Cologne

Thursday 2 August 2012

Boat travelled along overnight while we supposedly slept - ha - & we awoke in Germany,  late breakfast & morning spent cruising along, past Dusseldorf & quite industrialised on both sides, but very pleasant cruising along. There was meant to have been good internet around Dusseldorf but I was still unable to upload any photos, very frustrating, even trying 1 photo at a time, bloody thing can't make it.  River  very wide, we are constantly passing other cruise riverboats, but also, fuel tankers & cargo boats as well.  We have passed several riverbank caravan parks, some sites looking reasonably long term.

Houses along the Rhine between Dusseldorf & Cologne

Lunch - Sauerbraten with dumplings, even the cabbage was wonderful!

Dessert - apple tart with almond cream & cinnamon icecream

Cologne gnomes who do all the housework while everyone sleeps - legend

Lunch on board was cold buffet, or/and traditional German pot roast in red-wine (Rheinlandischer Sauerbraten) with cabbage & potato dumplings, & desert apple tart with almond sauce & cinnamon icecream,  all so good. Of course felt like a good lie down after that, but boat arrived in Cologne & we bussed to Cologne Cathedral - world's biggest French Gothic Cathedral,  which on the outside looked like a big black pile, need a jolly good steam clean. Dates from the 13th century & was put on the pilgrimage map by having the bones of the 3 wise men, Magi, stored in the very fancy reliquary made of gilded silver, jewels & enamel, the skulls sit inside complete with golden crowns.  Guide waxed lyrical about how the Dom was superior in various aspects to every cathedral in Christiandom it has ever been compared to.

The magi - 3 wise men - have a pretty fance resting place

Cologne Cathedral

S & I went for a wash & blowdry after the tour & made our own way back to the boat taking the long way home....by mistake....which was funny as S was saying when we left the hairdresser, she never gets lost, I of course can make no such claim having no sense of direction at all, Schadenfreude I said to her!

Just back in time for dinner on the boat & we sat with a lovely couple, B & J, from Mandurah in Perth, he was Dutch & was retired from BHP after long career & she was Canadian, very pleasant company, lots of stories, he had been with the Dutch army in Indonesia & then came to Australia & did mechanical engineering degree & BHP. Once again the meal was magnificent. I had carpaccio of beef,  grilled plaice & desert was trio of berry panna cotta, creme brulee & chocolate icecream.  The wine was a local geurtsweiner (?)  reisling, delicious - I will be a fat alco by the end of the trip!

Magnificent dessert

Foyer of the boat - pretty swish

Lounge of the ship - ditto