Guten Tag Germany

This morning we left our hotel in Amsterdam bound for Germany with a few stops along the way. First was Cologne where we saw the Dom (Cologne cathederal) building commenced in 1248 and it stands at a whopping 144.5 metres (515 feet) its one impressive church! From here we had a little free time in Cologne to order some lunch, which was left up to me..  vier (4) ummm how do you say burger again I thought to myself??? just point to the board, so thats what I did.. note to self  - ordering is hard in a different language be more prepared next time you step up to a counter!

Cologne also happens to be the place where the first mass produced fragrance was made – 4711

After our break we headed through the countryside of Germany, listening to recordings from Winston Churchill and Hitler) then Graham did a talk on the Hitler regime. We all know growing up how bad it was but the way he explained it really stuck with me for some reason. After the talk he played 2 songs, both of which made me cry. Such a moving talk.

When we arrived at Boppart we all boarded a cruise to sail down the Rhine ending up at St Goar. We heard the myth of Lorelay (myth has it that she caused the boats to crash on the river by blowing them kisses) I have to say Boppart is simply gorgeous and so quaint.

After our lovely cruise we arrived in Mannheim for the night. Another lovely city, I felt very safe here. We ducked out for a while to look at the shops and then came back and crashed..big day!

Lots of jet streams through EuropeOur tour director – he certainly knows his historyNote to anyone going to Europe – if you want to take photos of mimes/buskers pay them first..otherwise you will be yelled at..take it from me!