The future is looking bright. While here in Troisdorf, Germany we have had the honor of spending the days with Michelle and Danielle Kern and their lovely family. It has bee a beautiful glimpse at what our future family could become. Bethany knew Michelle since middle school and we had the opportunity to see their ministry, meet some friends and now we got to see some sites with them. We visited Cologne, Germany. Cologne is one of Germany’s 4th largest cities and was one of the ones that was the most destroyed by WWII.
Bethany and I met their family at the Troisdorf train station for our day trip to the city center of Cologne. It seems many Germany cities are all built around a pedestrian city center full of sites, shops and delicious snacks. We started at The Kölner Dom which was a huge old church. In many ways the doors reminded me of Notre Dame, but in every other way it was different. Blackened through years of pollution and dirty rain the church was virtually black, aside from the parts that had been refinished. A local joke is that the Dom is never complete, they are always renovating it.
Side note: This is a very popular destination for bachelor/bachelorette parties as we saw roughly 15 in the four hours we were there.
At some point in the Dom construction I believe an architect said… “It needs something a little extra… maybe some spires?” If nothing else, no one can say he didn’t follow through on that. If I didn’t know better I’d think Dom meant “porcupine.” Luckily I ask before speaking and it means cathedral. It was another beautifully oppressive looking building inside and out with great stained glass including one section done by a modern German artist. Great to look at, but Daniel is pretty sure he could have done it too.
One nice thing about having friends is that Bethany and I finally get to be in a few photos together. There is finally evidence that we are on the trip together!
As we continued our adventure we walked through the pedestrian center of Cologne and Daniel and I found ourselves standing outside jewelry shops while our wives practiced “extreme shopping.” We looked to our left and right and saw many other husbands in the same situation and chuckled to ourselves. We stopped for “Berliner” which is basically a jelly donut, but don’t tell Daniel that, they are far superior in his mind. It’s all about what’s on the inside.
After stopping at an Italian restaurant we headed down to the Reine river. A large river that cuts through Cologne & Bonn as large vessels transporting coal. As loud tourists walk along the river Germans respond by shaking their head through furrowed brows. It came time to settle and we chose a nice stretch of grass in front of some charming German architecture. I thought it was Swiss, but that made Daniel Sad… Poor Daniel, no one likes to see a German cry.
The rest of the night was spent with them in their home relaxing and talking. Though we didn’t see many sights, Germany has been one of my favorite stops so far. I’m looking forward to and bummed for our last day to come tomorrow.
Cheers,
B&B
