Kölner Dom, Germany's largest Gothic cathedral

 It wasn’t easy. Thomasians hot on the trail of their patron saint — St. Thomas Aquinas — went to Europe for 15 days (travel time included) to visit 17 destinations. The group, led by two Dominican priests (and Regents of two prominent colleges at the University of Santo Tomas), two nuns from Bangladesh, academicians, a journalist, and the best tour operator (as far as this motley group is concerned) hopped on and off luxury coaches from Cologne in Germany to Rome, Italy, armed with a strong determination to trek the path of Thomas and go home with all his memories.

It was a semi-pilgrimage, according to Fr. Tony Aureada (also the Regent of the Graduate School) and Fr. Winston Cabading (Regent of the College of Education). Meaning, we are not about to go home, at least, for us mere mortals, with halos over our heads. The European tour is the first of its kind to be offered to Thomasians to generate more awareness of St. Thomas on the occasion of UST’s quadricentennial year in 2011.

I admitted (rather confessed) to both Fr. Tony and Fr. Winston that all I knew about St. Thomas was that on his feast day, (when I was a student at the Faculty of Arts and Letters) there would be no classes!

Joining this tour which brought us to Germany, France, Monaco, and Italy opened my eyes to the greatness of the saint whose name UST proudly carries.

Did I even know that St. Thomas was a noble man, whose family owns a castle, that he was very smart and compassionate, walked his way to the 17 destinations that we went to by plane and bus, and that he has his own share of miracles?

I have my own share of saints that I have been calling on for help. During our tour, I included the name of St. Thomas Aquinas in my list of favorites, and boy, he has never failed me and the holy company that I kept on the trip. He even stopped the rains, made the sun come out, and when we were about to lose hope in getting to Lourdes because of the strike in Paris, our TGV train was the only one that was not cancelled at all!

Today, I begin a series of articles highlighting every European destination and its significance to the life of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Cologne, Germany

“Whatever you dream that night on the bed that’s not yours will come true.” – a German saying, according to Anya Wohlgemuth, our tour guide.

A visit to Cologne, Germany is a must in following St. Thomas’ trail. He walked from France to Germany in pursuit of education. And up until his death, poor Thomas was walking until he ended up dead in a stone slab that was his bed. But this is getting ahead of the story.

St. Thomas was a silent student, so silent that his fellow student-brothers thought of him as dumb. He proved them wrong before their teacher Albert the Great when he explained a difficult passage quite precisely and succinctly.

They called him the Dumb Ox for the longest time until he began tutoring his classmates and editing his teacher’s lecture!

We went to Cologne to see the extent of the properties previously owned by the Dominicans and they were blocks and blocks of prime property!

The Dominicans came to Cologne as early as 1221 - a few years after the foundation of the order. The priory, not far away from St. Andrews, developed into one of the most important centers of study of the order. The French occupation led to the dissolution of the priory in 1799. The relics of St. Albert came to St. Andrews. His grave was a fundamental reason for Cardinal Frings to hand over the church of St. Andrews to the Dominicans in 1947.

According to Anya, Cologne was badly destroyed during the war, and in her own words: “it is not beautiful but interesting.” The city, which is Germany’s fourth largest after Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, lies in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area. Its major problem is flooding from the Rhine and is considered the most flood-prone European city.

It has five seasons – winter, spring, summer, autumn, and carnival (or before Lent during which the so-called crazy days ensue and a huge public festival of songs and merriment takes place). As it lies along the Rhine, it became a very prosperous city for all the best products that get to it before the other German cities down the Rhine.

Cologne is where the Koln Cathedral’s twin spires tower over Germany’s oldest city and a rich variety of cultural experiences can be had.

Eating in Cologne can be fun and a little bit confusing. It offers diners a special beer called the Kolsch. Restaurant menus bear unique names, thus the confusion sets in. Try the Halve Hahn, a rye bread roll with semi-mature Gouda, onions, and mustard, Hammche or boiled knuckle of pork or a beef dish called Soorbrode.

Try spending more days in Cologne and you will realize that when you try hard enough, the German words start becoming familiar, just with a little twist of the tongue.

We spent only two nights in the city where our dear Thomas studied, did a lot of research, and assisted Albert the Great. We travelled by luxury coach to Paris for more than five hours on our third day.

Next Sunday: A jingle stop in Belgium and on to Paris.