Today was a travel day for us. We packed our bags, checked out of the hotel, and headed towards the train station. We were prepared to pay a lot for breakfast at the station, but actually had the cheapest meal of all in Brussels (Brussels is an expensive city). There are a few trains that go from Brussels to Köln every day, a couple German (Deutsche Bahn) and the others French (Thalys). The nice thing about our rail passes is that most German trains we can hop on/off with no problem. All the French trains we have to pay a hefty reservation fee (like from Paris->Brussels 22€/person). So we definitely hopped on a German train to go to Köln.
Once in Köln, we took a couple minutes (very short minutes, we had were carrying our heavy bags) to look at the Kölner Dom since it is right next to the train station. It is a huge Neo-Gothic Cathedral; construction started in 1250 and built over the course of many years. We made a bad decision to try and walk to the hotel instead of taking the tram. After making a few circles (and walking a few kilometers), we arrived at the hotel and were pleasantly surprised. We booked all of our hotels/hostels online beforehand based on price and reviews, so we have no clue what we have in store for us. This was a nice German hotel with a shower in the room, but shared toilet. The hotel was mostly empty for our stay, very few other guests, so the shared toilet was absolutely fine.
After getting settled into the hotel, we went out to dinner at a place I found online before the trip that was supposed to have the best Schnitzel in Köln (Bei Oma Kleinmann's)... and they were kidding. It was the biggest piece of schnitzel we have ever seen, overflowing the massive dinner plate it was served on. Meghan got wine with dinner, of course, and I got beer. The most popular beer in Köln is Kölsch style. Most places serve it in small glass, 0,2L, and will keep bringing new glasses as yours starts to get empty until you put your coaster on top of the glass or tell them to stop.
Meghan studied abroad in Freiburg, Germany for 4 months during the fall of 2008 so can speak quite a bit of German, but when we went to the restaurant and were asked if we were there for eating or drinking (in German), she froze... and I had to answer the question "essen" (eating), hoping that I understood what the waiter asked correctly.
After that, we went out for an evening stroll. We walked towards the Rhein and passed through a nice little park. The weather in Köln was supposed to be rainy the whole time we were there, but it was slightly overcast and comfortable outside, which was nice. We made it to the Rhein and walked along it for a while. There are so many people on bikes in Köln, they have a dedicated bike path on the sidewalks and you have to be sure to stay clear of it, or else get run over.
We headed in early and got some well-needed rest for the night.
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