Set against an impressive backdrop of the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, the Weihnachtsmarkt am Kölner Dom or Christmas Night Market at Cologne Cathedral is truly spectacular to witness.

Lucky for us, due to the other million people who also chose to brave the cold on that mid-December Saturday evening to witness the spectacle, no-one was going anywhere fast, which gave us plenty of time to lean back and relax in the crush of bodies, just to really appreciate the atmosphere. The evening was one of crowds milling around the glüwein stalls, clutching hot, spiced red wines as if they were some kind of heat-emitting lifebuoy.

As we moved on to the wooden-hut markets of the Alter Markt (Cologne has six Christmas market sites), it was all my childhood Christmases come at once. Instead of waiting for a crumpled, smoke-infused parcel to arrive from Austria containing the season’s gingerbread, I had all the lebkuchen, marzipan and roasted chestnuts that I could ever desire, with only a frosted breath separating us.

Granted… I am a pig… but while we’re on that topic, let me just give a thumbs up to the German bratwurst (sausage), perched on a fresh white bread roll and liberally smeared with senf (mustard) or the sliced and saucy currywurst. Accompany it with some steaming hot deep-fried rösti (potato pancakes) with apfelmus (applesauce), and you’ve got a meal that’s to die for – I only hope my arteries didn’t take that literally…

A learning experience all around, I also found out why the Cologne Cathedral or Kölner Dom is so impressive. The answer is hinted at in the three crowns of the Cologne coat of arms, which represent the Magi or Three Kings, whose bones are supposedly kept in the golden sarcophagus above the high altar of the cathedral. Construction of the present-day Kölner Dom began in 1248 to house these relics – and took over 632 years to complete!

(It will possibly also take 632 years for me to launch my newly-resolved health regime… but I have 2008 to think more about that!)