Cologne, Germany - December 16, 2021

We have spent little time in Germany in all of our travels. Back in the early 70's we spent some brief time in the Black Forest and Stuttgard and then several years ago we cruised the Main River seeing several small cities including Hieldelberg. That is why we were excited about this cruise in northern Germany. We were particularly anxious to see Cologne as it is the home of one of the great Cathedrals of Europe. From where we docked we could look up a hill at the majestic twin spires of the Cathedral. We took a walking tour that went through the old town area of Cologne that surrounds the Cathedral. This tour took us through 3 different Christmas Markets. We did not stop at any of these markets but knew we had free time after our tour concluded. During World War II 93% of the buildings surrounding the Cathedral were destroyed by Allied Forces bombing, while only 10% of the Cathedral itself was damaged. There are several theories for this. 1.) There was a secret agreement between the warring parties not to damage these edifices. 2.) Divine intervention. 3.) and most plausible, these large Churches were navigational markers for the bombers. Most of the destroyed buildings were rebuilt to look as they did before the war. There was a large Romanesque church near the Cathedral that was destroyed but still returned to its previous grandeur. This took over 40 years. Cologne was the northern outpost of the Roman empire so we were shown many ruins from this time. Of interest was a Roman mosaic floor that was unearthed during the construction of bomb shelters during WW II. This floor was re-covered with dirt to preserve it and later uncovered again. The Cologne Cathedral is of Gothic design with the foundation stone being layed in 1243. It was another 600 years before it was completed. At one time the Cathedral was the tallest building in Europe. Even now it is the second tallest of the cathedrals in Europe. The outside facade of the building is awe inspiring, particularly its twin spires. That is why we were a bit disappointed when we went inside. While the shear size of the interior is overwhelming, from a decor standpoint it is pretty blah. Most of the Cathedrals we have visited have small side chapels along the walls of the entire building. These chapels are usually elaborately decorated with large paintings and alters that are also impressive with gold crosses and candle holders and the like. The Cologne Cathedral only has these chapels in the area behind the main alter, and, other then one or two, were not particularly impressive. But still we were thrilled to finally see it. Now, about the Christmas Markets, afterall that is why we chose this cruise. The markets consisted of sturdy wooden booths that abutted each other and were situated to create a small warren of short streets. There was a mix of quality goods as well as lots of food and drink booths. The food was not your typical county fair food. There were shops with very nice Christmas decorations from beautifully designed and constructed paper stars to elaborately carved decorations to fancy snow globes. A ceramic booth featuring many Christmas decorations. Tim found a ceramic treble clef sign painted a beautiful forest green with white trim that will fit perfectly on his "football tree". At one of the food shops we bought a traditional German snack similar to a latke, a shredded potato pancake, that is deep fried and served with applesauce. It was delicious. Our first Christmas Market experience was wonderful. If we weren't so tired from the hour and a half walking tour preceeding the Market visit we would have stayed longer. Thankfully we have more Christmas Markets to look forward to. It is late Friday afternoon as we write this post we are docked in Rudesheim. Unfortunetely, this towns Christmas Market was the only one cancelled on our tour. This morning we cruised through the Rhine Valley Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We saw ruins of castles build 1000 years ago. There were impressive 500 year old castles that are still inhabited. We probably should not have been surprised at the number of vineyards we saw on the sides of the steep hills that line the river. And, of course, there were many picturesque villages. Check Tim's facebook page for some pictures. A word or two about food. The food on board has been excellent. There is a decided German bent to the menu which is to be expected and which we have enjoyed. We had an excellent Wienerschizel last night and we both enjoyed a cheese spatzle at lunch. Today at lunch we had a stuffed egg, think deviled egg, topped with a small dollup of cavier. A note to our grandchildren who are in charge of deviled eggs for the winter picnic and Easter. Start looking for the cavier that we now expect on our deviled eggs. We had a notable meal on Wednesday night. The ship has a specialty restaurant called "the Chef's Table". It is a seven course tasting menu. The meal opened with an Heirloom tomato carapccio with eggplant caviar. This was followed by a beet root marinated salmon with avocado, egg cruble, caper berries and mustard-dill sauce. Next was Lemon Grass soup with shitake-pumpkin relish and a vegatable dumpling. A skin grilled Pike Perch with citrus sauce, celery mash and beluga lentil ragout was next. These four courses were all paired with a lovely German white wine. To clear our pallete for the main course we were served a Cassis Sorbet in sparkling wine. The main course was beef tenderloin with truffle jus, sweet potato, wild broccoli, radish, artichoke and green peas. For dessert we finished with lemon pie, yoghurt, and fresh forest berries. With the last three courses we were served a wonderful German red wine. Other meals have been nearly as fun.