Karlsruhe 2012: Mega Day Trip! Cologne and Brussels

So this past weekend me and 5 others made the ambitious decision to see two cities in two different countries in one day: Cologne in Germany and Brussels in Belgium. Our original plan for this weekend was to go to Paris however, things were complicated when we found out the train seat must be reserved in France even if you have a rail pass (stupid TGV train system...). Nevertheless, I still had fun and it was a very interesting and tiring day.

Our first destination was Cologne, Germany. Pretty much the only reason to go to Cologne is to see it's massively incredible cathedral. Sure, the city is also gorgeous, but the cathedral trumps it all. The structure towers over you with its intricate Gothic architecture, and it is almost impossible to get the whole site into your view because of its size. The color of the building was awesome because it made it look ancient. When I see a cathedral, I want it to look as old as possible; it just makes the experience more authentic. This cathedral had a light whitish-tan color underneath with a black charred look over it, causing the cathedral to seem as if it had been engulfed in flames centuries ago. This probably didn't happen, but in my eyes it had the perfect look.
The inside was equally as impressive: large towing arches, ornate shrines, a crypt, and several tombs of past church members decorated with their statue counterparts lying on top of their stone lids. What made this cathedral different was the gold box at the center of these tombs, shielded by a modern glass enclosure and roped off with thick red velvet ropes. This box is said to contain the remains of the Three Wise Men that visited Jesus at his birth. I'm not sure I totally buy this story, but the belief that their actual remains lie in this ornate box is quite intense. Although the history in the cathedral was quite intense, the climb up to the top of one of the spires was even more so.
500+ steps are what it takes to make it up to the top, and it is no walk in the park. It was the ultimate test of claustrophobia and acrophobia due to the steep spiral stone staircase to the top, and the sheer height. After you reached the bell tower, it became apparent just how high you were because this part was much more open the the view outside. I seriously considered backing down at this point, but I pushed on to the very top and was rewarded with spectacular views of Cologne.

Our second stop was Brussels in Belgium. Here I wanted to achieve two goals. 1) See as many sights as possible in the 4-5 hours we had there. 2) Eat the chocolate and waffles.
For the sightseeing part, we saw Atomium, a giant structure built in the 1950's that takes the shape of an iron atom's crystal lattice structure. It was deliciously nerdy. :) Next we went to Grand Place (pronounced the French way) and it was what the name said. Grand. It was a town square sprawling with life. People dancing, drinking, and eating were everywhere, and open air markets were busy with customers scouting out the local goods. Gold trimmed buildings and a sharp cathedral building were the highlights. Next we went to the palace which was OK. Just another European official building with gold trimmed gates to make it look more royal.

For the food part, I had exactly what I wanted. Waffles and chocolate! I had a delicious Belgian waffle topped with caramel, powdered sugar and TONS of pecans. It was the best waffle I EVER had, and I almost couldn't finish it due to its richness. For the chocolate, my host mom, Danica, recommended Neuhaus, a Belgian chocolate maker. I found their store in Grand Place, and of course, it is the best chocolate ever!! So fresh and real it had an expiration date two weeks from when I bought it.

Apart from the food and tourist sites, Brussels was different from other cities that I have been to in that it is so DIVERSE. As I was riding in the Metro, I noticed that not one person seemed to be the majority; the majority seemed to be everyone. My senior year in high school we read Heart of Darkness, a story about the Belgian influence in the Congo in Africa, and this history was reflected in the people through the African dress of several people in the city. I was amazed at the cultural diversity reflected in the city also through language. The Metro stops were said twice, once in French and once in (I think) Dutch and everything was printed about three or even four times. (Not even in English...) Brussels was a great city that I feel needs to be explored more to get an even better feel of the culture there. Below are pics as usual.