Up the Rhine

Köln, trip 3, week 2

Cologne is best known for its very impressive Cathedral. So it was busy but not impossibly so when we visited and spent a while with the stained glass, arches, and chapels. 

Moving down the Rhine, we took in a slightly more modern site, das Schokoladenmuseum - the Chocolate Museum. It lives up to its name - they give you chocolate as soon as you walk in the door, at the ticket validation point, in at least two places in the museum itself, and finally at the exit. The chocolate they give you is prepared in the museum itself, you can watch the entire automated process. There is also a small rainforest greenhouse and extensive exhibits covering farming and manufacturing methods as well as sociological/historical facts and artifacts.

We wrapped up the day with an hour-long Rhine cruise. It was a little thin on content - there's just not a lot of sites along the river in Cologne - but it was nice to sit in the cool breeze after all that walking.

We had the world's largest Wiener Schnitzel for dinner, along with sausage and sauerkraut. And beer. (obviously!)

P.S. Germany was eliminated by Spain in the quarterfinal, but the place is still crawling with Dutch and English fans.