Cologne and Koblenz

This week we went to Cologne and I quickly fell in love with it. The church is massive and is the first thing you see when you get off of the train. I do not like heights, but the roof tour was one of the coolest things that we have done on this trip. I am a fan of architecture and could not believe how advanced the architects were in the tenth century. I was raised catholic and could not help but think that I would have enjoyed mass more as a child if it was in a cathedral like Cologne.
We went to a Roman-German History museum right next to the cathedral. Dr. Wasser told us to pick out an object so I chose this bust of Emperor Gallienus. He ruled from 253 A.D. to 268 A.D. I chose him because he had a very interesting life. He was a co-emperor with his father and was murdered by his own generals. He also established a mint to pay the soldiers with. I have been to the mint in Fort Worth a few times and find it very interesting the detail that goes into our money. The next day we went to Koblenz. I found the opera house to be very interesting. While the stage was not very big, the work that went into each production was mind-boggling to me. They start the production of sets six to eight months before the opening night of the performance. In Koblenz the Rhine and Mosel rivers combine. It was really cool to see the two very different colored rivers flowing into one. We got to take a gondola up to the fortress. I thought it we were going to see a castle at first and was disappointed that it was a fortress. I think it is very interesting that people fought there not so long ago but did not think it was something I would ever do again. There was a cave that was used to shelter thousands of people from bombs under the fortress that was my favorite part. There was a light show on one of the walls that explained the history of the fortress. It is in a unique location that makes it great for defending so people had been in that area for thousands of years. We go to Norderney this next week and I am very excited to have a spa day.