Our second day in Cologne was just as wonderful as the first, despite the rain, cold and wind. Luckily, we had planned the day so that our activities (except for the walking...you park in a parking garage and you walk in Europe, you don't drive) would all be indoors.
We started the day with a FANTASTIC traditional German breakfast downstairs in our hotel. They had
brotchen, cheeses, meats, the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten, these little sausages they called meatballs, (I don't know what those things were, but it's a good thing I don't have access to them every day), yogurts, fresh fruit, fresh juices and coffee. (I love coffee, but I
LOOOOVE German coffee. It has a richer, nutty
chocolaty taste! Amazing!)
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and walked over to the Nazi Documentation Center, which from 1935 until the end of the war in 1945 served as the Gestapo headquarters and
prison. The top floors serve as a museum, but in the basement is the
prison, a haunting reminder of the terror that innocent people once endured. You can still read inscriptions carved on the cell walls by the
prisoners, their voices still crying out that they were once here.
After leaving the museum, we went over to the
Lindt chocolate museum/mini-factory and cafe. We had an
unbelievable lunch at the cafe overlooking the Rhine river. I meant to get pictures of the food, but was too busy trying to corral a 2 year old. The salad that I had was the BEST salad I've ever eaten. Seriously. And the chocolate torte was a slice of heaven!
The museum is quite fascinating as it takes you on a tour of how chocolate is produced from the planting of the cocoa beans to the final yummy product. At the end you walk in to a mini factory and the smell of chocolate overwhelms your senses! (Personally, I think this is how Heaven will smell! :)) At the back of the factory is the biggest fondue pot I've ever seen,
brimming with melted
Lindt chocolate!! A woman hands out yummy little wafers dipped in the chocolate. I considered going out to the car, changing my clothes to
disguise myself, and coming back over and over again for more wafers. If it wouldn't have been raining so hard and so cold I definitely would have!
After Buck pulled both Brady and I, kicking and screaming, out of the chocolate shop, we started home. What should have been a 2.5 hour drive ended up taking just over 4 hours...First, because my husband insisted on traveling miles back into the city for gas, which we didn't need just yet, second because my husband got mixed up in construction and got off of the Autobahn at the wrong exit and the entrance back to the Autobahn was closed and we had to travel nearly 20 kilometers in the wrong direction just to be able to turn around, and third because we then had to stop to feed a very hungry baby. Thankfully, we laughed it off and eventually made it home safely.
Here are the remaining pictures.
Noah had a snug, warm and comfy ride for the weekend.
One of the prison cells. This cell once held 33 prisoners at one time.
This is that dark cell with the stone bench.
This picturesque courtyard was the site of over 400 executions.
By the end of the morning Brady was all tuckered out. I don't know if he was bored by the museum, or exhausted from staying awake, crying to get into our bed until after 11p.m. and then waking up before 6 a.m.
This is a statue of Snow White dating back to the 1800's. She doesn't at all look like the smiling, kind Snow White of Disney. She's kinda mean and scary looking.
Be still my heart...
This was the fondue pot where I almost dove in and went for a swim.
Decadent desserts at the cafe...
That's all folks!
Just this past week, Nana, or Ana as B called her, flew over to see Noah and Brady. Buck was in the field pretty much the entire time she was here so she and I were able to bond in a special way. Buck and I have been married for 6 years in May, and we haven't spent more than 4 days together. It was time much needed and time well spent. Much like when my mom was here, Noah's tiny hiney didn't touch his swing very often!
Even though Zia wasn't here when Brady was born, she was on a plane and in Germany with us by the time he was 7 days old. I have some very special memories from those 2 weeks she was with us. I will never forget the look on her face or the tears in her eyes when she held that tiny little bundle for the first time. And yes, in the background you can see all of the things that were supposed to be hanging on our walls. Our household goods arrived on Monday and I went to the hospital in labor Wednesday night! Brady came home to many, many unpacked boxes!
And, Nana and Grandpa both made it out to see B when he was just a few weeks old. They were able to stay for a week and what a special week it was! I would imagine that holding your grandchild for the first time is much like holding your child for the first time...instant and unconditional love.
We are blessed indeed to have people in our lives who love us so much they're willing to put their lives on hold to fly across an ocean...just to be with us.
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