Day three of our Rhine River Cruise brought us to Cologne, Germany. This was a busy day in which we did three tours, and also my favorite day of the cruise. The boat docked in Zons, Germany, and we all disembarked and loaded into buses. It turns out buses move faster than the river boat, and can take a more direct route, so we took buses to Cologne and explored the city, while the boat made its way there as well.
Cologne Cathedral
We started our time in Cologne by learning about and then touring Northern Europe’s largest gothic-style church. Construction on the cathedral started in 1248 and continued in stages until final completion in 1880. The cathedral is quite large, and a bit ominous looking when standing below the 515 feet tall spires, and looking up.
The cathedral escaped WWII with very little damage, unlike the city around it was ravaged. We were not the only folks checking out the cathedral. It turns out that it is Germany’s most visited landmark, with an average of 20,000 visitors daily. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
Following our time at the church, we did a walking tour of the city. Our tour guide shared with us the original cologne of Cologne, a citrus-based scent. We also learned that many undetonated bombs from WWII lie beneath the city. They are often found when doing modern-day construction. This of course slows construction projects down, as professionals are brought in to carefully defuse the bombs, often meaning evacuations of many people. We walked by city hall, and discovered that marriages in Germany require a civil ceremony (at city hall), in addition to a church ceremony.
Following the tour, it was back to the boat for lunch (now docked in Cologne). To get to the boat, we had to cross the river by walking across the Hohenzollern Bridge, also known as “love locks” bridge, for the thousands of padlocks couples have locked onto the railings as proof of their love. Rumor is that to ensure everlasting love, a couple should fix a padlock on the bridge, and then thrown the key into the Rhine River below.
Bruhl Palaces
After lunch we were off to our 2nd, and optional, excursion of the day – Bruhl Palaces. We toured two of the twenty-two palaces that the prince-archbishop of Cologne, Clemens August, had built back in the 18th century, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. The first was Augustusburg Castle. This was an over-the-top, lavish home for one family.
Silk wallpaper, leather wallpaper, frescos on the ceilings, marble floors, wood floors, and an indescribable staircase. No expense was spared in the construction and decoration of this castle. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed to be taken on the inside of the castle, but the UNESCO website shows you a few pictures of the inside. If ever given the chance to visit this castle, I highly recommend you do so. It is the most ornate dwelling I have ever visited.
Next we visited to the Falkenlust hunting lodge, only a few miles away from the castle. This residence is much smaller, but still elegantly appointed. Falconry was the hunt of choice for the royals, and this residence is where they started on their hunts. The site was selected for the hunting lodge due to its proximity to the flight path of the herons, the favorite prey in falconry. After seeing the sites of Falkenlust, it was time to get on the autobahn and head back to the boat.
Beer Tour
In the evening we headed out for our third excursion of the day – the optional “Beer Culture Dinner Tour.” This excursion, while a bit expensive, is one I highly recommend. This was one of the few times that we were in small groups during the cruise. In most excursions we were in groups of 35 – 40. In this excursion we were in a group of 12. This meant that we got to know our guide better, and were able to ask him questions not only about the beer and food, but about the culture.
This tour was all about kolsch – a light, crisp beer, brewed only in Cologne. We started the evening at Brauhaus Malzmuhle, where since 1858 they have brewed the Muhlen Kolsch. Kolsch is served in slender, 6.5 ounce glasses. The beer is best when cold (5 – 8 degrees celsius), so they don’t serve too much at once in fear of it getting warm. An empty glass is a sign to the server that you want another. They will keep serving you, without asking, unless you put a coaster on top of your glass. The server keeps track of your tab using tally marks on the coaster, noting each time you are served.
Along with the beer, we were also served food. We started with appetizer plates of gouda, blood sausage, head cheese, liverwurst, potato salad and bread, along with mustard. Next came a salad with a mustard dressing – which I really liked!
For dinner pork shank, beef, cabbage, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut adorned our plates, with applesauce on the side. After we finished our meal, we were off to another brew house. We visited 3 more after this one, and were able to experience Paffgen kolsch, Peters kolsch and Pfaffen bier.
Celebration
We returned to the boat just in time for a little 4th of July celebration. Our program director, Ria, did a fire dance (don’t worry, she used l.e.d. lights instead of fire), and then fireworks went off in the distance. Overall it was a great day in Cologne, and a great 4th of July with the family.
