Saturday October 13 (Cruising to Cologne & the Cathedral)

It took me a while to get to sleep as the engine was quite noisy and there was quite a bit of vibration. I woke up early and could see we were a long way from Cologne, so I went back to sleep. 

When I woke for my in-suite breakfast, not in bed lol, we were at Dusseldorf, still a long way to go. 

As it was another gorgeous day I went upstairs after breakfast and enjoyed the sun. 

The temperature reached 27 C today, that is 80.6 F, it was still 25 C at 7 pm!!

The Rhine is a very busy river with lots of barges passing by in both directions, there were also one or two other cruise boats and also some boat clubs in evidence.

There are lots of camp sites spread out all along the river, many people using the areas of exposed beach and lots of people fishing.

I kept forgetting it was Saturday which explained all the people who were out enjoying the lovely weather. 

Some of the villages have their names on the walls separating the village from the river.


We were running very late due to the low water levels which has meant travelling at a slower speed. We could see from the exposed rocks just how low the water is. 

Arrangements were made to stop near a small town called Zons where the buses would meet the boat, the buses had aleady reached Cologne so had to back track! 

There were two excursions and those who wanted free time in Cologne could also go along.

I sat upstairs and ended up listening to a group of about ten Americans discussing politics. 

This is the first time I have heard a group talking like this and they were people who had only just met on the cruise! 

I am not going to say which side of the political spectrum they were but I did ask a couple of pertinent questions and they were still speaking to me afterwards, lol!

We arrived at our docking point about midday and it took some time for them to ensure the boat was moored securely, 

I think the locals were a bit bemused by our docking!! The buses arrvied about 12.45 and would leave at 1.30 pm. I stayed aboard and would use the provided shuttle service to go to the cathedral once we had docked in Cologne. 

We left dock once the bus people were all ashore and continued on our merry way. 

More barges passed us and the low water is also affecting them and it is their livelihood! 

We then cruised past Leverkusen, there is a huge chemical plant on one side of the river that extends a long way, apparently it is home of the Bayer company.


On the other side of the river there is a large Ford factory. It did not take too long to arrive in Cologne, at about 5 pm, very late! As we approached the cathedral was easy to spot!

Again, as it was a small docking point and with the low water, it took some time to ensure we were safely moored. 

By this time the people the two buses from the excursions had returned and one of them was to act as our shuttle.

There were only five of us but that did not matter and off we went through Cologne to the cathedral. It had the inevitable scaffolding and is extrememly tall, about 15 storeys I was told. It was very tricky getting photos of it all in one but it was easier from a distance.


I went inside to see the stained glass windows and a Rosary service was also taking place so we were limited to the rear of the cathedral. 

There were so many people around both inside and outside the cathedral!!

I found a souvenier shop and made a few purchases, then walked along the pathway to a road crossing point. 

While I was waiting to cross, the tourist "train" drove along the street, lol! The bus arrived back and we were all on time so it took off to return us to the boat.

I had my tapas in my room as I was too tired to shower and get dressed, there was of course far too much for me and I felt bad about sending so much back! 

After writing the blog, I went up top to enjoy a coffee and Baileys in the evening air. The view of the cathedral was awesome and it was lit up with very subtle lighting, so lovely to see! Then it was back to my room to shower and hit the hay!