Köln
A trip to one of the Rhine's most established cities — Cologne (smells ok, I guess).
A rather small city with iconic landmarks. I mainly stayed in the touristy areas since I was only there for a day, but it was memorable nonetheless, though there wasn't much going on that evening.
The highlight is definitely the Dom and the bridge. The Dom sits right in front of the Hauptbahnhof, standing so massively that it hits you in the face the moment you step out of the station.
As for the bridge, I'd heard the love locks were slated for removal over time, since the sheer number of them was putting stress on the structure. Turns out that plan was floated back in 2018 and later scrapped; the railway operator apparently doesn't consider them a real threat to the bridge, so for now, they're staying. Still, it's a nice thought… a worthy gesture, a sign of commitment and love, even if not quite as fragile a tradition as I assumed.
And it turns out my question answered itself: the keys really do just get thrown into the Rhine. Wonder how Cologne's waste management feels about that. But if a couple kept the key instead, what would that say about the gesture as a whole?
