Don't Blink...

Crossing the border from Holland into Germany, we stopped at the cutest little shop. There was the most amazing life size coo coo clock outside and we were lucky enough to be there when it was chiming. The owner gave us complimentary cherry wine (I passed) and a slice of black forest cake. This was the spot for coo coo clocks but I went for the hand carved crosses that were crafted by the owner of the shop. Even better, he signed it!

We had two stops in Germany. The first was Cologne. We had lunch here. The only high point was the completely ginormous church. It was an amazing sight and I would know how old it was but my laptop with all of my notes and journaling from the trip was stolen, thus the reason (one anyway) my blog is so behind. Anyway, this cathedral is ancient and filthy and completely awe inspiring. I put it up there with the pyramids. I mean, how did they build this thing?

After viewing the church, we wandered for a bit and then decided to grab some lunch. Adam and I found a sidewalk café and sat down to eat. I decided to use the restroom before getting back on the bus. Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw a window in the stall that looked out onto the street. I decided to wait. One of our fellow tourists was not so lucky. He used a different restroom at a different café. The doors t the stalls were clear you triggered the lock…then it clouded over so that the other people in the unisex restroom could not see into the stall. Well, you know, things look different in Europe…even locks. And well, we have all seen two sided glass…so, it was an your easy mistake to think that although you could see out, others could not see in…you can use your imagination to finish that story…poor guy.

Moving on, we got back onto the bus and drove or a while. An amusing aside…at this point, I think it fair to say that pretty much everyone was exhausted by the fast pace of the tour. Every time we got onto the bus it was no more than 30 minutes before 90% of us were asleep…had mouths hanging wide. This time when we woke up it was to board a boat for a river cruise along the Rhine River. I just had to buy the book to help me identify all the castles we were seeing along the banks. Some had been turned into hotels, some were still homes (imagine, living in a castle and others had been abandoned. Probably the most interesting one was the one that had been built right in the middle of the river! Shaped like some weird oval dome, the current just rushing by it’s front door. Today it is used as a base for the river patrol.

Between the castles were vineyards growing up the steep hills of the river bank and occasionally we saw a man walking through the rows up and down the steep hills checking his crops. I couldn’t help but think, he must have huge calves! Aside from the scenery, the most enjoyable part of the cruise was just sitting on the top deck, in the sun, next to Adam, with the wind blowing at us and just having a couple of moments to together…So, Germany was kind of our "Don't blink or you'll miss it" part of the tour...a shame to be sure...we will have to go back someday with some expert tour guides...maybe someone who has lived there????

We got into Heidelberg in the late afternoon. I think we had dinner with the group. There might have been time to explore on our own but I’m pretty sure we just went upstairs and crashed. Next stop…