Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Hi from Koblenz


Hi! Well the ship does have e-mail occasionally so I will pay the 5 euros an hour and split the time with Tammy. The ship is great - first class all the way. We have been very busy but did have massages yesterday to start the day - it's a rough life I know. It took me awhile to not be a wet noodle but came back to life for our walking tour of Cologne. Yes, it is the very city where eue de cologne was invented in the 1700's. Farina was first and 4711 came later and is the most famous. We like the smell of both and bought some little samples. Kohn (German name) is also famous for Europes 3rd largest cathedral. It was the biggest and tallest when it was built but has been outdone since. It was started in the 1200's but not finished until the 1800's - over 600 hundred years to complete! It is supposedly the home to the relics (bones) of the three wisemen. They are enshrined in a very large and ornate gold sarcarphagus. It is covered in precious stones also and has been here since the 1200's. It was a windy but not rainy. We also saw a Roman mosaic from the 300's. It was really big (room size) and perfectly preserved.
Today it has drizzled all day. We took a walking tour thru Koblenz, a town I had never heard of. It is where the Rhine and Mozelle rivers come together. Our tour guide today was a lady about my age and she was so enthusiastic and dramatic - it was great. We saw many squares and buildings dating to the 1200's. A fun wet tour. After lunch we went on an excursion to the Marksburg castle also built in the 1200's that was untouched during the war. They have rooms decorated as they would have been in the Middle Ages and it was very interesting. Dad was in heaven - you know how he loves that time period!
Tomorrow we enter the Romantic Rhine area where lots of castles are - hopefully the weather will be a little better.
Well, I best go get ready for another great meal - Tammy and Eric already got a bratwurst at the carnival just down the road. They were really big and only 2.50 euros - a bargain for here! I saw a really cute skirt in a store yesterday but they wanted 129 euros so I passed. Oh, Tammy and Eric made a good impression on the captain and were invited to sit at his table for the Captains dinner last night! They had a great time at the 3 hour meal. We peasants had to wait to be served all 6 courses until they were done!
Well, take care and know I love and miss you but are having a great time. Hope all is well there.
Love,
Mom

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