A Day in Cologne
My diary of fleeting moments
A beautiful river. Some fishermen. Birds in the sky. Small forts on the mountains. A whiff of the fresh morning air. Sun on my face. Eyelids half-open, I catch the quickly fading details as the train gathers speed again. On the other side of the Rhine, I can see an ICE train winding its way on a six-hour journey to Munich.
Another hour to go before I reach Koblenz, and thirty more minutes later, Cologne. Its pitch dark now. Yet another tunnel. Ten minutes later, another breathtaking view of the Rhine Valley. I wonder aloud of why so many forts were built so close to each other.
The train driver announces a delay of twenty-seven minutes, and regrets profusely. The announcement was barely audible, so I missed out on the details. Arggh! I shift uneasily in my seat. A old couple eye me from the other end of the almost empty coach. A sense of fear. Excitement. Perhaps, plain curiosity. At Koblenz, two energetic and excited young kids enter the coach with their hassled mother. I look out of the window at the large vessels plying on the Rhine. A young couple on the banks. A patient fisherman. A family on vacation.
As the train continues its journey towards Cologne, the kids jump around. With a huge dazzling smile, they warm up to me. They blabber something to me. My eyebrows crouch. Eyes bulge. All attentive. Its neither English, nor German. I recognise it now. A language that I used to speak when I was a child. How cool it is to learn something for the first time? To learn that kids across the world speak in the same excited language. A known fact learned practically. I look at the mother, busy reading a German daily newspaper. The front page screams of the war in Lebanon. A half-page photo of dead children look back at me.
Finally in Cologne! Stepping out of the Central Station, I find myself bracing upto the huge Cologne Cathedral. A colourful slogan greets me at the tourist office- “Köln ist ein gefühl”. Cologne is a feeling. Hmm. With a map in hand, I wander around in search of a cheap hotel. I walk past several cafes, through various alleys, while the aromas of the Biryani pulls me towards the Taj Mahal! I resist the urge, and another seventeen minutes later, finally find myself in front of a hotel. Not that its hard to find a hotel in Cologne, but getting the right budget hotel is a task. After all, Its only 35 days since the World Cup ended. The hotels are yet to bring down their prices back to the pre- World Cup time.
An hour later, I am in front of the Cathedral, pondering over how best to capture the entire Gothic architecture. Its a World Heritage site, and houses the relics of the Three Magi. I watch the other tourists. Taking photographs. Talking amongst themselves. Watching the huge Cathedral. I see a Japanese man wearing the German team´s jersey with Ballack´s name on the back. Cool. Behind him, another Ballack fan from Japan. Both the Japanese look the same. They are of the same height, and the same built. Amusing. A minute later, its Amazing. To see another seven Japanese tourists wearing the “Ballack” t-shirt. They all look the same.
I climb the narrow never-ending stairs of the Cathedral to reach the spire, to get an enchanting view of the skyline. A couple from Lahore, another from Colombo, yet another from the States greet me on my way up the stairs. Its tiring and exhausting. The view however is absolutely fascinating. Small trains chugging across the old Hohenzollern bridge that connects Cologne Central Station with Deutz-Messe. On the other side of the Rhine, stands the imposing Hilton Towers. The Cologne Opera House, the Cologne Arena are some of the other landmarks that I recognise. Twenty minutes later, and after exchanging greetings with an unending stream of tourists along the narrow stairs of the Cathedral, I reach the ground. Thirsty. Tired. Enthused. I head to the nearest shop. Find myself at the “narrowest souvenir shop in Cologne”. Even before I know it, I finish two bottles of chilled water.
Ambling across the streets, I visit the Rathaus (Town Hall), and some other wonderful typical touristy attractions. A huge poster for “Bharati- A journey through India”, a huge dance spectacle sponsored by India Tourism and Sahara Group, catches my attention. India is so visible.
With another three hours left, I stroll to the Schokoladen Museum (Chocolate Museum). They have a “make-your-own-chocolate” session, which I do not miss. At the Souvenir Shop, I end up running a huge bill for various chocolates. I do not mind it though.
I finally make my way back to the Cathedral. Am unsure about the pink-coloured Hercules Statue which, I think, stands out like a sore thumb. Four men stop me from crossing the square behind the statue. I am told not to walk through the square, but around it. A colourful notice at one end of the square catches my eye.
It turns out that the Cologne Orchestra has a underground auditorium just below the huge square. They do not have noise insulation on their walls and the roof. Am perplexed. Perhaps a positive way of looking at this might be the gainful employment of four youth.
Cologne. Just when I was overwhelmed by the architecture, the gardens, and the other hotspots, I was blown away by the Cologne Orchestra. As I take the Citynightline train to Munich, and look out at the fading lights of the Central Station, the Cathedral, the other buildings in the far distance, I realise how much interesting a day can be. During the course of a day, I got the essence of one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.
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