Believe it or not, we woke up the next day and it was still morning! In fact, Jeff and I actually made it downstairs in time to have a complimentary breakfast being served at the Hotel. We got there just in time, as they cleared everything right after we got our meal from the buffet and sat down at a table. Once again, more rolls and lunch meat. Downed that with some coffee and we were ready for another day of adventure in Cologne! The rest of the gang had already had breakfast and we made arrangements to meet them in front of the Dom at 9:30.
Today is Thursday. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Frankfurt and Saturday morning we fly home. But don't worry, we have plenty more adventures ahead!
We all met in front of the Dom as planned, then we walked around past the Dom toward the riverfront. When we reached the river we made a left down a nice sidewalk toward some boats we saw docked along the river. Our plan was to take a short boat ride on the Rhine.
As we walked under the railroad bridge, Harald was stopped by a man in a small shack. He convinced Harald to buy tickets for the sightseeing boat that docks there. It was for a one hour sightseeing cruise, just what we needed. We had over a half hour to kill before the next departure, so we relaxed and looked around a bit. Marty and I walked up the steps to the train bridge above us. Marty snapped a few train photos, naturally.
Then our boat arrived and we all boarded.
There was a small cafe onboard so we all ordered some refreshments. Marty must not have had enough last night, as he ordered a beer! It was a Dom Kölsch. We would be visiting the Dom Brewery Museum tomorrow, so Marty got a first taste of their beer. It was too early for the rest of us to have any beer, so we ordered soda and coffee instead.
Marty's first beer of the day. Dom Kölsch
Modern bridge crossing the Rhine
It was a fairly warm, sunny day. The perfect weather for hiking around town. We soon moved up on deck to take in the sights.
During the cruise, we passed the Chocolate Factory Museum, which was on a small island near the shore. We decided to go there next, so after the boat ride, we hiked a short distance along the shore to the museum.
When we got there, we had to cross a short draw bridge to reach the island. We paid our entrance fee and entered the museum. The first exhibits, however, had us confused. They were African culture exhibits. What did they have to do with chocolate? Oh, they were from Central America. I get it now.
We passed them and found ourselves in a large glass room which was filled with all kinds of stainless-steel chocolate-making machinery. It was a complete mini factory which processed the chocolate from the beans to the finished product right in front of us. Marty, who is a gadget freak, was in heaven. (You should see all the beer-making gadgets Marty has in his basement) At one end of the room was a chocolate fountain where a lady was dipping wafers and handing them out to the tourists. They were delicious! I convinced Jerry to get back in line with me for seconds or thirds! He didn't want to, but I twisted his arm!
The rest of the museum was really boring. We all split up and looked at things at our own pace. After a while, I walked around by myself looking for the rest of the group. I was beginning to worry, because I hadn't seen anyone for a few laps around the museum. Then I spotted the Carneys around the factory area again.
We had plans to take a Cologne bus tour later and it was getting late, so I left the museum and hit the gift shop. There was a ton of different kinds of chocolate on sale. I settled on a tin of assorted chocolates and a bag of small, milk chocolate samples. The Carneys joined me in the gift shop, so I was with part of our group, at least.
After purchasing the chocolate, I waited outside for the rest of the group to trickle out. Harald was there and expressed concerns that we needed to get moving if we were going to make the last sightseeing bus which leaves at 15:00 (3:00 p.m.). However, we were missing Jeff and Marty. We could not go back into the museum without purchasing another ticket, so we had to wait for them to come out.
It got so late, that we realized we would have to miss the bus and do something else, instead. No problem. Finally, I spotted Jeff heading toward the exit of the museum. I yelled to him to go back and look for Marty. He did and soon emerged with Marty. Now, however, we had to wait even longer for them to stop in the gift shop. Fortunately, it was a nice day, so we stood outside and took in the sights. Apparently, Marty had to study every aspect of each machine until he understand how it worked. Only then did he move on to the next machine in the process. I'm very glad for Marty's sake that we went there. Although I was a little bored, the fact that Marty had fun made it worth the trip!
Waiting for Jeff and Marty
Once we were all together, we decided on plan B. Lunch! By now, we were starved, so Harald walked us back toward the Alter Markt (Old Market) section, where we had visited some pubs the night before. We stopped at the Gaffel-Haus, which was too crowded the night before. We decided to sit at tables outside in the court yard. We had a light lunch and a couple rounds of Gaffel Kölsch before heading for a tour of the Dom.
A late lunch at the Gaffel-Haus in the Alter Markt
When we got to the Dom, Harald told us if we wanted to climb to the top of the Dom, we needed to go now because they close the tower at 17:00 (5:00 p.m.). The Carney's decided to pass on the experience, but the rest of us were up for the challenge. It's a good thing we didn't overindulge at lunch, because there are 509 steps to the top! That's a height of 157 meters.
So around and around we climbed, up a narrow, spiral staircase. Did I mention it was narrow? Oh, yes. And there were people going down while we were climbing up, too. The steps were badly worn due to the thousands of people that have climbed them before us. Every now and then we would pass a window where we could look out. We got to an open doorway at one point, but the stairs kept going up, so I kept going up. I later found out the door led to an area where you could see the giant bells.
Keep climbing, Marty!
When I finally got to where I thought was the top, I entered a giant room with a set of steel steps in the middle leading ever higher. I sat there a while and gasped for air. Marty climbed on ahead, while I politely waited for the others.
When I finally had enough energy to climb the final flight of stairs, I looked out the first window and almost passed out! It was a breathtaking view of the Rhine with the train bridge. However, I was out of breath and vertigo was setting in. I snapped a couple pictures, but felt as if I were going to drop the camera at any moment!
There was a nice view of the Rhine where we could also see the Alter Markt section where we just had lunch. The buildings lining the Alter Markt were each a different color and all lined in a row with steep pointed roofs.
View of the Rhine and the Alter Markt
Scott standing in the observation deck of the Dom
After a short while, an employee began telling everyone it was closing time in the tower and we had to go back down. As you might imagine, it was a lot easier going down. Also, we didn't have the problem of squeezing by people who were on their way up.
When we got to the bottom, we all wandered around inside the Dom. It was like the Louisana SuperDome with stained glass windows, it was so big!
After wandering around inside the Dom for a while, once again, when it was time to leave, we had trouble finding everyone. I think Marty was bringing up the rear again! Bad, bad Marty!
We finally all met out in front of the Dom and headed back to the Hotel. We took a short rest and then headed out again for dinner.
Next, Schreckenskammer!
