Hey Wiseguy!

We recently accomplished one of my goals--seeing the Cathedral of Cologne. This was our first full day of travel in Germany. We had stayed overnight in Rosbath, a small town on the outskirts of Cologne, or Koln in the local language. It was not hard to find the Cathedral , or Dom as they call it. It dominates the skyline and draws you to it. Parking was easy. There is underground parking beneath the church. This is a newer addition. A thousand years ago they did not need it.

An English guided tour took us close to the altar where the relics of the bones of the Three Magi are encased in gold. The Magi are the biblical Three Kings who came to worship the infant Jesus. History says St. Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, brought these from the Holy Land in the third century. They were in a church in Milan but taken by a conquering army to this Cathedral. Tradition tells us the names of the kings were Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. In Catholic homes in Bavaria on the Feast of Epiphany, the priest inscribes the date and initials of the kings over the doorpost of the faithful. We noticed this on a trip here three years ago. I think Europeans had more emphasis on the feast of the three kings than American Catholics.

My husband's great, great, grandfather lived in a nearby town. It was moving to think that generations ago his relatives probably walked through this church on pilgrimage.

Our next stop was Uedelhoven, the hometown of the family patriarch. A friendly villager there told us of the towns' history and said our last name was derived from one of the names of the three Magi. My husband Jon's eyes lit up. "Imagine", he said, "royal blood!" The next day he related this to another woman from the village who asked, "Wasn't he the black one?" I think the royal blood is in question and laughed at her response. Perhaps the name was derived from his name but our family are not descendents. When Jon told this story to our son, he related we were descended from one of the wise men. I think "wiseguys" is more appropriate. Hopefully there are no blood ties with the Three Stooges.