Guten Tag from Germany

Okay so I am actually in Austria by now...but I catch up whenever I can get a good WiFi
signal, okay?

I went from Paris to Cologne, Germany.  My plan had been to see the
cathedral and then take of down the Rhein River to arrive in Munich
 in time for the opening of Oktoberfest.

Two things I decided...I was packing too much into my schedule to really enjoy anything and I really liked Cologne and wanted some time just to wander around.  So I skipped the river cruise...have
 to do it next time.

When you come out of the haupbanhof (main train station) in Cologne
you walk out the door unaware...look to your left...ahhhhh!
Giant Cathedral looms right next to the station.  It's impossible
for a picture to show how tall this church is.  Very dramatic.
I went into the cathedral the next
day and stayed for a service.  All in German
but you can follow the rhythm of the Mass.
I sat in between two sweet old German ladies who said something kind and Christian to me after the service but i'm not sure what it was so I just smiled and nodded.
 Here are some pictures of the inside:

I walked around that night enjoying the peaceful atmosphere in the smaller city.  It was a welcome change from the bustle of Paris.
I had a relaxing beer at a outdoor bar lining a cobblestone square.

    The only bad thing about Cologne was my horrible hotel room.  No lift(that's elevator in European) so I had drag my luggage up 4 flights of stairs, then when I got to my closet room in the attic of this old building it was REALLY warm up there.
The bed was awful...sofabeds are much better and creak less....then to top it all off some guy came back at 1am and began snoring loudly on the other side of the paper thin wall...he would snort and then moan loudly "Oh God" or something equally dramatic.

Wasn't fun.  On the other hand, I did finally get my first German pretzel and
curry wurst...YUM!!!!!

On to Munich...