Well, we finally got the sleep we so desperately needed! We slept in until 8 am, and we needed to get up, have breakfast, and be out the door by 9 am. Ack! I decided to eat a small breakfast since our lunch and dinner are quite full.
We were out the door and loaded on to buses to go to Cologne. Last time, we docked early in the morning right under the cathedral, but this time, they drop us off about 40 minutes away. It was nice to see the countryside around Cologne.
We made it to Cologne by 10. George and I decided not to repeat the same tour that we went on five years ago. We went straight to the tower climb of 533 steps. I cannot tell you how great it was to do that without any restrictions with my leg. Even going down was quite easy. It was also great that we didn't have HUNDREDS of elementary school students going up the tower steps while we were going down like last time. We just had a couple of Chinese guys huffing and puffing and laughing along with us, and one red-haired 20 something, German guy obviously struggling (but also smiling). We made it up before we knew it and wondered why it seemed so much harder last time. The view was great!
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| Roman Wall in Cologne |
Then we walked along the river to our boat which was not quite ready for us to board. It was interesting to watch the deckhands work on docking the boat. What a lot of work they go through.
After this, we ate most of our lunch alone until an older couple asked to join us, and they are from OREGON! Then, they said that their son and daughter in law were joining us, and they both went to Oregon State! So we had an OREGON table! It was great. Their kids even went to Newberg High School (where George went), and they are believers! How fun. We had a talk about things important to all of us, and I was so happy to find brothers and sisters here on our boat. They are Beaver Believers from Oregon. After a while we found the wife relaxing, and she told us her whole testimony about how she came to faith at Oregon State. LOVE IT!
After this, we were going to rent bikes, but we decided to just stroll, and the sun was shining! It was hitting the tower. We walked by the Old Market and took some pictures. Then we walked across the Locks of Love Bridge. People declare their love by locking a lock to the bridge and then throwing the key into the Rhine River.
We walked across to the Cologne Triangle building and decided to pay the 3 Euros per person to go 28 floors up (not walking this time) to an observation deck that overlooks the city. Being that it is not the tourist season, it only had a few people. What a view!
Then we walked downriver and saw a kayaker and thought how fun it would be to kayak the Rhine. Right after that, we saw a sign, and my husband with his excellent ability to read German said that it was a sign for joining a kayak club! As he was reading it out loud to me, a man came out of the clubhouse and said, "Do you kayak?" We said, "YES!" We told him we were from Oregon where many people kayak because we have such beautiful rivers and lakes. He said, "OH, I have heard that. Would you like to see our storage rooms under the bridge?" We said, “Sure!” There are over 2000 people in clubs all over Cologne, and every city that has waterways has many clubs. He said that people never kayak privately and only kayak in clubs. He also said that no one did kayaking for tourists. German people have been so kind.
After this, we came back to rest in our cabin until dinner where we sat with Mary Ida, Chris, Brandy (the smart lawyers) and Lidia. We laughed a lot. They had a funny story about a person that was constantly getting in their way during the tour of the cathedral and Brandy and her life-jacket. Love these girls.
After dinner, we were set to raptures with a classical music concert with a violin and guitar. It was absolutely delightful.
That is all for now. See you tomorrow, friends!
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