The scent of votive candles and incense perfumed the air as the organ pumped out something by Bach. The Christmas Evensong service had begun. Even if you aren't Catholic . . . even if you don't understand German . . . even if you don't speak "religion". . . hearing sixty voices rasied in hope and faith filling the Cologne Cathedral in a ritual that has been repeated for hundreds of years will prickle your skin. And your soul. And never again will Silent Night, first sung near Salzburg at the end of World War I, sound as wonderful.
Silent Night, Holy Night, Cologne Cathedral
The Cathedral has stood for nearly a century, surviving the WW II bombings that destroyed most of Cologne so we figured it wouldn't suddenly collapse if we attended a service. But we did conduct a reconaissance inspection yesterday just to be sure. We took all of the requisite photos and even bought a replacement Kindle - ours died and I have been lost without reading material. We considered the midnight mass on Christmas Eve but it's 25 miles from our hotel in Duren to Cologne so we settled for a more reasonable hour. And it was worth the drive.
