made. 1/125s 35mm F1.4 ISO 250.
With all that jam-packed into a couple of days I only had one thing left to do. Visit Mozart Strasse where my family used to live a century ago. Unfortunately there was no chance of finding the house or apartment they used to be in as it had long been turned to rubble and ash like much of the rest of the city during the Second World War. Whilst these modern apartment buildings hardly gave me a sense of the interwar years, it was still special to be standing where my forebears once stood. Hopefully they made many good memories here even if some were tinged by sorrow.
The last part of the museum goes into the history of chocolate, from its early uses in ancient South America to modern time. This chocolate pot was used for drinking chocolate. 1/60s 35mm F1.4 ISO 250.
I loved this internal stairway at the end of the tour. Another great piece of interesting architecture. 1/60s 35mm F1.4 ISO 320.
In between everywhere I visited I had some time to wander around. As I was walking along the Rhine my eye was drawn to this Hyatt hotel glimmering in the golden hour light. 1/200s 100mm F4.0 ISO 320.
This very Cold War looking structure is Herkulesberg Bridge. Herkulesberg is a park that was also near to my accomodation and a great place to have a stroll on sunny day. 1/320s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
Mozart Strasse was the final stop of my time in Cologne. None of the buildings from the interwar years have survived but it was still special to visit the street where my family lived a century ago. 1/50s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.
And that brought my time in Cologne to a close. After one more night in my hostel I packed up my bags and headed onto the next step on my tour – Stuttgart. From a city of culture to a city of industry. Make sure to tune in next week for that part.
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