Köln: Dom

We began today with a tour of the Kölner Dom, a massively imposing church right in the middle of Köln. It's magnificent, and it's the landmark in Köln. If one ever gets lost in the city, just look for the giant towers, they will surely help reorient.

The grandeur of the Dom is best described by my favourite tourist guide book: "With its soaring twin spires, this is the Mt Everest of cathedrals. It's packed with an amazing array of art treasures and its elegant proportions and dignified ambience leave only the most jaded of visitors untouched. . . Its lacy spires and flying buttresses create a sensation of lightness and fragility despite its impressive mass and height. . . This sensation continues inside where a phalanx of pillars and arches supports the lofty central nave. . . Soft light filters through the radiant stained-glass windows, whose dazzling richness deserves closer inspection."

Below, the giantly imposing Dom in Köln. I took these pictures from approximately 100 meters away. Note that even at such a distance from the church, I couldn't get the spiral towers into the picture (1st picture). In the second picture, note how small people are compared to the church.

































The church design follows a brilliant theological statement about our Christian faith: as the church is 'uncomfortably big and imposing', so too is our God. He is bigger than our imagination can bear. On the other hand, the church is 'envelopingly warm'. Again, a true statement about God, as he welcomes us with open arms through his Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord!

Some pictures of the church interior follow.

























































































Some more trivia about the Kölner Dom:
* It's Germany's largest cathedral

* It took over 300 years to build; its construction began in 1248, but because of a financial shortfall, it wasn't finished until 1880
* The remains of the 3 Magi who came to offer gold, myrrh, and frankincense when Jesus was born, are said to be housed in a shrine inside the church
* Some of the stained windows in the church are 700+ years old
* The main tower of the cathedral can be climbed. It only takes 509 steps to get to the top! ;)

* Until the Eiffel tower was built, the Dom was the tallest building in Europe.

Let's see, what else did we do today. Oh yeah, WM. After the tour of the Dom we parked ourselves at a restaurant and watched the Italy-Australia game, while eating dinner. It was nice and relaxing, but truthfully said, I can't eat well right now. It hurts like hell everytime I swallow any food. Coffee hurts my throat because it's too bitter and too hot, and beer hurts my throat because it's too cold.

The only thing that tastes good right now is Halls throat candy. They are a godsend. Oh, by the way, Italy won 1-0. They have a way of winning games they probably don't deserve winning.

Finally, in the evening we went to a WM game. Ukraine beat Switzerland in penalties. Final score: 1 - 0. The game was so-so. It's the last game I'll attend at this WM. From now on, the television will be my best friend.

oday's WM scores:
Italy 1 - Australia 0
Ukraine 1 - Switzerland 0