We had our breakfast and then a great many of us hung out on the sun deck enjoying the view. There is so much to see all around us as we cruise along the Rhine River in Germany. We passed under more beautiful bridges. I think I am quickly becoming a bridge fanatic. I am also enjoying the many steeples along the shore and the different styles of architecture.
There is quite a bit of traffic on the river this morning. We passed a barge full of John Deere tractors, which caused quite a bit of conversation up on deck. It was attached to another barge carrying semi cabs. And soon after, another barge passed us with a load full of cars. So you just never quite know what you will see on the river.
Campgrounds seem to be pretty popular in Europe along the river. We have passed several of them. A lot of large industries also have set up their factories along the river, too. It’s a busy waterway that is for sure.
We passed through the city of Dusseldorf this morning, which has some interesting architecture. Some of it is modern, but I like it. It sort of reminds me of buildings in a cartoon or something. It is hard to explain unless you see them for yourself.
At 11 AM, I headed downstairs to meet Mom and Aunt Peggy for the German language lesson led by Tineke (who is Dutch). It was very interesting to say the least, but I was distracted and a bit sad to be missing the scenery up top, too. I’m quite clearly smitten with being on the sun deck so that I can see everything that is going on.
Today, George informed me about the prevalence of the Roman numeral “IV” being written out as “IIII” in Europe, and once he mentioned it, I kept seeing the improper “IIII” everywhere. Leave it to George to mention something like that!
After lunch, we headed out into Cologne for our first German city visit, and our first stop was the Roman Germanic Museum. I was excited that we could take pictures, but then I got yelled at for taking pictures in the first room after I had been granted permission. HA! Turns out that there were a couple of the entry rooms where photographs were not allowed of certain displays. Of course, I didn’t know that and hence the reprimand. But despite our early issues with the museum, I loved it. It houses all kinds of ancient Roman artifacts from the period of the Roman emperors who attempted to overtake the Germanic tribes. Our guide led us to the highlight of the museum's collection, the Dionysus Mosaic, which dates from about 220 AD. It lies exactly where it was found, and the museum was built around this star exhibit. It was discovered in 1941 when workers were digging an air-raid shelter.
Another main attraction is the reconstructed Tomb of Poblicius, dating from around 40 AD and standing about 15 meters high beside the mosaic. Poblicius was an important veteran who served in the Fifth Legion.
I learned why there are so many heads and busts of Romans rather than full body sculptures. The Romans were frugal. They made the heads or busts removable so that when there was a change of leadership (governor, emperor, etc.), they could remove the old and install the newly carved head or bust. Brilliant! This explains the clean cuts on many of the heads and busts I have seen in this exhibit and others before it, and why most of them are missing a body. And now you know the rest of the story...
Some of the glass and stone jars were amazingly detailed. One glass jar they discovered was still sealed and contained the original sealed contents. Incredible stuff!
After our tour of the Roman Germanic Museum, we had free time to visit Cologne, and so the 4 of us visited the Cologne Cathedral, which was Mom and Dad’s first introduction to European cathedrals. It was pretty awesome. Founded in 1388, this gothic cathedral has twin spires, each 515 feet high. The Cathedral was begun in 1248 but not completed until 1880. The structure was thoroughly restored after heavy damage during World War II, and is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of the glass and stone jars were amazingly detailed. One glass jar they discovered was still sealed and contained the original sealed contents. Incredible stuff!
After our tour of the Roman Germanic Museum, we had free time to visit Cologne, and so the 4 of us visited the Cologne Cathedral, which was Mom and Dad’s first introduction to European cathedrals. It was pretty awesome. Founded in 1388, this gothic cathedral has twin spires, each 515 feet high. The Cathedral was begun in 1248 but not completed until 1880. The structure was thoroughly restored after heavy damage during World War II, and is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Aunt Peggy, Mom and I opted to walk to the Chocolate Museum. It was up the river a couple of blocks, but we managed to find it and visit the museum gift shop for some chocolates. And then we walked back to the ship. Dinner was pretty tasty tonight, and it was followed by some onboard entertainment by La Strada – a trio consisting of a keyboard and 2 violins. They were amazing, talented musicians.
After the concert, I went back up on the sun deck to take a few more pictures and caught some of Cologne at night. Our boat left Cologne as we were heading to bed tonight, and tomorrow we will wake up somewhere else.
I tried to call Barbara tonight to wish her a happy birthday, but I can’t get a call through tonight from Germany. Bummer! I did think of her today though. I even took a short video of Dad wishing her a happy birthday while we were near the Cologne Cathedral. That HAS to count for something, right?
Favorite Thing or Funny Moment
- Me: showing Mom her first European cathedral in Cologne – she was delighted!
- FEELING: Happy!
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