Cologne Cathedral

WE SPENT the entire afternoon of the other day in Cologne, one of Germany's leading cities and the one closest to Gummersbach. Its main attraction remains to be the Cologne Cathedral, which miraculously survived heavy Allied bombing during the Second World War.

All major markings, including the directional sign within the Hauptbahnhof or the main train station as well as the city map provided us by the IAF, referred to this structure as Dom Cathedral, or simply the Dom.

The pictures here were taken using my cellphone. The last two are of particular interest; they were from two adjacent doorways to the church, similar at a quick glance, but there was something evidently wrong.

This reminded me of the first two of Dan Brown's trilogy -- the now famous Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons before that -- and sent my conspiratorial mind spinning. Especially when a black-robed-and-hooded young Goth, with piercings on his face and body, a throwback to the Medieval Age thousands of years ago, descended on the church steps and quickly disappeared into the crowd.