Rhine Cruise Day Three

Didn't feel underdressed at all last night - people wore all sorts, and nothing too glam anyway. I need not have worried. Oh, I didn't...

After the meal, four young ladies then came aboard and played classical music on violins and a cello. They were superb.

Woken this morning at 7am by our butler, Zuli, bringing coffee and croissants. We were to arrive in Cologne by midday, so a relaxed morning was in order. I must say, breakfast buffets are brilliant. And they include, amazingly enough - semolina!! Though I may be the only person partaking...

Our walking tour of Cologne was excellent. We had the best guide ever - Marcus (Photo 2). He was very very funny. And of course, very informative. First of all he started with 'Can I mention The War?' He was rude about Germans and French, in a very amusing way. He was rude about German police, German drivers, the people on the 'other side of the river'. The 'voice boxes' were wonderful once again, and I noticed that most tours had them.

One of our number suddenly had to go to the toilet in a cafe in the square while Marcus was filling us in with yet another funny story with some historical facts thrown in. When she came back she declared that she could still hear Marcus on her 'voice box'. One chap was going to tell her - but didn't - that we could hear her too. Hehehe...

We wandered round the old part of the city - and by this time the cloudy morning had turned into a hot afternoon. We walked back along the river to the boat. The bridge is famous for the 'lovers' padlocks' which must weigh TONS! The bridge was covered. (Photo 1). This seems to be a new tradition everywhere... though I see in Paris they had to remove the padlocks as the bridge was falling down under the weight of them.

Back in time for a piña colada on the sundeck and an amusing chat with some Aussies about their travels. In fact, we were so long there that we had to get ready for dinner in 15 minutes flat - an all time record for JR.

Dinner tonight was a special one we had to book in for in a separate wee dining room. It was a six course set Italian meal with Italian wine. We sat with our American pals and had a fun time. Americans are really keen to find out what people (the rest of the world) think of them.

Except when it came to the 'entertainment', which was a group of 'medieval' performers, in fancy dress, who just shouted and banged drums and waved swords. And they kept getting 'volunteers' from the audience. Fortunately, we were in a separate room, but could hear them and see them on the TV. They went on for far too long and we couldn't get out to go to the toilet, as we had to walk past them.

They really should have hired Marcus, today's guide, for the evening! Now he really WAS entertaining!

PS Those beers were actually tiny...