Our Last Day in Cologne

II'm Today was a quiet, laid back day for me. Mike went to work again, and I hung out at the hotel all morning. About noon I decided that I'd head out for a little walk. My walk became one of "noticing" cool images of people, buildings, activity, etc.  I hope you like these images:

Mike and I had another great meal in the Aldstat. We walked in the rain, with our umbrellas of course, and found a place that looked good to eat.  On our walk back, Mike stopped for an ice cream cone to finish off the evening. 

The Dom from our hotel room. 

Dinner.

The rain stopped for the walk home. 

Second Day On My Own

Chocolate Museum and Factory Tour?  Yes, please!

 

So, we had seen this little train tour bus thing and joked about getting on it. Yesterday I found where it loaded and read about it's two different routes. One route was called the Chocolate Express which stopped at the Chocolate Museum. Part of this museum takes you through a Lindt chocolate factory showing how the chocolate is made. This was a fun way for me to spend the morning.

After my chocolate tour, I went to a cafe for a quick bite of lunch. I had a vegetarian quiche that was yummy. Then I went back inside the Dom and did the self guided tour. 

 Luckily for me, I brought my umbrella because when I came out, it was pouring rain. I decided this was a good time to go back to the hotel for a while. 

After the rains blew through the sun came out, and I decided to go out and walk across the bridge to see the Dom from the other side of the river. 

My first selfie attempt. I get better at it, as you'll see. 

Not sure what happened to the sunshine, but it looks like rain again.

This is such a pretty church spire. We discovered it last night on our after dinner walk. 

I continue walking along the river and find myself back at the chocolate museum. I took this opportunity to take a better picture of the outside of the building.  

It's kind of crazy looking!  

And here's a closer look at that pretty church. I learned on my tour this morning that it's St. Martins. 

First Day On My Own

So, today Mike had to work, so I spent the day on my own. I slept in and didn't leave to room until almost noon. 

The weather was cloudy and cool, so I decided to shop and not do any sightseeing, hoping for sunshine and warmer weather tomorrow.  

I had fun shopping. I even bought a sweater and a scarf. I didn't pack for these cool temps and I'm. Planning on using the sweater and scarf tonight and tomorrow, if needed. 

After shopping it was back to the hotel to read and rest. I think Mike and I are going to an organ concert at the Dom tonight after he gets back. It should be a lot of fun!

Mike and I had a very fun evening. It started with an organ concert in the Dom. 

Then it was off to dinner at Peters Brauhaus. The food here was outstanding. The fried potatoes tasted so much like the ones Dad used to make us.  

After dinner we went for a little walk into the Altstadt. The small alleyways and streets lined by cafés fun to see at night. 

On the way back we stopped for another look at the Dom at night. It really is gorgeous!  

It's My Birthday!

After breakfast at our hotel, we were off to Drachenfels and Drachenberg. 

There were lots of pretty views from up here down to the surrounding cities.

Here's some pictures from inside the castle. 

After walking through the castle we went further up the cog rail to the ruins called Drachenfels. 

Our next stop on the birthday tour is Bonn. But first we have to cross the river, on a ferry- how cool is that!

And, we the the last bridge across the Rhine during WWII. 

In Bonn we saw a lot of cool things. Mike bought a walking tour app for his phone so we had fun with that. Bonn was really cool. It was the capital of Western Germany. Beethoven was born here. 

The town hall.

A statue of Beethoven.

Some gate thing that was the entrance to the main town square. 

Beethoven's birthplace.

Bonn University.

After driving back to Cologne, it was time for a little rest before going out to dinner. Mike found a great place just one block away for us to have a fantastic dinner. 

Brukhen- our place for dinner. 

So yummy- pork steak with Gorgonzola and peach, linguine, and vegetables.  This was fantastic!

Dessert was just as good- cherry cake with ice cream. It looked like a cherry pie, but was more like a cherry and chocolate chip bread. It was served piping hot and was quite delicious!