4 Stray Katz: Getting in touch with our spiritual side in Cologne.

Although I'd been to Cologne before I still found the Cologne Cathedral breathtaking. The kids excitedly noticed the spires after we left the train station and they were already impressed by the sheer size of the building. Our hostel was within minutes of the cathedral so before long we were all gazing with awe at the largest cathedral in Germany. A simple Gothic cathedral was on this site from 870 but after the bones of the 'Three Kings of Bethlehem' were transferred to this site in 1164 the Catholic Church decided to build a new cathedral worthy of such important religious relics. In 1248 work began and the cathedral as we see it now was not completed until 1560! By this time some of the original parts needed redoing! The final stone was not laid until 1880, however it is in a endless state of repair. It seems the scaffold moves its way constantly around the cathedral to ensure this beautiful, impressive and important structure remains for years to come.

The constant misty rain encouraged us to venture inside with the masses of tourists wandering awestruck through the cathedral, which is even more impressive on the inside. Huge stained glass windows filter soft light onto the many treasures inside, from carved oak choir stalls to the gold and bejewelled Shrine of the Three Kings. Although we are not religious you certainly feel the presence of something higher whilst in this sacred place. Both children were gobsmacked at the many raised tombs holding the remains of Archbishops of the past. Jackson delighted in telling me at each one that there was a dead person inside!

After our busy morning all our tummies were rumbling. We found a lovely place, Oma's Kitchen, and had a delicious lunch. Jackson was so exhausted already that he slept at the table while waiting for lunch. Travelling is certainly a hard job!

The afternoon remained wet and rainy so we enjoyed some quiet time at the hostel.

We were up early the next morning for a walk around the cathedral with only the few other tourists who'd braved the cold and foggy morning. The cathedral opened at 7am for a service and to our delight we were allowed in to listen to the amazing music from the huge organs whilst the service began. It was truly a memorable experience to be in this cathedral, without the masses of tourists, listening to organs reverberate through the huge building.

After breakfast we began 'Rebecca's walking tour of Cologne' and walk we did! By the end of the day we had walked over 20km. We interspersed the sights with playgrounds so everyone was happy. Over the day we visited a sculpture garden (Daniel wasn't very impressed with the modern sculptures but the kids and I liked them), wandered through the flower filled gardens of the Rhine park and enjoyed the huge playground there, looked for our names on the thousands of 'love locks' affixed to the Hohenzollern Bridge and visited many old sites, including a well preserved roman tower that was built around 50AD. Whilst visiting a perfumery (home of the original Eau de cologne) I decided to get rid of my 'backpacker smell' and spray some perfume. As I was enjoying the fragrance on my wrists a sales assistant came across to tell me 'for man' then she pointed across the other side 'for women'. Whoops, I'd just bathed myself in Eau de man!

Another highlight of our 2 nights in Cologne was the coffee shop across the road from the hostel. We enjoyed several amazing coffees and loved our chats with the owner, Tommy. He even let the kids use the old coffee grinder then he helped them use that coffee to make us an espresso! We had crammed so much into our 2 nights in Cologne and felt we had really experienced this historical city. We left on Saturday morning bound for the 'Katz German Reunion' at Henry's oldest brother's house (Hans and Elisabeth).