Cologne - Germany: 10th-14th Dec 06

Well, there wasn't much to do at all. The main attraction is the Dom - Cathedral and maybe the Rhine if you fancy a walk along it. Looks like any other big river separating the city in two as usual. There was also the Christmas markets - 7 in total. After seeing 1, we pretty much saw the rest too as they all look alike with the same stalls. The only difference is probably the unique mugs for mulled wine at each market.

Day 1 & 2:

The chocolates at the schokolade museum were just too expensive and not unique enough for us to part with our $. So we just had a chocolate cake and hot chocolate drink to make sure we had a 'schoko-latte' experience. On the bright side, this holiday was TOTALLY relaxing. We took time to enjoy the comforts of the hotel instead of staying in a hostel. Treated ourselves to the whirpool, sauna, steam room, cold room, ice water bath etc etc and walked around in our oversized bath robes. We watched proper TV in a very long while and had cheese n wine.

Day 3 & 4:

We loved the Dom and the large square so much that we ended up there pretty much everyday(not that we had a choice of amazing attractions to go to). The exhausting climb to the top was definitely a challenge. There was also alot of shopping to do and ZW ended up with a new pair of Birkenstock(not fake!), but not me. They just didn't look aesthetic enough on my ugly feet. Actually, I think we spent most of out time eating, we would buy from all the different food stalls of the christmas markets, and eat at the restaurants recommended. The most memorable of all the food was probably the mussels which was in season, and the soup was simply tantalizing! There was this guy in the restaurant who stood up,put the pot to his lips and downed the soup!

Last Day:

Overall, it was good to take a break from the normal backpacking ways. No need to share the dormitory and toilet with others, getting to sleep under a thick warm duvet, taking time to see the sights. But it was also good that it was indeed a HOLIDAY, a much needed break from my hectic timetable this year and sadly, its back to the books again. =(