Cologne Cathedral is even more stunning at night.
On this solo trip to Germany, I visited Cologne twice. The first time I came, the weather shifted three times in a single day—sunshine one minute, then wind and rain the next, and then rain and wind mixed with brief bursts of sun all at once... My first experience in Cologne was so cold that I had no choice but to take refuge in a century-old restaurant and feast on German pork knuckle 🤣🤣🤣.
And this time, returning to Cologne, the main goal was to tour the interior of the cathedral, as I hadn't gone inside for a proper visit last time. Currently, there are three types of tickets: 12€ for the interior, 8€ for the Treasury, and 8€ for the tower climb. A combined ticket for all three is 24€.
In the end, I went for the combo. (If you aren't particularly interested in historical artifacts, I’d suggest skipping the Treasury. Also, if you’re not in the best physical shape or are afraid of heights, you can skip the tower climb as well and just stay inside the cathedral to soak in this magnificent and breathtaking work of architectural art.)
The stained glass in the cathedral is incredibly intricate, and I got very lucky this time. While visiting the interior, I happened to hear someone playing the pipe organ. Combined with the cathedral's acoustic system, the organ’s sound was presented perfectly. This was one of the most delightful surprises of this trip 🎉
I spent the entire afternoon until evening in Cologne.
Climbing the tower was exhausting,
but since the weather today was very pleasant, the view from the spires was truly refreshing. Before I knew it, I had stayed in Cologne until nightfall.
There was actually a reason for staying so long:
because last time I was in Cologne,
my return trip happened to coincide with the Friday afternoon rush hour.
Therefore, to avoid the crowds again,
I intentionally chose to leave after 8 PM.
I didn't expect to see Cologne Cathedral at night by chance.
Since the sky wasn't completely dark yet,
the illuminated cathedral building paired with the deep blue sky
looked absolutely stunning in photos.
One final surprise:
the RE5 train, which I chose because it was supposed to take only 30 minutes,
ended up stopping at unknown small stations for long periods during the journey (likely yielding the tracks).
It dragged a half-hour trip into nearly an hour...
(The kicker is, it actually departed on time 🙄🙄🙄)
I really hope that before leaving Germany,
I don't encounter something like this again 😂