Day 2 - Cologne & Heidelberg, Germany

April 26

We woke up this morning to a sunny and very warm day - we guess in the mid-70's. We went to a Gothic style catholic cathedral mass this morning at 10:00.

It was an all male choir with an age range from we estimate 10 years old to 60 years old. The music was mostly sung in Latin and the mass was said half in Latin and half in German. Matt & Grandma shared her English mass book to read the readings while I listened.


We stopped by where Cologne water was originally made, giving scented water the name Cologne. It was made for the aristocrats who were too busy to bathe so they bought this scented water to hid their stench. Grandma took a moment to pose in the shop with a bottle.

Afterwards we went to a market along the Rhine River - we all shared a German soft pretzel and Grandma and I had a pickle while Matt had the smallest glass of beer ever (200 ml / 5.5 ounces).

We had lunch at an outdoor cafe which had a live 3 piece jazz band and than a piano player performing. Grandma found a new purse at the market and was talking it into laying an egg during lunch.

We left about 4pm and drove 2.5 hours to Heidelberg where we are staying tonight. Grandma is still betting she can fix us fresh eggs for breakfast. Heidelberg is a quaint old German city that has been preserved for tourism.

German meals can get old and a little boring so since Grandma has had them her whole life, we haven't had one yet this vacation. Maybe tomorrow. We ate at a Thai restaurant which Matt believes is the best Thai food he has had outside of Thailand, even though his dish was not as amazing and Grandma and mine. But we all shared.

Grandma & I sitting at dinner with the Old Heidelberg Bridge in the background

During dinner we thought we were going to experience a man propose to his girlfriend because he bought her roses from a passing by solicitor and got on his knees. We giggled and attempted to take a single photo of them but missed. We later realized when no proposal happened he must have been apologizing. He was there on his knees for a solid 20 minutes. Hope he doesn't have arthritis as well.

After dinner we walked into a small shop and bought Lambrusco wine which is a carbonated red wine at 7.5% alcohol - it was the only thing with a twist top as we don't have a bottle opener. The store keep gave us plastic cups after trying to sell us a 7 Euro pack of 50 paper birthday cups. Grandma insists it must be pop despite the label noting otherwise.

Matt has a sore pinkie toe from probably from running a lot lately - but Grandma has diagnosed it as gout. It is probably time for bed.

To see more pictures from our day on April 26 - visit the album!
http://sarahjames.shutterfly.com/569