Sunday morning, we sadly said goodbye to Harlingen, Netherlands and drove to Koln, Germany where we checked into the Hyatt Regency with a great room overlooking the Rhine, the Hohenzollern Bridge, and, across river, the magnificent Koln Cathedral. In the morning, we walked across the bridge and found a great little café for coffee and breakfast after which we circled the cathedral and took many pictures. It is impossible to take a complete photo of the entire cathedral with our cameras and the vantage points from which we were shooting. We will have to keep the big picture in our brains!! It is spectacular!!
After the cathedral, we walked around the old town part of Koln near the Dom (cathedral), had another delicious coffee and went back to go inside the church. The outside is so beautiful and intricate that we can't imagine mortal men with hand craftsmanship building such a structure. The inside is equally impressive. It is one of the most exquisite cathedrals that we have seen.
The afternoon had us on the road to Rudesheim where we planned to stay for three nights before heading for the Frankfurt airport early Thursday morning to travel home. We love this little German village on the Rhine though it is a very busy town with lots of traffic due to the closure of the main road along the river. The road is closed because they are constructing a bike path and apparently found some old WWII bombs when the construction commenced.
We checked into the Rudesheimer Hof Hotel and scored a nice room on the top floor. It is a quirky typically European hotel, but very nice and very clean. They do have a lift and we appreciated that. The first night was very noisy, and, on the second night, we requested a fan to keep the air moving and closed the window. That made all the difference!!
The food at the hotel is excellent. We've enjoyed everything that we've had. The liver cooked in wine is superb. The included breakfast ample and very good.
On Tuesday, we took an all day Rhine River cruise and traveled from Rudesheim to Koblenz and back. The views of the countryside by the river are lovely and the many castles are magical. We enjoyed Rhine wine on the Rhine!! We got back to our hotel a little after 8 p.m., had a light dinner and went to bed.
Wednesday is a laid back day. We have spent it walking the town of Rudesheim, doing a little shopping, a little eating and lots of people watching. Wayne enjoyed trying and liking Rudesheimer Coffee made with a famous local brandy and rather like an Irish coffee. The café owner instructed Wayne not to stir the coffee, but to drink it sipping it through the whipped cream and chocolate on the top, using the spoon to scoop up the remaining cream and chocolate after all the coffee is gone. He started to stir and the owner rushed over saying "NO, no, wait until the coffee is gone!"
Currently, we are sitting in the beer garden at the hotel, where we have the entire place to ourselves, enjoying a quiet time by the fountain. Wayne is reading and I'm blogging!!
Tomorrow we have to be in the car and driving away by 7:30 am to get to Frankfurt for our 10:45 am flight. We arrive back in Milwaukee around 4:30 pm and are ready to be HOME!!
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