What an adventure this has been so far and we aren’t even halfway through it yet! Day three was spent in Cologne and then finished in Rotterdam where the conference will be held near Mendix’s base of operations. Here’s what happened yesterday:
We awoke around 8am and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before setting out towards the train station to purchase our tickets that would take us to Rotterdam.
Once that was settled, we decided to go check out the Cologne Cathedral which turned out to be just steps from the other side of the Central Station. We were literally stopped in our tracks at the site. What you will see here is a series of pictures that I captured around and in the Cathedral, but I promise they don’t do justice to one of the most amazing sights I have ever witnessed. We arrived during a Mass and were able to listen to the pipe organ belting out melodies for the choir to use as leverage to surround the hall with other-worldly and ancient harmonies. Spectacular doesn’t give this the weight it deserves.
While we easily could have spent another day or month trying to take in the detail of this World Heritage Site, we had limited time and wanted to see more around the city. Nearby, we found an archway and road that were from 50 A.D. that were built by the Romans upon ruling this land. That is now the oldest engineering I have ever seen or touched in person.
We headed to the Rhine to see what could possibly top what we had witnessed to this point, and Cologne did not disappoint. From the amazing waterfront to the old town center, we were amazed at the history and variety of a place that had rebuilt itself from rubble over the last 75 years.
We decided to grab lunch before heading out. On our way to the hotel to get our gear, we stopped at a chocolatier and a gift shop since our time in Germany was coming to an end. We all had to try a piece of chocolate and were not disappointed!
We set off on the trains to Rotterdam at last and wished farewell to Germany. I might have to come back to this amazing country in the future!
Finally in Rotterdam, we checked in to the Hotel, met up with Rowan (my boss), watched the back nine of the Master’s while catching up (Tiger!), and went out to grab a bite and meet up with peers I know from the Mendix MVP program (René and Derick) as well as a few others. We had a heck of a time making our way to Mendix World 2019, and now the conference begins! I’ll be heading over shortly to attend the Partner conference and get this started, so stay tuned!
