Into Germany

One thing you are faced with on a holiday like this is......food! There just seems to be too much on offer all the time. Some of you are probably thinking 'so where's the problem?'  The problem is - you can start to feel like a big blob!!

You don't want to miss out on anything, you want to taste everything......so some discipline is needed!

Yesterday I made the brave decision to try and help myself so I visited the gym on board and actually did use some of the machines....ha! And this morning I surprised myself by waking up in time to go to a stretching class - which may not sound that exciting - but was surprisingly good, and then followed that with a walk/jog round the top deck a few times. So I think I was a little more disciplined today but only a little! I am on holiday after all. Best thing I ate today - a chilled pear soup. I KNOW! It sounds weird and geeky.....but honestly, it was delicious!

We have been on the move most of today. This morning we passed through Dusseldorf with its impressive bridges over the river. The Rhine is a huge river and at the moment the water levels are very high so there is a massive amount of water beneath us. 

   Dusseldorf

Sometimes a cruise will get cancelled if the water level is too high and the boat cannot fit under some of the low bridges......if that happens you get put on a coach tour! How disappointing that would be......the whole point of doing this is to be on a boat!!

There are always interesting things to see on the river, it is a very busy water way. Check out this boat that passed by full of John Deere tractors - that'd be a sight for sore eyes for some guys!

One thing that is fascinating is there are many people who live and make their living on the river. They operate these huge long boats that haul all sorts of cargo and at the rear of the boat they have living quarters, usually with a car and small boat on the deck as well for when they dock. 

This afternoon we docked at Cologne for a few hours and did a walking tour of the city. For a Saturday afternoon it seemed to be packed with people, but maybe that's normal. We wandered round the cobbled streets and took in the atmosphere of the place with its old buildings and people everywhere enjoying their Saturday afternoon - sitting at pubs and outdoor restaurants drinking beer and singing - yes, some of them were singing! Sounded quite good actually even if it was fuelled by the brown liquid!

The main attraction was to visit the famous ancient cathedral in the city centre. This church started in 1248 as a place to house relics of the three Magi. It continued its construction and development until about 1880 and has 2 towering spires that are 157 metres high.

During the war 90% of the city was bombed and flattened but the cathedral stayed standing with only minimal damage......amazing to see this ancient building, which is still functioning as a church.

As we were having dinner this evening we quietly pulled away from the dock and continued our journey.  If it wasn't for the huge floor length windows everywhere you'd probably not even realise you were on the move.

I discovered a very cool thing this evening. There is a channel on the tv in your cabin that links to a camera on the bow of the boat so you can see what's ahead. We are continually passing points of interest so there's no need to miss out on anything.

Till next time..............