Germany - The Rhein

2 July 2010

The next day we wanted to get to Germany for a cruise on the Rhein.  First we took the train from Amsterdam to Cologne (Koln) but there was a problem with the train so we had to change trains at Antwerp.  The car we go onto was extremely packed.  Then it turned out the car we were in had no air conditioning.  Then some people came in who had seats reserved so we had to move and Matt had to stand.

After awhile I decided to try some other cars.  I found out there was plenty of room in first class and we had first class Eurail passes.  (Laurie had paid a little more for the first class upgrade).  So we moved to first class which was not crowded at all, very comfortable and had nice air conditioning.

We transferred at Koln to go to Koblenz.  I was able to start using my German now.  We went for tickets to the cruise but found out the 6 PM cruise had been cancelled.  We decided to stay in Koblenz and the lady at the cruise booth suggested the Hotel Morjan which had free breakfast and a nice dinner.

We had gotten to Koblenz at 3 PM so we were able to spend some time shopping here. The weather was very hot, must have been in the mid 90’s, we got very hot. I finally found a discount store with .5 L pepsi for .5 E. Matt dropped a jar of Nuttella and we told the clerk but she said don’t worry about it. I saw a harmonica shop that had some melodicas and a harmonica with bells and another with horns.

We ate supper at the hotel. Laurie had gulash soup, I had pork on noodles and Matt had bratwurst with potato salad. It was a good meal but we made the mistake of ordering two waters which cost 2 E each!

That night we went for a walk to Deutches Eck, the corner where the Rhein & Mosel Rivers meet. There is a huge statue of a Kaiser with a Valkyrie.