Cologne, Germany

August 11, 2018

August 1st - 3rd

August 1st - traveled from Utrecht, Netherlands to Cologne, Germany.
We visited Utrecht after my epic planning fail of not buying tickets for the laudable Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam before they were all gone. But we still had a great day!

I downloaded an app called Quest that has a scavenger hunt in a few cities; Utrecht was one of them! The kids, surprisingly, really liked this scavenger hunt even though we had to walk 3km. Utrecht is a picturesque city and even older than Amsterdam. So many cool things to see. We also learned about the revered hermits who would build a tiny room in a church where they were forever sealed off. People would bring them food and ask them advice on life matters since they had time to think about important things other than daily life. The scavenger hunt ended by finding the UFO on top of a building - that's what had invaded the city, according to the game story.

"Fat lady with a rooster" - found!

Allison at the church where a statue had another clue.

A cool hand outside a cute shop.

Spencer discovered the UFO!

August 2nd
We went to Aqualand. Here we are in Cologne, Germany with so many cultural things to do and we went to a water slide park. Dan and I really enjoy seeing castles and old cities, but the kids remind us it's necessary to let them do "kid stuff". This was one of them. Their favorite slide that they went on over and over again, was the Aqua Canyon slide where the line went very quickly; you could go whenever you wanted to or with however many people you wanted to. At least there was no one monitoring anything. Unfortunately, this slide caused a new injury every time I went on it! I kept thinking I can figure out what I need to do to avoid further injuries - lift my bum up here, turn my face here, don't switch to my stomach, but it got me every time. I now have a pulled groin muscle, a lightly sprained ankle, a deeply bruised hip and an ouchy bum and swallowed at least 2 cups of slide water. Good times! Brianna also was injured several times on this slide. We stayed at this place for almost 4 hours, but definitely got our fill. The kids really did have a good time which is what counts.

We finished in time to visit the Cologne Chocolate Factory. There is an excellent museum at the beginning that tells you everything and more you've ever wondered about the making of chocolate. They even have a humidity (80-90%) and heat controlled room where they are growing a cocoa plant and other tropical plants. Chocolate has revolutionized food in Europe (and the world) and how people try to supply that need. I was surprised to learn that the Ivory Coast is the biggest supplier of cocoa and 90% of it comes from private farmers (who don't get enough for the work they and their families do). Germany is by far the largest supplier of chocolate in Europe. (The U.S. is the largest chocolate maker in the world). I also learned that there was no chocolate being made in Germany during WWII and years leading up to it.

The coolest thing about the chocolate factory was being able to watch the chocolate being produced. We all loved watching the chocolate churned and then seeing it on the conveyor belt where the chocolate was poured into forms, then broken up into squares and then wrapped individually - 2 pieces a second! Fascinating to watch. And we got to try the chocolate made before our eyes! Visitors also get to visit the chocolate fountain and try the chocolate in its liquid state. It was awesome.
We were going to visit the Cologne Cathedral, but the kids were really done with any kind of sight seeing. It was hot and everyone was thirsty. So we tried to get non-gaseous water at Burger King, but couldn't. We filled our water bottles with water from the bathroom and ate our American meal.

Machine to grind the cocoa beans

Our accommodations: We're staying in a hotel! Dan and I are thoroughly appreciating the clean floor we don't have to wear shoes on or our feet will get dirty, the towels provided, pillows for everyone and basic cleanliness. Having wifi is the best!!!

Mixing the chocolate, adding air and heating it for several hours makes the chocolate smooth.

Allison watching the conveyor belt. Brianna at the chocolate fountain

August 3rd, 2018
We got all packed up, waited 30 minutes for Spencer to have a massive melt down and lots of people staring at our screaming child, then headed to the famed Cologne Cathedral.
I walked with the girls and Talmage and checked out the cathedral while Dan waited with Spencer in the car to finish his melt down. When they got to the cathedral 45 minutes later, we did the tower tour. I heard one out-of-shape man say, after his hike up and down, "That was the stupidest thing I ever did!" It was a difficult hike to the top - hot, sweaty, super crowded on that narrow spiral staircase; it seemed never-ending. It was cool to see the delicate spirals of the cathedral close up and the curious gargoyles. The kids mildly enjoyed it, except for Talmage who is a new enthusiast for stairs! Who knew? We probably won't do that again.

Spires were in the church for inpsecting