Michele Wanders the World: Christmas Markets and Köln

(Along the Rhein in Köln)

So far my trip is fabulous! Yesterday my arrival was smooth and I explored Siegen with my friend Silvia. The Siegen Christmas market was so nice, but today I saw two more in Köln and each is better than the last.!

Before we left by train for Köln today we first spent an hour in Silvia's English class where I answered questions about America for her fellow students. Next we made a brief visit to the Upper Castle in Siegen which is high up on one of the 7 hills that make up the town. The castle is very pretty even in the gray weather we were having, so it must be beautiful on a blue-sky day.

(The Upper Castle in Siegen)

The first thing we visited in Köln was the Dom (Cathedral) which was incredible. It is so unbelievably tall and because of this is was nearly as cold inside as outside, but incredibly pretty too.

(Floor mosaic in the Dom)

I also visited a chocolate museum today which I thoroughly enjoyed. This museum is really interesting and everything was in both English and German. I had planned to visit this place on a previous visit and never made it there. I am so glad my friend Silvia took me this time.

We had cake and coffee at the museum before exploring and I had my first Latte Machciato.

The museum was super. You learn everything about chocolate from where the beans are grown and how long it takes to grow them, how they are harvested, how they have to be fermented to make chocolate, how the people who grow these beans surprisingly don't eat chocolate much if at all, and how the Lindt company's invention of a special machine that improved the texture of chocolate is why it is so smooth and creamy in modern times.

(A chocolate fountain in the museum where we were given a taste.)

After the chocolate museum we visited two Christmas Markets. The first was a medieval one where were bought and ate some delicious roasted chestnuts and the second was a traditional market where we ate Reibekuchen mit Apfelmuss (Potato Pancakes with applesauce). Both were hot, delicious and added to the market atmosphere. It was dark already and all the stalls were lighted, jolly and amazing aromas filled the air.