Germany Day 11

Today was an off day - we all have them.  That being said we did get to see some things in Germany that I enjoyed.   Here is our day for those interested and for posterity sake.

We got up and had our bags out of the room by 7, then headed down and ate breakfast.  They told us to sit anywhere and we did, but I am not sure our table had been cleaned as I noticed others after the fact had plates and things already on the tables.   But it was clean enough I guess - either way it was completely our fault regardless.   Breakfast was a buffet and it was fairly good - honestly everything was probably colored by my own sour mood so ...  The coffee was drinkable, not as good as yesterday, but good.  The food was also good though I didn't eat very much for some reason.

After breakfast we went to the coach and rode a short distance to get on a river cruise.  We cruised down the Rhine River to Cologne.   When we first started the cruise it was rainy but it cleared up as we went along  so for much of the cruise I stayed on the top where I could get better pictures while Jack and Mama stayed in the bottom section.  I can't blame them as the wind would cut through you like a knife - I hope my pictures were worth it.   Along the cruise we  passed several Castles and also several little towns that were very picturesque.  I'm going to have to spend some time matching the Castles with the pictures in my books to see which is which as I could not hear the boat stuff very well.  I did enjoy the castles though and the general scenery of the cruise was gorgeous.    The Rhine river itself is very large an dis actively used for shipping  - it is considered an international waterway.

Another thing to note is that trains run on both sides of the river.   They made the entrance to the train tunnels look like castle turrets so that they would not be bombed in WWII as they knew the Allied Forces were under orders to try and not bomb historic buildings.     On another note our tour director said yesterday on the way to dinner that many of the buildings (churches, etc...), such as some we saw in Frankfort may look old, but they were completely demolished in WWII with the bombings and were rebuilt to look the same.

Once our tour was done we hopped back on the bus and drove to Cologne.  Our first stop was a restaurant where they gave us a snack and drinks.  Most people got beer, but we got a coke.   We didn't stay very long - we had limited time to see the city and we wanted a little something more substantial to eat so we stayed for a few and then split from the group.  

We first tried to go to the this German place our guide had recommended on our walk over to the snack restaurant, but A) it was frilly B) it was expensive an C) after sitting for a few no one had come over to wait on us.  So we left and went to a bakery down the street.  This place was so odd - it is an open air bakery with the smell of sugar wafting out onto the street - instant interest, right?  Well you go in and all around the food and in the restaurant honey bees are flying around.   They are everywhere - my first instinct was eeeewww and oh crap I'm going to get stung.  However, I then realized they pollinate our food so decided to stay.   Mama was not as nice as I am and some bees may have meet their unfortunate death :(    We got our snack and coffee and sat down to eat.   The coffee was good and the apple roll thingy was OK, but it made me not be hungry so win!   It was a little warm in the restaurant and we weren't really comfortable with the bees flying around so we left to go sight seeing.

Cologne's home to the tallest twin tower Cathedral in the world.  It is a Gothic Cathedral and is amazing to see.   The material it is built out of is white but it absorbs the pollutants from the air which gives it a black look.  They are constantly cleaning it but in all honesty it looks cool black.  The building was started in 1248 but was not finished until 1880... Now that is a delayed building project.  The sheer height of it is a sight to see.   We took some pictures of it from the outside then wandered in to take some more.  Jack sat down on a pew and let Mama and I wonder - I spent at least 40 minutes meandering on my own taking pictures and I don't think we saw 1/2 of it.  They have several rooms and sections off of the main area ...   The inside of it is massively tall with a sweeping arched roof that you have to see.   I can't say its the prettiest cathedral I've ever been in as far as the art or the architecture, but it is most impressive.  You can't walk in and not be impressed by it's sheer size and beauty.

After the Cathedral we walked over to a Roman / German Museum and just looked in the windows from the outside.   They have an original Roman mosaic floor they discovered and built the museum around it - it was quite pretty.  

And that was our site seeing for the town - we went and bought a few souvenirs, grabbed a coffee to get out of the rain and were done about 30 minutes before our scheduled meet time with the group.  

We then had a bus ride to Dusseldorf where we are staying overnight.  The ride took a bit of time and most of us slept as it was interstate driving.   Once here we came to our rooms to freshen up before dinner at 7.

The hotel is an airport hotel and more of a technical stop vs. a site seeing one - just need to get from point A to B so I wasn't expecting much of the dinner.  However, I was so wrong.  It was a buffet and it was incredible.   You had choice of meets and the sides were good  - also the salad bar was super fresh and clean.   The wait staff was also spot on!   The rooms are also really nice - very spacious and built to be worked from for extended periods of time, which makes them comfy!    

Tomorrow we ride the high speed train to Berlin - first class ride no less.  This should be interesting to experience.  Praying for a good mood tomorrow and that we have a fabulous day.