Night at the museum
Europe has a strong appreciation for arts and culture. There is a night set aside for parties in museums, and the museums across Cologne are open till 3am for visitors to walk across town and pop by.
I bought myself a ticket to enter the museums, and it is an experience to head around the various museums - the Gestapo, Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln, and several others. The Gestapo was the headquarters of the Nazis in Germany. In it, there were cells housing suspects - and the cellar sent chills down my spine. People who were locked in these cells wrote with whatever they could - fingernails, pens, etc and messages were all scribbled on the walls. Various languages ranging from Russian, to French; the themes of the messages included the cry of innocence, confusion as to why they were caged, and strong will to survive.
The Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln holds treasures, buildings and artefacts from the roman period in Cologne itself. Right in the middle of Cologne's modern streets, one can find a newly discovered and excavated house from the Roman times - only chanced upon by construction workers when they were commissioned to have a new building in place. In the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, similar artefacts discovered around the region are taken care of and preserved in the museum. Toys played by roman kids are stored, and they had cute wooden toys (i.e. in the shape of horses) on rollers in the past. They wrote in classes on tiny, waxed black boards. One thing that I took my breath away: they had a mossiac flooring, complete with furniture - all original from the old times. Including an entire city wall preserved within the museum. Highly recommended.
I bought myself a ticket to enter the museums, and it is an experience to head around the various museums - the Gestapo, Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln, and several others. The Gestapo was the headquarters of the Nazis in Germany. In it, there were cells housing suspects - and the cellar sent chills down my spine. People who were locked in these cells wrote with whatever they could - fingernails, pens, etc and messages were all scribbled on the walls. Various languages ranging from Russian, to French; the themes of the messages included the cry of innocence, confusion as to why they were caged, and strong will to survive.
The Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln holds treasures, buildings and artefacts from the roman period in Cologne itself. Right in the middle of Cologne's modern streets, one can find a newly discovered and excavated house from the Roman times - only chanced upon by construction workers when they were commissioned to have a new building in place. In the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, similar artefacts discovered around the region are taken care of and preserved in the museum. Toys played by roman kids are stored, and they had cute wooden toys (i.e. in the shape of horses) on rollers in the past. They wrote in classes on tiny, waxed black boards. One thing that I took my breath away: they had a mossiac flooring, complete with furniture - all original from the old times. Including an entire city wall preserved within the museum. Highly recommended.
