Guttentag, Schweinwunds !

Tom and I had a great day. We traveled by train from Brussels to Cologne, Germany to start. Right outside the Cologne Train Station is the Cathedral, which is beyond massive, it took 623 years to be completed, and was a major pilgrimage site during the middle ages. At least 2 saints (Felix and Christopher) are reputed to be buried here, and the bones of the Three Magi are here as well, in a suspended, solid gold box.

The train ride was about 2 hours, mostly farmland, with a few small towns. The landscape did change dramatically though. Initially it was flat and open, and then it became very hilly, and wooded.

Once we arrived in Cologne, Tom and I had lunch, there are alot of shops, bars, etc. near the train station. Cologne is the 4th largest city in Germany and is very industrialized. The city is divided by the Rhein River, and the oldest part of their Botanical Garden in known simply as Flora.

We managed to find very nice German Beer Steins, and a UPS Store which was officially closed, but the owner was inside working, so she let us in, turned on her computers, put our stuff together and was a superstar for us, especially in light of the service we received in Brussels.

We wandered past a wedding, at a church that would be considered unbelievable, if it wasn't 1/4 mile from the Cathedral. As we were watching the wedding, a group of people rode by on a bicycle/bar/keg, singing and chanting loudly. Tom thought this was great, and plans to have the beach crew build him one of these contraptions, with a Bear Bryant hat on top for homecoming games.

Tom didn't want to smile for pictures until I told him the only words I knew in German were "Guttentag" and "schweinhund" which would be the same as someone coming to New York and only knowing "Good Afternoon" and "S---Head". Tom loved this and from that point on, we greeted each other all day with that classic German phrase.

We were only in Cologne for a few hours, then we took another train to Amsterdam. It was a good walk from the station to our hotel. The city is built around outward rings of canals, we are 3 canals out from the central train station in a relatively nice area of town. The Heineken Brewery is just down the street, as is the Rijkmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum. Anne Frank's house is also nearby.

We are doing well and are well adjusted to European life, but still we are tired and ready to come home. More about Amsterdam tomorrow.

Kevin and Tom