Last night was the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Dinner.  Sorbet was served before the main course, complete with starfruit garnish.

Desserts on board are quite artistic and tasty!

River Navigator, our home for 14 days:

This afternoon, we arrived in Cologne, Germany, and docked a short walk from the Cologne Cathedral, which dates back to 1248, when construction begun on this massive Gothic structure.  It was not completed until 1880, but is undergoing constant renovation.

What was most amazing to me was that in WWII, almost 90% of Cologne was destroyed by Allied bombings, however, the cathedral was spared.

After our tour of the cathedral, we had the rest of the afternoon on our own.  Although we didn’t make it to any of the 20 local breweries to sample the beer, we did make it to the Cologne Chocolate Museum; a big surprise to you, I’m sure.  The museum was excellent; larger and more complete than the chocolate museum in Brugge.

It is now 10:30PM and we are about to continue our travels down the Rhine.  Tomorrow, we get to tour our first castle.  Stay tuned!