We made it to Cologne and all has been going great. Things started out a bit rough as we could not get a cab in time to make it to the bus station. Fortunately, we now have Wilma waiting in the garage for just such occasions. Traffic was extremely light and we were able to drive to Gatwick Airport in less then two hours, which provided us with time to get first dibs at seats on our plane (we were the first off the plane, it was great). The flight was smooth and short without much excitement except for a neat firetruck waiting at the gate in Cologne. Not sure what that was about, but there is a picture below. From there we were able to get our rental car without fuss. As an added bonus, they substantially upgraded our rental car to a nice mid-sized sedan. This thrilled both of us and is really nice for comfortable Autobahn cruising. And the Autobahn is all I had thought it might be. We were timidly cruising along at about 90 mph with Audi's, BMW's, Mercedes and even a Smart Car, going by us like we were barely moving. And best of all, it was very orderly.
Finding the motel was a bit of an adventure, but a fun one nonetheless. It is a nice modern Best Western just outside the city center. Not much for ambience, but very clean and nice. From there we drove downtown and did some exploring, walked through the gigantic cathedral just before a service, and then had a fantastic Chinese dinner. All in all, a great Christmas Eve.
This morning we had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel and are now getting ready to go back to the cathedral for Christmas Mass. I have never been so excited to go to church! We miss and will be thinking about everyone back home. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Holly catching a few winks while waiting for cab
The fire truck waiting at our gate
Our rental car, a Peugot 407
People filing in for Mass
Candle offering
Front portal of cathedral
Holly at cathedral
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