A Spritz of Cologne before Paris

Since our train to Paris connected in Cologne (Köln), we broke up the journey by staying a couple of hours on Good Friday to revisit the city and its cathedral. Chris remembered his first trip to Europe in 2005 to a chemistry conference in Cologne, and it was startling to realize how much we've changed since then.

The hour of travel seemed short by train; it's really a great way to get around with Daisy. I think she likes how we can completely focus on the book we're reading or a picture we're drawing when we're away from the distractions of home.

Happy train traveler

We stopped across the bridge from the cathedral so we could walk across the Rhein. 

 People "lock up" their love here like on other bridges in Europe. People with names like Nadja, Manfred, and Birgit left their marks here, leaving us to imagine their stories.

I counted the number of times I've been here: at least 10. Many times, I didn't even take out my camera. I often think about what it would have been like for medieval citizens to become so familiar with religious artwork filling these cathedrals, to see in shapes of colored glass what they couldn't read. Although a dozen visits hardly stacks up against a lifetime of religious services, the images on the windows and the figures hovering over the arches have ingrained themselves in us deeply.

When I see space used so confidently like this, it inspires me to create:

Why do people travel to see this cathedral? Is it because it's old? (If so, there is a Romanesque church a few blocks away that is much older and still in excellent condition.) Is it the artistry and technique? (We can surely do those same things today - however, we never would spend such funds.) It must simply be a time capsule of history that preserves the style, the values, and the craftsmanship of the era.

In the train station, Easter decorations combined with a shop store sign to spell "Daisy Charlotte." Very random.