By mid-morning we stopped in Cologne. We were divided into groups of about 20 or so and took off on a walking tour. Our guide was Markus, a high school history teacher, who was actually born in the former East Germany area. We were glad it was Easter Saturday and he was available to escort us around an interesting city. He told some wonderful stories about both the architecture and the people who inspired some of the more original ornamental designs included on a number of buildings and sculptures. Cologne was the first Roman settlement and we toured a great museum dedicated to Roman archaeological treasures and several beautiful, nearly completely intact, mosaics.
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| Mosaic from the German-Roman Museum |
The cathedral in Cologne (the Kölner Dom) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the most visited landmark in Germany. It's massive and difficult to capture in a single photo. And we tried. From a number of angles. Both during the day and again at night. Construction began in 1248 continued on and off for 7 centuries. It was completed in 1880 and largely escaped damage during the fierce bombing during WWII most likely because it was an excellent reference point to find other targets.
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| The Kölner Dom in Cologne |
Cologne was where Auburn's mother's family stayed after fleeing their family farm when the Communists came through their village. Auburn's Mom and Aunt, 15 & 14 years old, were lucky enough to find jobs at the local chocolate factory. They were allowed to eat all the "defective" chocolate they could find. After 3 days her aunt had had enough but her mom continued to embrace the Chocolate Diet. The money they were able to earn helped the family gain passage to the USA three short years later.
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| Sadly, not actually made of chocolate |
We had a lovely afternoon strolling through the town and checking out whatever caught our fancy. Of course that included The Chocolate Museum.Just as a point of clarity here, the museum is not actually MADE of chocolate, not a single bit. We spent a fair amount of time browsing the gift shop and debating which large chunk of heaven we should bring back to the ship. Shockingly, we didn't need to worry about how to get any of this through customs on the way back home.
We were going to eat on shore, but being a holiday weekend and the weather just beautiful, the restaurants were overrun. So we hopped back on board to grab a light lunch and rest up for more exploring. After dinner we went back into town to try again to capture the Dom in photos, but settled at one of the many outdoor cafes for a drink and to soak up the ambiance and music in one of the old squares. The Dom Bells rang out and we tried again to get some night shots, but it was too big and dark. But we did sneak in as the priests had shut off the interior lights and were trying to shoo out the final tourists and worshipers. It was bigger and way scarier at near midnight with only the occasional candles and low wattage lighting near the exit. We just hoped the Hunchback ringing the bells had a bit longer on his shift that night. We wandered back toward the ship to see the amusement park across the river with the rides all lit up and a fireworks show as a closing finale. It was a great day, especially when Auburn provided a ball gag for the on demand concierge.
