More of Cologne - some lovely spots, and a divine morning tea

In addition to seeing the spectacular cathedral of Cologne, I still had an hour and a half to myself to wander around the town before being taken back to the ship. It was just great to have that time, though I did waste half an hour of it trying to seek help with regard to my iPhone in a Vodaphone shop, without even being attended to. 

One very pleasurable part of the time was having coffee and cake at a recommended up-market cafe opposite the cathedral. That was heavenly! It was so hard to choose. The macadamia nut cafe latte with its unexpected accompanying little meringue was superb!

Then I wandered around taking photos of this and that, always keeping our meeting point (the cathedral) in view so I was not lost. Most of Cologne had to be rebuilt after WW2 and apparently does not have the ‘character’ of the original city, but in my short remaining time I did find pockets that were delightful to see - a fountain with a story about a jealous wife and little dwarfs who secretly helped her husband build the fountain, pigeons enjoying their special water bath in front of the cathedral, lots of love keys along railway bridge, a garden down to the river, a recital centre, another ‘choo-choo’ train (on top of those I saw in Italy) and one tired cyclist having a break from taking tourists around in his little ‘spiderman pedicar’.  

My first German morning tea.

Some of the cakes to choose from.

I meant to show this in the last post - some of the restored facade of the cathedral.

A popular spot in the city. There were countless outdoor cafes and beer houses, every one full of happily chatting patrons. 

An intriguing old fountain with its fairytale story.

Some of the dwarfs depicted on the fountain.

In the square in front of the cathedral. The odd-shaped sculpture is a full-sized replica of the top of the spires of the cathedral, to give people an idea of their true size. That was mind-boggling when you looked up for comparison, where the tops looked like small dots.

The recital centre behind the cathedral. Music is very important to this city.

Some gardens down to the river, and another church.

I caught this at just the right moment - a train going across the railway bridge, and the fence on the railway bridge with all its 'love locks'. It looks like the train is driving on the fence!

Another view of the gardens down to the river. We saw other lovely gardens on the way into the city.

View of the cafe where I had my morning tea.

A closer view of the cafe.

 A special bath for the pigeons, which they were thoroughly enjoying.

One tired cyclist caught asleep in his spiderman pedicar.