Weekend in Cologne

 Last weekend we had a scout camping trip and school play rehearsals get canceled for many reasons, not least of which was a rainy weather forecast.  The kids had Friday off school thanks to an Italian holiday and parent teacher conferences.  Last year John and My Boy took a road trip far enough north to get German food in Italy.  So that became the goal for this week as well.  To make this happen we took a last minute weekend trip to Germany.  We found the cheapest tickets into Germany and went to Cologne.  

I'd heard of Cologne, but didn't know anything about it.  What a great city!  We really enjoyed the weekend.  The night before leaving I looked up things to do in Cologne.  I was happy to see lists of 25 things to do in Cologne.  Great!  There are at least 25 things to do.  We trimmed the list to a small handful and headed out.

Cologne is know for its Christmas markets.  The decorations were starting to go up.  We saw signs advertising the markets, but they don't start for a couple of weeks.  If we had come over Thanksgiving the city would have been in full Christmas mode.  I did pick up some pretty tree decorations made of straw.  They look like stars or snowflakes and are traditional in Germany and Scandinavia.  

We stayed in a fun budget hotel.  The room was designed to be rented out by the bed, but for now is only available to families and small groups.  It was basic but fun.  The kids loved the cubby bunk beds.  We liked the single room with four separate beds.  There were lockers, but there wasn't a desk or any chairs, just two poofs.  We could have used two more.  Instead people hung out in the lobby where there were comfy chairs and tables.  We spent a bit of time there one evening while My Girl finished up her homework.

One of the things we wanted to see was the Stadt museum.  It is a museum of the history of the city from Medieval to modern times.  Unfortunately, it was closed in preparation for a move to a new location.  Even though it was closed it was still an interesting building to see.  The old museum was built in 1594-1606 as the city's armory or arsenal.   It remained a military building until the 1919 treaty of Versailles demilitarized the region.  After that it housed several different local government offices and later, the museum.  The building, like much of the city, was heavily damaged during WWII.  The exterior shell survived and the interior has been rebuilt.  

I love the details on these old buildings.  The building itself is rather austere and utilitarian.  The colorful shutters and little soldiers on the shutter holders were delightful.  In 1991 a golden winged Ford Fiesta was added to the top of the stair tower as a "temporary" art piece.  It's still there.

The south side of the armory sits on an old Roman wall.  Next to the building is a little plaza with a fountain made out of the old wall.  There is even a statue of the Roman she wolf.  It felt so out of place with a Gothic cathedral in the background, but it was a reminder of the reach of the Roman empire.

Cologne cathedral was impressive.  It's the first truly Gothic style church we have seen.  My Girl delighted in the flying buttresses and gargoyles, so different from the Baroque style that dominates Rome's churches.  They say that Rome wasn't built in a day.  Neither are Gothic cathedrals, especially this one.  Building began in 1248 when the foundation stones were laid.  Prior to this, the site had been the location for previous churches built in the 4th and 8th centuries.  In the early 12th century the archbishop of Cologne "acquired" the relics of the Three Kings and brought them from Milan to Cologne.  These relics were religiously significant and attracted pilgrims from across Europe.  They were so important that the archbishop decided they needed a new cathedral that reflected their status.  This new cathedral was planned in the fashionable Gothic style of the day and modeled after the new Gothic cathedrals in France.  Work went on, and off and on, then paused for about 400 years before beginning again in 1840.  Construction finally finished in 1880 more or less using the original plans.  The whole thing reminded me of a novel I read years ago about the building of a Gothic cathedral.  The book wasn't a favorite, but it was an interesting peek into what it might have been like to build something so massive. 

The surface is black in places, not from dirt, but from a reaction of the sulfuric acid in the rain of industrial Europe and the stone.  The exterior is constantly being cleaned and repaired, but it's impossible to have it all clean at once.

The interior was impressive as well.  There were many beautiful things.  I loved the vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows.  One even had the images of the four evangelical saints with their symbolic animals.  The reliquary of the Three Kings wasn't available during our visit.  That part of the church is open on January 6, Three Kings day.

We took the time to climb all 533 steps of the South Tower.  After the climb my pedometer said I had climbed 22 floors with more to come later in the day.  I loved the view from the top and the close up view of the architectural details from the windows on the way up and down.  Parts of the tower interior had dates carved in the walls.  I noticed them beginning at 1870.

The weekend turned into a game as we checked off our list of things to do.  Pretzels.  Check.  Yummy food.  Check.  Gothic Cathedral complete with flying buttresses.  Check.  Colorful fall leaves.  Check.  Shopping.  Check check.  There were even a few unexpected checks.  Italian grandpa buskers singing Volare on a corner in the shopping district.  Check?  Or as My Girl says, "Achievement unlocked."

Food was the thing on the top of our list.  Italian food is good, but we wanted something completely different, specifically goulash.  We found a small neighborhood place where they didn't speak much English and they looked at us funny when we walked in.  That's a good sign.  We sat at the table and ordered our drinks.  The waiter asked us if we wanted to eat.  We said yes expecting menus.  Instead we were brought bowls of goulash and rolls.  For a few euro you get a little bowl of yummy meaty slightly spicy Hungarian goulash and a crusty flavorful roll.  Included in the price is a refill on the sauce.  Of course we got the refills and extra rolls.  There is only one thing to eat on the menu.  There are lots of different beers, but only one type of food.  John said it was in the top 100 things he has ever eaten in his life.  We went back the next night.  The waiter laughed at us and told us that they were closed on Sunday.  We bought a can to take home with us.  You can order it online or pick up the 10 liter tub if you are having a party.

Cologne was heavily bombed during WWII. It was the site of over 260 separate air raids and the first Allied 1000 bomber raid.  The cathedral was even the site for a tank battle before the German forces retreated across the river.  The downtown has been rebuilt but many of the historic buildings were lost.  We found a church that had only been partly rebuilt and is now a POW memorial.

image source

"Prisoners of war are still waiting to be returned home"

The treasury is in the lower levels of the cathedral.  Cologne was an important city and pilgrimage site during the middle ages.  The church prospered as a result.  Later in the 16th century money and gold poured into the Catholic church from the new world and even more gold objects were produced.  I can't image the impact of the opulence of the cathedral and treasure on people living very simply in low stone houses.  It would have been quite impressive.

Some of my favorite items were the tapestries and the stone work on display.  I was also intrigued by the jewelry of a young woman buried in the church.  The grave was discovered during 20th century renovations and excavations.  Based on the coins and other items found it is estimated that she died before 526 AD.  She must have been a wealthy woman.  She had a headband, bracelets, earrings and other jewelry made from gold, silver, and garnets.  It was all very finely made.

Three Kings tapestry

The kids enjoyed seeing the colorful autumn leaves in the open spaces and the park along the river.  It felt so festive.  The trees here in Rome either stay green or the leaves just turn a dull brown when they fall off.  It isn't interesting at all.  

We had a great weekend.  It was the perfect change of pace and scenery that I didn't really know I needed.

Scout trips to the south

We've had a lot of fun with scouting here in Rome.  We are a small group here so we sometimes join in with the troops in Naples.  This summer the council camps were cancelled because of uncertainty with international travel etc.  By the time summer came around it was OK to travel, but earlier in spring cases were spiking and schools were temporarily online.  With the council camp in Switzerland closed for the season the troops in Naples decided to put on their own camp at Carney park.  Carney park is a US military recreation area in the crater of a volcano just outside of Naples.  We were there a year and a half ago for a camporee.  It's a little piece of America where you pay in dollars and you can buy root beer in the vending machines.

The program for this year's camp was a lot of fun.  There were a couple days of merit badge classes and then fun adventure outings outside of camp for the last few days.  I taught the art and public health merit badges.  I even came up with a game to teach about various diseases, their causes, and how they are spread.  That's a fun one with scouts (cringe).  My teaching partner on that one was really great.  He works in public health with the Navy and was really informative when it came to providing real life examples and details.  The wilderness survival teacher was hard core.  He smiled the whole time, but no tarps allowed for the overnight shelters.

The adventure days were really fantastic and unique.  Activities included white water rafting, aqua-trekking, speleo-rafting, and snorkeling.  I had to look up a couple of those things.  I wasn't sure what they meant.  Aqua-trekking is hiking in a river.  The scouts and leaders had a great time sliding down rocks and jumping off cliffs, not too high of course.  The speleo-rafting was similar.  They took little rafts up a river and into and through a cave.

I went with the slightly less adventurous, but also less strenuous, snorkeling.  We were led by a Navy seal who had some connections with a local outfitter.  They took us across Naples bay to Baiae, a submerged Roman town.  Baiae was a resort town for the ancient Roman elite.  Through the water we could see the walls and mosaic floors of the ruins.  In other locations there are columns and statues standing.  (Sorry, I don't have any underwater picture, but you can find plenty online.)  It was a lot of fun to get in the water and cool off and the scenery was quite impressive. Across the water you could see the Arogonese/Spanish fortress called the castle of Baia.  The castle was built in the late 1400s on the site of a villa owned by Emperor Nero.

Toward the end of the week there was an order of the arrow ceremony.  My Girl was nominated by her virtual troop to be an OA member.  She now gets to go to an OA ordeal sometime in the next two years.  I'm not sure how or when that will happen.  They usually take place in Germany, since that is where most of the scouters seem to live.  That is a long way for a short weekend.  Hopefully something else will come up.

Even though it was hot and a bit muggy the scouts played endlessly with a chewed and broken three sided boomerang toy they found.  It was probably someone's lost dog toy.  Because it was broken it flew in very unpredictable ways.  I'm not sure what the game was.  It was a little Calvinball, and involved a lot of running around.

Each fall the scouts go kayaking.  The first time we went I was warned about the cold water.  It was November, after all.  I prepared like I was going to Santa Cruz.  I didn't need to.  It was a beautiful day and the water was warmer than mid-summer in Monterey Bay.  We missed a year but we were all excited to go again this year.

A steep stairway down to a narrow beach

A bit of football/kayaking

Palace of the Spirits

I think of it as Naples, but we were actually a bit west of Posillipo in and around the Gaiola marine park.  It's a beautiful spot with little islands, cliffs, natural and ancient manmade caves, and a stone arch between mini-islands.  You can see the remains of ancient Roman villas and stairways cut into the cliffs.  The sea level has changed as the land rose and fell with volcanic activity, so some of the ruins are now underwater while other ruins are on top of the cliffs.  We went as far as a little cove where gasses bubbled up from the floor.  Everyone got out for a swim before heading back.  On our way back I saw what I thought was trash floating in the water.  I was a bit disappointed until I got a closer look.  It wasn't trash.  It was little chunks of pumice floating with some seaweed.  I've never seen floating rocks before.  It was a gorgeous day for kayaking, swimming, and cliff jumping.  I hope we are able to go again next year.

Stone stairway carved into the cliff

Ancient manmade caves

Jet lag in Lisbon

Our original flight back to Rome was cancelled so when we rescheduled we arranged for a few days in Lisbon.  Rome is hot and empty this time of year so a few days in a new city sounded like a good idea.  (Well, not empty.  It's the feria, where everyone leaves town and the shops close.  There are still plenty of tourists in the center.)

Our experience in Lisbon was interesting.  When you are awake during the curfew at 2:00 am and sleepy well before dinner it really limits the time you have to go out and see things.  My first impression was that the city was much grittier than Rome and not as old, even though the area has been inhabited since the iron age.  Part of that is due to the earthquake of 1755.  That, together with the fires and tsunami that followed, destroyed most of the city.  Tens of thousands of people were killed, about one third of the city's population.  At the time, Lisbon was the capital of a wealthy, but declining, global colonial empire.  In addition to the destruction of palaces, warehouses, churches, and the newly constructed opera house, precious libraries, archives, and works of art were lost.  Much of the Alfama district survived.  It remains a warren of streets on a rocky hill.  The Baixa district was completely gone.  It was soon replaced by a neighborhood with fashionable streets that were wide and straight.  Today, it is an elegant part of town popular with tourists.

Lisbon reminds me of San Francisco in some ways.  It is a hilly city near the water, destroyed by an earthquake and fire with historic trams/cable cars and a big red-orange suspension bridge.  Delightful sea breezes even kept it cool-ish in August.

The Golden Gate of Lisbon across the river Tagus

Tram 28 - popular with tourists

The streets in the Alfama district are so narrow that the trams just barely fit.  The wheels on the trams are spaced to allow for tight turns in the windy streets.  We rode a little funicular in Baixa.  It's a tram carriage on a different wheel base to accommodate the steep hill.

On the funicular

Street art on a very close wall

Trippy mosaic pavement

Beautiful sidewalks in Baixa

The most notable things in the city are the tiled buildings and the mosaic sidewalks.  They are beautiful.  I kept taking pictures of the buildings and the tile.  It isn't just old buildings.  It is a tradition that continues.  The tiles are called azulejos since they are traditionally blue (azul).  Yellow and green and other colors sneak in too.  Some buildings have overall patterns and others are more mural-like.  They are all beautiful.

In addition to the tiles there is no shortage of ceramics.  Some are more rustic and others more refined and they are made in both traditional and modern styles.  I loved it all.  There are lots of places to buy ceramics, including a place where you can buy by the kilo and a factory where you can still get traditional wall tiles.

Traditional Portuguese ceramics

One thing we had a hard time with was the food.  This is a city where the cuisine is based on sardines and salt cod.  I'm not a fan of either one.  The abundance of fish and the fact that we ate much of our food either very early or very late depending on how you want to look at it, made it a bit tough.  We ended up eating a lot of delicious bread and sweet and savory breakfast pastries.  They did not disappoint, unlike many pretty, but tasteless Roman pastries.  We definitely tried the famous custard tarts.  In Lisbon they call them Pastéis de Nata, but I'm told that they originated just outside of town in Belem.  They say that the tarts came about because the monks used egg whites for their communion wafers and needed something to do with the yolks and so the custard tart was born.

If you want to try Portuguese pastries I just read about a Portuguese bakery in San Jose.  You can get the custard tarts there.  It will be almost like traveling to Lisbon.

The best thing I ate was a melon unlike any I've every had before.  I bought it because it looked like a cantaloupe on the outside, but the inside was green like a honeydew.  The flavor was a combination of the best of both.  It was amazing and I have no idea what it is...  I just looked it up.  It could be a galia.  Maybe it was a Masada melon.  It was a bit orange-ish near the seeds.  Maybe it was something else.  I can't remember if the netting covered the whole skin or if there were lines.  I might know what it is now, but I don't know if I will ever find one again.

I'm sure food we like exists in Lisbon.  We just had a hard time finding it.  A trip where we are awake during restaurant dinner hours would help.

Salt cod for sale in the grocery store.

We stayed in the Alfama district near Lisbon Cathedral, or Sé de Lisboa.  It's quite interesting and so very different from the Baroque churches of Rome.  It is the oldest surviving church in the city, originally built in the 12th century.  They call the style Romanesque, but the builder was influenced by the Norman cathedrals of France.  This style of architecture was spread throughout Europe during the time of the Crusades.  It is sort of pre-gothic, although gothic bits were added in later renovations.  Excavations in the courtyard have revealed evidence of Roman, Visigoth, and Moorish building and habitation.

Twin bell towers of Lisbon Cathedral

Some of the gothic bits including the tomb of a knight

Tile mosaics in the baptistry

Tomb of the Knight's wife

Update:  My friend told me that in the art of this time dogs are a symbol of fidelity.  She has two little guys and her husband has a big smiley pooch.  I like to think that they really cared for each other.

The Castelo de Sao Jorge, St George castle, is on top of the highest hill in the city.  There is evidence of human habitation since the 8th century BC with the first fortifications built on the hill in the 1st century BC.  The site was occupied by the local Celts, the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, and others.  Later the Moors built a palace here which was eventually taken over by the first king of Portugal in the 12th century.  

There are spectacular views of the city and surrounding areas.  John and My Boy really enjoyed examining the cannons.  They are no longer functional, but they are fun to look at.  We all had a good time climbing around the walls.  So many walls and so many towers.  There's even a garden with peacocks and a moat and bridge into the keep.  It's easy to imagine Medieval life here.

John and I left the tired kids and went out to Belém tower.  As we sat for a bit a tour group came up and we listened in.  The tower sits on the edge of the river and is now surrounded by a lovely park.  It was built to add to the defense system of the city which already had two fortresses at the mouth of the river.  It was finished in 1519 during the years of Portuguese exploration.  It served as the traditional gateway to the city where many sailors and explorers left and returned.  Portugal had a series of defensive towers along the coasts of its many colonies in South America, Africa, and all the way to India and further east.  Since this tower was more ceremonial than functional, it is more highly decorated than many of the others in outlying areas.  It was built in the unique late gothic Manueline style named after King Manuel I.  It is one of the very few buildings of this style that survived the earthquake in 1755.

There were things we missed that I would have like to see like the maritime/naval museum, the tile museum, the Jeronimos monastery, the museum of ancient art, and the cod museum.  Yes, they have a museum for cod.  (I once read a book about cod.  It was surprisingly interesting.)  We move at a rather leisurely pace when we travel so we don't see everything.  Some things we find out about after we leave.  And some things, like the maritime museum, just weren't open while we were there.  That's OK.  We enjoy our short time there anyway.