Posted December 21, 20204 yr Over New Year's 2019/20 I took a trip to Europe. You can see the first set of photos in Maastricht, Netherlands by clicking the link below. Future entries will be linked as I upload them. Maastricht, Netherlands - December 28-30, 2019 Cologne, Germany - December 30, 2019 - January 3, 2020 Wuppertal, Germany - January 3, 2020 Aachen, Germany - January 3-5, 2020 Paris, France - January 5-7, 2020 Map of my route Cologne (Köln) 🟪 All film photos taken with a Minolta XD-11 using Delta 400 B&W film. Digital photos taken with a Nikon D600. DSC_5450 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr I spent 4 nights in Cologne immediately after Maastricht. This was my second visit to the city after a trip in 2017. I just realized I never posted photos from that trip, so I might do that after I finish these photo threads. Cologne is one of the oldest cities in Germany. It was started as a colony for Rome. Originally, it was called Colonia. The English name Cologne is derived from French. Germans say Köln. In Cologne, the locals speaking Kölsch will say Kölle. The city sits on top of ancient Roman foundations, and most construction in the central city uncovers Roman ruins. There are still a lot of buried explosives from WWII that need to be dealt with rather regularly, especially during construction. The culture in Cologne is unique to Germany. They have their own language, unique foods, drinks, traditions, etc. that do not show up in this thread. Photos don't really do it justice, so I highly recommend you visit the city if you're ever in the area. It was in Cologne where my memory card wiped everything, so the first photos I have digitally are from December 31. My hostel was in Barbarossaplatz in Die Innenstadt's southwest corner. I generally walked south, then east through Südstadt with no real destination in mind. DSC_5155 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5157 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Cologne was very heavily bombed during WWII. This is a pretty typical streetscape on any given block of the city, but there is still plenty of quality architecture, which naturally, is what I tended to photograph. DSC_5161 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Eifelplatz to the south of Barbarossaplatz DSC_5171 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Cologne has a collection of trams that support the bulk of the city's public transportation needs, known as the Stadtbahn. The tram lines also go underground as they go into downtown and other dense areas. After World War II, few tram lines were rebuilt in the city center, leading to a lot of congestion. The city decided to build underground stations throughout downtown in the 1960s that utilized the same rolling stock instead of building entirely new lines for the subway. Pictured here is a K4500 series tram on line 12 going through Eifelplatz in the city's southwest side on its way to the Cologne Ring, a series of wide boulevards that encircle the historic Altstadt. The Cologne Ring lies on the site of the former medieval wall. It serves as a major traffic artery and the wide boulevards allow trams to run above ground in the center. DSC_5179 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5183 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5184 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5186 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Just to the east of Eifelplatz is the Volksgarten Köln. DSC_5189 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5190 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5192 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5195 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Leaving the Volksgarten into the heart of Südstadt. The wide boulevard changes names from Volksgartenstraße to Rolandstraße. DSC_5208 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5211 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5212 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5218 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5222 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5225 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5229 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5236 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Now we turn south slightly along Zugweg for some photos of what I think is a power plant. Google Maps shows Rheinenergie, which is the local power company. DSC_5240 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr We make it to the Bonner Wall U-Bahn stop. Then we go straight north along Bonner Straße until we reach Chlodwigplatz. DSC_5243 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5248 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Even the Germans like the "wurst" puns DSC_5250 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5251 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5254 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5257 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr At Chlodwigplatz is one location for Mangal Döner, which is a product of the city's favorite soccer player in years, Lukas Podolski. Photo of the döner is from my phone. DSC_5262 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Chlodwigplatz is home to Severinstorburg, which is a medieval gate into the city. Again, due to the intense bombing of WWII, most of these structures were destroyed, and then demolished during the rebuild. DSC_5265 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr The following photos are all from January 1 after I spent a long portion of the day in bed. Since New Years Day was a Wednesday, this was a particularly slow night. Ehrenfeld is regarded as one of the hip neighborhoods in the city. I didn't take a ton of photos here because I didn't bring a tripod and it was already dark when I went out. DSC_5280 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5279 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5283 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Translation: "Play Along Game Hall" DSC_5288 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr The following photos are from January 2, and mostly around the major sites downtown. DSC_5364 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr The Cologne Cathedral - Kölner Dom - is easily the most recognizable landmark in Cologne, and probably the entire Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region in Germany. It began construction in 1248, but was halted in 1473. It resumed construction almost 400 years later, and was finished between 1842 and 1880. The city was heavily bombed in World War II, and over 90% of the historic building stock was lost by Spring 1945. The Cathedral was one of the few landmarks to survive the war despite suffering heavy damage. The population of Cologne was reduced from 770,000 before the war, to just 20,000 people due to the heavy bombing by the Royal Air Force. Most people either entered the war effort or fled to the countryside away from the industrial areas and cities when heavy bombing started. Since 1950 the Cathedral has been under constant renovation. Scaffolding can be seen hanging off the northwest corner of the northern tower, which rotates locations to provide year-round maintenance. DSC_5362 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr It's very difficult to get good photos from inside the main portion of the Dom with the low light, number of people, etc. Here's one. DSC_5292 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr For €5 you can walk to the top of the south tower. It's 100 meters up, and through quite a narrow staircase. Halfway up is the bell tower, featuring Decke Pitter (Fat Peter). It weights 24,000 kilograms and is the largest free-swinging church bell in the world. It only rings 11 times a year, and replaced an even bigger bell (Kaiserglocke) which weighed 27,180 kilograms. Kaiserglocke was not particularly high quality, and was melted down in 1918 during WWI. Decke Pitter is about halfway up the tower. DSC_5301 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5303 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5306 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Like I said, half way up. DSC_5308 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr No more stairs. We've reached the interior of the spire. The photos after this will all be of the city from the south tower. You'll see the occasional metal bar crossing in front of the lens. DSC_5316 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5320 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5321 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5322 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5326 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5330 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5337 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr "my nuts" DSC_5338 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5341 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5342 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5348 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5352 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr One of the last pieces of the Cathedral to be constructed. Dated 1876 (finished in 1880) DSC_5355 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Looking at the North Tower. DSC_5356 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr After I walked down from the Cathedral, I made my way across the Rhine River to the neighborhood of Deutz. Deutz is home to the second intercity train station as well as the primary indoor arena (Lanxess Arena) and some large office buildings. On top of one of the buildings, the Köln Triangle, is an observation deck with more views of the city. Photos were pretty tough up here even with a tripod. Glass prevents people from falling, but the glass is often cluttered with other people taking selfies, and some lighting near the exit often show up in the reflection of the glass. Regardless, it was still a good spot to get some photos. DSC_5375 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Deutz DSC_5374 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Köln Messe/Deutz Bahnhof DSC_5376 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5377 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5408 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5378 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5400 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5427 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5431 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5444 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Back on the ground, I got a lot of shots of the Dom and the Hohenzollernbrücke. The original bridge (1911) was demolished by the German military when they abandoned the city during WWII. It is named after the Hohenzollern royal family that ended it's rule with Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918. Below is a photo pulled from Wikipedia in 1945 featuring the Cathedral, demolished bridges, and shelled city looking north. DSC_5451 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5453 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr The buildings below are typical of prewar construction in the area. I believe these buildings were rebuilt following WWII. The church behind the colorful buildings (Great Saint Martin or Groß Sankt Martin)) predates the war significantly and was fully restored in the decades following. DSC_5476 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr DSC_5469 by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Finally, here are a collection of shots on film. Kölner Dom by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Köln Hauptbahnhof by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Kölner Dom und Hohenzollernbrücke by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Kölner Dom und Hohenzollernbrücke by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Rheinboulevard und Deutzer Brücke by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Kölner Dom by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Barbarossaplatz by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Volksgartenstraße, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Rolandstraße, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Zugweg, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Zugweg, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Bonner Straße, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Bonner Straße, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Bonner Straße, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Chlodwigplatz, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Chlodwigplatz, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Severinstraße, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Chlodwigplatz, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr Ulrepforte, Südstadt, Köln by Ryan Lammi, on Flickr And that's it for Cologne! Next stop is Wuppertal.
December 21, 20204 yr Though not my favorite city in Germany, these photos were great. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 22, 20204 yr Author 17 hours ago, ColDayMan said: Though not my favorite city in Germany You had a few choice words for me when I told you I was going there 😆
December 22, 20204 yr "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 23, 20204 yr well that is an umm, interesting choice for a trip -- do you have ties there or something? anyway, very nice pics -- i see they have a few very impressively massive urban blocks -- wuppertal is upcoming? can't wait to see the cool old monorail el train.
December 24, 20204 yr Author 5 hours ago, mrnyc said: well that is an umm, interesting choice for a trip -- do you have ties there or something? No real connection to Cologne (or any of the cities on this list). I root for the soccer team in Cologne, though. 5 hours ago, mrnyc said: anyway, very nice pics -- i see they have a few very impressively massive urban blocks -- Thanks! There is a lot going on in the city. I think it's the country's third largest city or something, and it's located close to a lot of other major cities. Unlike Berlin and Munich, which are pretty isolated from other major cities. 5 hours ago, mrnyc said: wuppertal is upcoming? can't wait to see the cool old monorail el train. Yeah I specifically went to Wuppertal to check out the Schwebebahn. I didn't stay the night in Wuppertal, it rained most of the time, and my film roll didn't develop properly. But I still got a lot of photos on my digital camera, so there's a lot to show. It was a very interesting city.
December 24, 20204 yr It looks like they attempted to rebuild more of this place to look like it did before the war as compared to Dresden, but you can still tell that the "old" stuff feels fake. In fact in places the mid-century almost looks like (the similarly bombed) Japan.
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