We slept very well while the boat was cruising down the river. The ride is very smooth, you hardly know you're moving.We had our buffet breakfast and enjoyed watching the Rhine“traffic” go by. Our cabin has two large floor to ceiling windows from which we can enjoy the view.This is a very busy river with many cargo barges going up and down the river. I went to a very interesting German lesson with Hans, our cruise manager. He told us some background in German history and the origins of the language before going through a few basic phrases.
We had our buffet lunch with Tom and Pat, an elderly retired couple from Deception Bay. They were very interesting to talk to as they were former members of the Caboolture Shire Council and told of their experiences.
After lunch we joined a walking tour of Cologne which was very interesting. The sun had come out and was quite warm, so pleasant. Our guide took us to the Cologne Cathedral which was quite spectacular – every bit as wonderful as we had been told. It took 800 years to build and it is truly breathtaking in its magnificence. After the cathedral, our guide said goodbye and we explored on our own. We went to an internet cafe, taking our PC but it didn't work so we used their computer to send some emails – much cheaper at 1.00 Euro per half hour than the 0.30 Euro per minute on board the ship.
We walked a bit among the crowd and stopped for a drink at an outdoor cafe. I bought some chocolate at the Chocolate Museum shop, which we enjoyed. Then we had dinner on board and had a couple from the Japanese group seated with us. That was a bit difficult as they didn't speak English, but we did a lot of smiling, so was okay. We went up on deck after dinner to enjoy the evening – still sunshine at 9.30 pm!!!! Tomorrow we will go through the “castle alley”.
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