Cologne Cathedral

The reason I chose to study in Germany is pretty much 1 city: Cologne.

Which shocks people when I tell them that. But, it’s true.

I found a piece on the Cologne Cathedral when I was younger, I don’t remember where. But I read it, was fascinated and proceeded to look up more info on the Cathedral and the city.

Cologne Cathedral from across the Rhein.

I took this on 15 October 2011, when we were in Cologne. It was only my 6th photo of the cathedral total, so I’m pretty impressed with how it came out, especially since I took this photo on the fly while running late getting to a meeting point.

This cathedral is massive. It has the largest façade of any cathedral in Europe I believe or perhaps it was the world. Well, details like that don’t matter. It’s so massive in person that it’s shocking and awe-inspiring. There’s really nothing like it in the world. I’ve seen a lot of cathedrals here in Germany, a few in Switzerland and France as well. None of them can compare with this. I don’t honestly think that anything else quite like it exists. Even other similar time-period cathedrals are different. The Duomo (Milan Cathedral) is massive, gorgeous too, but it cannot hold a candle to this in my opinion (I can admit an extreme bias based on my long-standing love of Cologne).

I was in Cologne for 2 days this last fall, but I didn’t get to see all the museums I wanted to. So I’m going back maybe 1st week in July, perhaps 2nd week. I’ll make a weekend of it, go there before I go home. Because, in addition to seeing the 2 or so museums I didn’t get to see, I’m going to go back here again. I climbed up the spire all the way to the top, which is really freaky if you’re claustrophobic I might add. It’s breath-taking and insane in some respects. But I want to take some photos of the bells. The St. Petersglocke in particular. It’s the one of the largest free-hanging bells in the world, I think 24 tons, though the bell it replaced was 27 tons. I didn’t get photos of the bells in October, we went straight up, and then had to come back down too quickly, because it was 5pm and they close it for safety then. So I want to go back.

And strange part. I’m no Catholic. However, this is one of the few cathedrals I actually feel comfortable in. Normally I feel uneasy in churches…almost like their God knows I’m not Christian, and it’s uncomfortable. I don’t really think/know if he’s judging me or not, but I just feel like I’m intruding on something. For some reason, in the Cologne Cathedral I don’t get that sense of unease. It’s a very Christian building, I know that. And it’s got centuries of history to speak for it. I should feel just as uncomfortable there as I do in far newer churches in the States, but I don’t. I think there’s something to the vast history, the Gothic feel…

There’s just something there that makes me feel comfortable. Perhaps there’s a chance that I feel comfortable because my family has a long history of German Catholicism. Maybe some of that has rubbed off on me and I can relate because of the long history there. Or it might be that it’s a site I’ve wanted to see for so long that I’ve blocked any mental discomfort I might usually feel. I suspect though, given the unease I’ve felt in other cathedrals, it isn’t that. For some reason, this cathedral speaks to me in a way. I can’t really explain it all too well, but I definitely felt fine there. It’s awe-inspiring on so many accounts. The size of the building, the details…how intricate it all is, just how brilliant and gorgeous it is. It’s also dark. It’s definitely Gothic.

It’s not like the Dresden Frauenkirche that is all light inside, painted walls like marble and feels alive. I mean, the Cathedral is alive in a way…with the people there. But…I feel like the Cologne Cathedral has such a long history, you cannot avoid the death that’s been marked there. It’s a heavier atmosphere, more somber and serious at the Cologne Cathedral. It feels more like an ancient place, a place with the weight of centuries on it. Somehow it seemed to me that it has seen everything that has happened to it and around it. And if walls could talk, I feel the Cathedral would have reams to say. It feels burdened with that memory, but not constrained.

14 October – 1st photo of the Cathedral.

And perhaps that’s why I felt no discomfort with the Cologne Cathedral. It is an old place, with hundreds of years of history. However, even with all that history, I didn’t feel constrained at all. It feels to me like it stays pace with the city around it. Many of the other cathedrals I’ve visited haven’t had that same thought. The Duomo in Milan felt constrained, the Frauenkirche in Dresden just feels too new (understandable considering they completely rebuilt it in the last 20 years), and the others I’ve seen just feel as though they are relics. And the Cologne Cathedral is a relic of sorts. It’s old beyond anything we have in the States, it shows that age. It’s stylized to a long-gone age. It definitely breaths that age from its pores when you’re inside. However, it also seems to breath new life in some respects, as though it will always be there, no matter how modern the rest of Cologne gets.

Even though I’m not Christian, this place called to me in a way I won’t deny. There’s more here than just an old building. It’s got an atmosphere to it that I hadn’t felt elsewhere. So I’m going back to Cologne. It’s a city you can’t visit only once, and the Cathedral is always worth a second visit.

Terezín and Prague

So I’ve been in Prague and Dresden for a week, pardon the lack of posting. I haven’t really had internet access, and it was a really long week to travel. I saw lots of things I love and am glad to have seen though, so it was definitely worth it.

While in the Czech Republic we (my program) went to Theresienstadt – the concentration camp just outside the Czech city Terezín. Definitely a shock to the system. Seeing something like that is disturbing in any circumstances, but I think it good to visit sites like this, so people can see what has happened in the past. But, it was shocking. Because my family is from the Czech Republic…and theoretically some of my family could have been held as political prisoners, if not in Theresienstadt then perhaps in another prison. Because if my family in that time is anything like my family today – they would have been outspoken and would have been unwilling to go along with the regime. That’s speculation of course, and it’s very likely that no one in my grandparents’ extended families was there, but just the very thought that it could have happened is a bit unnerving. Not to mention – the site is just creepy to begin with. There’s this quiet intensity there, like energy that has never gone away. So seeing that was something of a shock. Also, I suppose there’s something to the fact that I am the first person in my family in 3 generations to go back ‘home’ and seeing something like that does really strike at the heart and soul. Not that I would wish to not have seen it…but I think there’s something to be said for me seeing Theresienstadt long before I see any of the more traditional sites that people visit. I’ve never been to a concentration camp before, but I don’t know if I could see another. The energy is sad, depressing. I would like to know what has happened, accept it, remember it…but move on to the future. Because I think that the spirit of a people is far more what they are in the present, what they’ve made of themselves, than in past events.

For me seeing Prague, alive and full of people, was more of what the Czech people are. It’s a huge city…full of life and the atmosphere is amazing. I think I have a thing for food and beliefs….because I always seem to be most comfortable where I find good food and a city that is bustling. Czech food is delicious. Even as a vegetarian I had no problems. Actually, for all that the Czechs usually have a far more meat-heavy diet than even Germans, I had less trouble finding food in Prague than I’ve had in the 6 months I’ve been living in Germany. But, I like food and it makes me feel more at home in a city with good food and good atmosphere. So Prague was warm, inviting…absolutely stunning. I got to wander the Old City, see the astronomical clock, visit museums and go shopping. I bought some Bohemian crystal, nothing fancy but they are quite nice and I just felt at peace in buying them. So I have a lion, a globe and a dragon sitting on top of a crystal ball. Those three are nice, because they kind of called to me. I have a thing for all feline creatures, and I’ve always liked dragons. The globe was for travel, so I think I’d gotten a little push to buy these things.

I loved seeing the Czech Republic though. It was warm and inviting, the people are nice and friendly. A lot of the kids in the program had complaints about how the Czechs were “cold, stand-offish, reserved, unfriendly”, or about how they would just walk right past the kids if they were standing on a sidewalk. I had not noticed any of this, or seen anything strange about how the people were. I thought that they reminded me a lot of my family. Well, not so surprising, when my family is partly Czech. But…I don’t think the people are any of that. Reservation I understand – it makes sense with the history. But I found them all nice, polite, perhaps not the most verbose and immediately talkative like an US citizen would expect, though they were quite friendly if you were patient and were willing to listen. I had one woman, when I was buying some of my crystal, ask me why I was speaking to her in English. She had thought I was a native Czech and had been confused about why I didn’t just speak Czech. That was perhaps the highlight of my week. I was surprised she’d thought it, but it was also pleasant to realize that people thought I was just another one of the natives. So perhaps I’m far more like my Czech family than I had thought before. And while most of the students had problems with the “cold” Czech people, I think it more an inherent difference in attitudes and expectations. US citizens talk too much in public sometimes, they’re very forward and intrusive at times…all part of US culture. Not part of Czech culture. So the discomfort from most of my classmates I think stemmed from laying artificial expectations over a people that they would be “American”, when that’s clearly impossible.

Ah, but this isn’t completely just related to my beliefs. It is quite personal, I am aware. I think though….getting to go back to where my family comes from is helpful. I learned a lot about myself, and about how I see things. Seeing Theresienstadt was hard, but it was also something that I’m glad I saw. Going to Prague was also something I’m grateful for. I know more about myself and about my family than before. I also saw more of myself in the area around Prague…and in it’s people, so it was a bit of self-discovery for me. I’m sure I’ll be able to put this into better words eventually, when I’ve been home longer than 24 hours with not too much sleep. But I wanted to write something, because seeing Prague was perhaps one of the best decisions I’ve made.