Don't Cry for me Cologne! Koln Cathedral Redux

When I traveled on the continent with several college friends at age 19, through a strange series of mishaps I ended up arriving alone in Cologne by train, late at night.

I walked from the Hauptbahnhof, in a cold rain and heavy darkness, past the great, dark hulk of Cologne Cathedral, across a formidable bridge that carries train, auto, and pedestrian traffic, to find the youth hostel, where I hoped to reconnect with some of the college friends.

My travel companion had been summarily removed from the train as we traveled from Heidelberg because she had left her passport at the last youth hostel where we had last stayed and I had continued because we were supposed to connect with these other girls in Cologne. No mobile phones in those days!

I'm a fairly brave and independent traveler but crossing that bridge in the weather and the darkness after being intimidated by the monstrous cathedral was too much. I was weeping as I worked my way through the wind and the rain across the bridge that seemed to last forever.

Here you see me posing next to the Rhine River near this same bridge - much happier on this visit.