Wednesday, September 11

We traveled through the night to Cologne. We all ate breakfast together. There is the buffet with the typical breakfast foods or you can order off the menu.

I got to the table a little after the rest of them and they were just getting their food. They had ordered the A+ meal which was steak, eggs, hasbrowns, bacon and a grilled tomato.

I ordered the eggs Benedict. The Benedict came on toasted white bread instead of an English muffin so was soft and just not the same. And one of the poached eggs was over cooked so the yolk was not runny. Oh, well, I still ate it.

The day was sunny and warm – the nicest day so far. Don, Frankie and I sat on the sun deck for quite a while and soaked up some sun. Barb and Celia had tried to play cards on the deck but it was too windy so they went to the lounge to play Hand and Foot. They ended up meeting a couple who played with them.

Lunch for me was a nice salad and then curry. There were two kinds – shrimp and chicken. I got a little of both. It was good but not very spicy so I had to add some sombal oelek.

We arrived in Cologne a little ahead of schedule. We had a tour scheduled to walk through old town then go to the cathedral. It was nice because the tours are small groups with a local guide.

Don, Frankie and I went on the ‘regular’ tour instead of the gentle or active. Celia stayed on board as she is limited physically due to her knees. Barbe joined the other ladies, Sara and Deanna.

Our guide was excellent. He was witty and very intelligent, a history teacher for 16-17 year old boys. He asked each person where they were from and knew the state or province capital and some bit of trivia about everywhere.

Our guide, Marcus, and two statues. It is good luck to stand on the feet and rub the nose.

We went into an old town square where Marcus told us a story about a poet who lived on the upper floor and a musician on the lower floor. The musician would put his instrument out the window and play and disturb the poet. The poet finally got fed up and “Driss happens.”

Cathedral Church of St Peter is the main attraction we saw in Cologne. It was started in 1248 and finished in 1880. However, it is under constant repair and cleaning. The saying goes that the day it is finished will be the end of the world.

The inside was huge with vaulted ceilings and large stained glass windows. It is a working church, not a museum so there were people praying as well as tourists gawking.

We got back to the ship and I had to get ready for my dinner at the Captain’s Table. I was the only one of the five of us invited, so far, at least. There are Captain’s dinners usually twice during the week. I think the cruise manager felt sorry for me because I was by myself. Lol.

The dinner was the same menu as the rest of the diners had. There was fish and turkey. I got the fish and it was very good.

I was seated next to the captain so was able to converse with him. He seemed a little shy. He is only 42 and has been a captain for 13 years and worked the cruises for 19. He is Hungarian and lives near Budapest.

On the other side was a woman from Montreal. She was interesting to talk with and was on her second cruise with AmaWaterways. She comes with a friend that she worked with over the years.

After the dinner, I met back up with my friends and we sat in the lounge listening to a couple who sang older pop songs. Frankie was enticed to dance once again even though he said he wasn’t going to. I left and am not sure if the rest of them danced more.