Today we are in Cologne, our first stop in Germany.  We couldn’t dock at the Cologne docks this morning, so had about a 25 minute ride through some beautiful farmland to get there.

Cologne’s biggest attraction is its magnificent Gothic cathedral.  As a child growing up, I (BJ) remember seeing pictures that Daddy had taken at the Cathedral during World War II.  Because of this memory, I was especially interested in seeing it.  It did not disappoint.  Started in 1248, it was actually completed in 1880, after a 300 year break in construction when funds dried up during the Reformation.  After the defeat of Napoleon, construction resumed as a matter of civic pride.  It is true Gothic style complete with gargoyles and flying buttresses.  The inside is awesome in the sense of being awe inspiring as well as stunning.

We had joined the slow-moving group today which was a lot more comfortable for my walking ability.  We pretty much stayed in the Cathedral Square area with our guide Henrick sharing German history and folklore with us.  Roman ruins have been found under Cologne and the mosaic on display at the Roman-Germanic Museum is impressive, both in looks and size.  There is also a remnant of the North Gate to the city built by the Romans.  It still points the way directly to the main shopping street, just as it did during Roman times.

Another place of interest in the area, which we did not visit, is the Chocolate Museum.  It has a café that serves 17 different kinds of hot chocolate.  Now that would have been a great stop given the cold weather we were experiencing.

Another interesting area around the Square was the statue-tribute to the folk legend about the woman who discovered that the elves were doing everyone’s work at night.  The elves promptly left Cologne then and forever more people living in Cologne had to do their own work.

We caught the bus back to the ship and had lunch.  Alan is now napping.

Tonight, we are going on a brauhaus and beer tasting tour. 

We left the ship at about 6:15PM and took the tour bus into Cologne.  Our guide Marian met us outside the first brewing house.  This was the Malzmuhle Brewhouse.  Our coasters had Bill Clinton drinking there during a G8 conference.  Kolsch beer from Cologne comes in narrow 7 ounce glasses.  As you finish one beer, the waiter or Cobus (from Jacobus- one who is a pilgrim on the Jacobus trail which is the name of the Santiago pilgrimage trail in Germany) immediately brings another.  In Cologne all waiters in the brewhouses are referred to as Cobus and they are allowed to be surly, since they traditionally worked in the brewery during the day and in the bar serving drinkers in the evening to get money to continue their pilgrimage. Anyway, the only way to get them to quit bringing more beer is to put your coaster on top of your glass. The beer was good and refreshing.  It went well with the blood sausage, liverwurst, hogshead cheese, German potato salad,  and cheese that we had as an appetizer. Then we had a main course of pig’s knuckle, sauerbraten, sauerkraut, red cabbage, and mashed potatoes.

After dinner and a few glasses of Kolsch, we moved off down the street to another bar, the Paffgen (or Priest’s son).  I (Alan) liked that Kolsch even better.  Then we lurched off down the street to Peters where in addition to the Kolsch, we tried an herbal aperitif with a name I can’t remember.  I wonder why.  Then we stopped one more time at a Pub (meaning it had music) called Papa Joe’s.  More Kolsch.  I (Alan) must have had 7 of the 7 ounce beers, about 3 times the pint I usually allow myself. We arrived back at the boat feeling no pain and went straight to bed.