Koln, Germany

Koln, Germany was a great day trip! It is just 2 hours from our house. The first thing we saw upon entering Germany was a Burger King. Although not my first choice of restaurants, the rest of the family was elated and we stopped for lunch. I was looking more toward the sour kraut and sausage menu, but I was outvoted 4-1. The pictures above are of the Kolner Dom or Cologne Cathedral, in English. It holds the relics of the 3 Wise Men among other artifacts. We have started to notice that there is a Cathedral in every town we visit. It is the center of the town and always old. Some are spectacular and some are small. No matter the size, each one has something magnificent. We have started to look for the differences, the thing that sets one cathedral apart from another. At the Kolner Dom the floor was the most spectacular. Tiny inlayed pieces of marble were placed together to form beautiful mosaics on the floor. The picture above is just an example of many of the floor designs.

Below are pictures from the Lindt Chocolate Factory. The free samples were delicious and flowed from the coolest chocolate fountain overlooking the Rhine River. Bob was in his prime explaining the entire packaging process. He got so animated and really enjoyed being able to show the girls his expertise. Next Sunday we will be in Almer, Netherlands to watch Mike Sawa compete in the Iron Man and keep Nancy company while Mike runs, rides and swims. Mike was Maria's 6th grade teacher at Center Grove and Nancy is a teaching friend from Sugar Grove.

My goal is to visit 10 different countries in 2 years. Where should we go next???????????