Eau de Cologne

Cologne, Germany was the destination for the day - one Carolyn and I set out for early. We left the Guesthouse at about 7:30 AM as we headed down to the train station. It was quite brisk outside, which was a bummer as it's been gorgeous weather all week! No big deal - we just dressed in layers, and the walking warmed us up a bit too. We got to the train station at the perfect time - our bus arrived within 5 minutes. We then rode the bus to Aachen, Germany. This was supposed to take a little under an hour, but we accidentally rode the bus a few stops too far, OOPS, and so had to get off and wait for a bus to take us BACK to the original stop. We both had a good laugh about that one!! Once we successfully got to the Aachen train station, we realized we had time to kill until the next train, so we grabbed some lunch and just relaxed.

Our train pulled in and I was excited to see it was a double decker train! We rode a similar one in France when we went out to Versailles, and I thought it was so cool. We, of course, took seats on the top level! The train ride went pretty fast and before we knew it - we were in Cologne!

We had both decided that the Cologne Cathedral (called the Dom in Germany) and the Chocolate Museum were a main sites to hit for the day. We grabbed a map and headed out to explore the city! As we neared the doors to exit the train station we both started laughing. Looming right outside was the Dom. No exploring necessary. We could have taken pictures, and good close ones at that, from inside the train station. Ha - of course, we didn't, but that we could made it quite amusing. We went out to catch a closer glimpse and take pictures. We wandered inside to escape the wind and found a VERY tall ceiling and wonderful architecture. The outside is extremely ornate, and the inside is the opposite - gorgeous in it's simplicity. We were just turning to head back outside when this guy stopped us and asked if we went to the U (University of Minnesota). We said yes (confused) and he said he recognized us, as he went there too! What a coincidence! We all started to recognize one another from classes and chatted with him and his family for a bit. What a small, small, SMALL world!

After the Dom we headed down into the main shopping streets. We saw a display of pretzels, one that was covered in wonderful little goodies and the other in the normal salt. I OBVIOUSLY picked the good one - with the little goodies all over it! It was called a Nougatbrezel, which became the insult for the rest of trip for anything and everything. :)

With our snacks giving us a little boost of energy, we continued on walking towards the Chocolate Museum. We walked along the Rhine (which is HUGE) until we spotted the Museum in the distance! It's on it's own little island, and looks like a mixture of a modern day factory and an ancient stone house. We were both extremely excited - as we both have quite a lot of affection for chocolate.

The 'tour' starts with a little history of the cocoa bean, and what ancient cultures used it. The process of how the cocoa bean came to modern society as well as how chocolate is actually made were explained as well. My favorite part was when you actually get to go up to the machines that are making the chocolate, and get see what's happening through little windows. You get to walk along the whole little assembly line of chocolate making as well as the assembly of the chocolate into little wrapped bags that get sold in stores. I felt like I was watching an old Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood episode, where they explain how different things are made. There was also a wonderful view across the Rhine in this part of the museum as well, so we stopped to take in the gorgeous view! We even got to eat some wafers dipped in chocolate from their infamous chocolate fountain - and yes, we got seconds! :)


The WHOLE museum smelled like chocolate, which almost got overwhelming. We needed something to eat/drink to quench the chocolate need, and we both decided hot chocolate would be the perfect thing. It was indeed delicious and extremely rich. Rich enough that the chocolate gift shop really didn't seem all that appealing afterward, and we both bought nothing. We had already had our chocolate fix for the day!

We headed back into the city, and the sunlight now, for a walk around Cologne. We found lots of neat churches and shops that we explored. We even were able to take the picture we'd been planning out all trip - one of "Eau de Cologne". Cologne, a city with a 'scent' all it's own! Ha!

We both wanted to look for some gifts for family and were indeed successful. After some cheap dinner and more pictures in front of the Dom, we needed to do something 'German' before we left. Beer! We found a beer hall right by the the Dom and sat and enjoyed the fun atmosphere while sipping on some Kölsch beer, the Cologne specialty brew. (Picture on the right). Feeling like our Cologne experience was now complete, we left on the next train.

It was a great city to wander around in, with great shopping and great food wherever you went. We didn't walk around the WHOLE city as much of the main sites are more churches and museums, and we've decided the BIG churches are wonderful and if we happen upon a smaller, neat church, that's enough for us. It's just fun to walk around and take in the atmosphere and the people, not to mention the food as well! A real fun trip; Carolyn and I both enjoyed ourselves and got some unique gifts as well! :)