The day after Xmas Jim took me to Germany for the holidays. He loves all things German at this time of year. I've often wondered how nice it might have been if he'd studied Italian or Greek history instead of German?? I do admit that our German visits are very nice so I'm not complaining. We've been living on pretzels, brats, salami, cheese and coffee, wondering cobblestone streets and visiting museums, Christmas markets and cathedrals. We took a bus from Madison to Chicago and flew to Frankfurt. We made it to Cologne the next morning by train. This is both of our first trips to this part of the country. Cologne is an amazing city and a great place to party in the new year. The fireworks started at 8pm and went on until nearly 2am. The train station is right across from the large gothic cathedral which wasn't actually finished until 1880. There are a dozen Roman churches, all rebuilt after WW2, around the city as well. We visited a modern art museum, chocolate museum and the first cologne shop as well as daily trips the Christmas markets. The weather has been so mild with bouts of rain occasionally.
We are currently on the train to Berlin where we will take a second week of shopping and wondering. Jim has been to Berlin several times, and my second time. We both have a list of things to do. But throughout this trip I've gotten more sleep than I have in months along with plenty of exercise. It's the vacation I needed!!