We started the day off in Valkenburg with breakfast, packed a sack lunch (sandwiches, chips, candy bars, yogurt, sports drinks, water, you name it we had it) and hit the road to Cologne, Germany. It was only a matter of 20 minutes before we had crossed the border to Germany and found ourselves on the autobahn (German highway with no speed limit) with cars racing past us at over a hundred miles per hour. Within an hour we arrived in downtown Cologne, at our first stop the Gestapo Museum. This museum documented the rise of the Nazi party in Cologne as it grew throughout Germany. One of the most interesting facts was the short amount of time it took the Nazi party to rise to control in Cologne. They did so by eliminating all other political opponents through intimidation, incarceration and persecution. By the time the next election rolled around, it was a mute point as there was only one name on the ballot, Adolph Hitler.

It was a moving experience when we had the opportunity to go into the cells where they tortured and killed all that didn’t fall into their ideology, their primary target being the Jewish people. Inside the cells there were still messages carved into the wall by former prisoners. These inscriptions made the experience much more profound and real.

Then we were off to the Dam, one of the most famous churches in all of Europe. It was breath taking, as it rose majestically towards the heavens. The structure took more than 300 years to build and is such a spectacular structure that during the war the allied forces took special provisions to ensure that no damage would be done to the building during air raids. Once inside the interior was just as impressive as the exterior. From the stained glass windows to the immaculate detail put into each and every piece, including but not limited to the altar, the pews, the vaulted ceilings and the Holy Eucharist. There was an opportunity to climb to the top. It was over 500 feet and consisted of 533 steps. As some of us chose to make the ascent we found ourselves ¾ of the way up when Kip yelled up to coach “my legs are killing me, I don’t know if I can make it. Coach replied with “just keep going, it’s all mental”, and from below we heard Chelvan say “I don’t know about that, this pain is pretty real”. Everyone had a pretty good laugh and we made our way to the top. The view from above was spectacular; it literally took your breath away. From there it was down the steps and off to the shops.

Everyone was lucky enough to help support the German economy. :-) After we had finished gathering all of our goodies we headed out to the FC Koln vs. Hannover match. The atmosphere was amazing. The stadium was packed with 47,000 raucous Germans who were proudly supporting their home team in a sold out venue. It was a very intense match as Koln was facing relegation and desperately needed a win. After their first goal the stadium erupted in a contagious sing-a-long that had everyone involved. As the game went on it was clear that Koln would be victorious upsetting Hannover. Despite the language barrier we found ourselves involved in all of the chants, cheers, dances and songs. It was an awesome experience and was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Please see attached video! :-)

Tomorrow we are off to Belgium….