Köln, Germany

And on to Germany! Our second train ride was FARRR superior to the sleeper car - dad and I booked a first class cabin on the high speed ICE German train from Innsbruck to Cologne, Germany. We left mid-morning from Innsbruck to see the amazing countryside along the way.

Our first class train car

 We had lunch on the train, took in all the scenery, took some pictures, and made some friends in our cabin. We arrived in Cologne mid-afternoon, where we checked in to the Maritim Hotel right in downtown Cologne. Since Cologne is one of UPS's main hubs, we ran into quite of few of dad's colleagues - other pilots who were flying in or out for the weekend.

First sighting of Cologne!

 One of the pilots told us some great places to wander around while we were there, including a great place to get dinner that's extremely popular with the pilots for traditional German food.

the lobby of the Maritim Hotel

 Before dinner, dad and I wandered around Cologne. We went to the Dom, the oldest Cathedral in Germany (I believe it's around 1000 years old.) The architecture of the cathedral is truly impressive - even with all the amazing technology we have today, I simply don't think there is a way we could reproduce something so beautiful.

the Dom

the oldest Cathedral in Cologne, Germany

 We then went to Haxenhaus for dinner, which was DELICIOUS. Dad ordered the Haxe, for which the restaurant is named, and I ordered Sauerbraten, which is very similar to corned beef, if corned beef were German. Oh, and can you guess what Haxe is? Turns out...it's pork knuckle.

Haxenhaus - best place for haxe!

We ended up with a GIANT piece of crispy, salty, delicious meat that took 2 of us to finish. We washed it all down with lots of German beer - I could definitely get used to this.

HAXE = pork knuckle.

 Since we were so full from all the amazing food, we need a slow (emphasis on the slow) stroll along the waterfront before we could force down any more food. (One of the pilots told us about this ice cream place and we just had to try it)

walking along the Rhine

We walked along the Rhine, took some great pictures in the setting sun, and for a Thursday night, the place was crawling with people. We even saw a party boat floating along the Rhine full of business people getting down to the likes of Usher and Chris Brown. We stopped for ice cream before heading back to the hotel, but I would have loved to have stayed in Germany for longer. The weather, the food, the people - Germany is amazing. I can't wait to go back and travel through the Black Forest region, Munich, and even Berlin. Until then, Auf Weidersehen, Germany!