Rollin' Down the River

We boarded an early morning train to Bacharach to catch our KD Line Rhein (Rhine) River cruise.    Bacharach would appear to be a very pretty town, maybe for another time.  We board the boat and proceed to the upper deck and wrangle 3 chairs on a crowded deck.  As we joined this cruise in progress most of the good spots were taken.  We immediately checked one of our to-do boxes by having over priced beer while cruising down the Rhein. It doesn't take long to see the appeal of a Rhein River cruise as the castles pop up around almost every corner.  At every stop along the way the crowd thins out.  

The Rhein has always been an important highway of commerce.  We learnt an interesting fact - the barge people have their own subculture.  The owner/operator captain and his family live on the stern of the barge, complete with their car while the workers are housed up forward.  The barges travel from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Switzerland and all points in between.  More on the cruise later.   We arrived at Koblenz and hiked 2k in the blistering heat.  Hopped the train for Köln (Cologne), a must-see on Judy's wish list for Germany.  Even all of Judy's stories about the first impression when you get your first glimpse of the Kölner Dom didn't prepare us for just how big this damn thing is.

This was the tallest structure in the world for a number of years and even today it's a struggle for your mind to grasp the scale of the building.  We could give you all the measurements of size and you still could not possibly comprehend the enormity.  It's a definite "see to believe".  Construction began in 1248 and continued through to the 16th century.  Then the money dried up.  In the mid nineteenth century after German unification and an out flowing of German national pride money and resources were thrown at the project and it was completed in 38 years.  Most of the early financing for the Dom was provided by pilgrims.  There were two important pilgrimage sights in the Dom - one being the Madonna of Milan sculpture which is associated with miracles and, if you can believe it, the bones of the three kings of "We Three Kings" fame.   

The reliquary containing the bones of the three kings.  

The Dom contains enough stained glass to cover 3 football fields.

The other important pilgrimage to Köln was our search for Kölsch beer which is native to Köln and apparently its best purveyor is Peter's Brauhaus.   Located a short distance from the Dom, we settled in for a few samples and dinner.  A fabulous, authentic German dinner, washed down with the aforementioned Kölsch, which was worthy of its reputation.  Six Kölsch, one Fanta, three entrees, two desserts, two souvenir glasses and a wonderfully charming waiter for the amazingly low price of €60.