Day 3 : Cologne, Germany

Breakfast was at 7.00 a.m. The breakfast here at Best Western Plus Rotterdam Airport was quite good.

My platter 

We loved the flavourful peanut butter a lot ... 

There were also cold meats and cheese, salad, cereal, and even instant noodles. I loved the cold meats and cheese because they were so good with bread!

After breakfast we drove to Cologne ... it was a long but comfortable journey ... and when we reached there, lunch was served, again at a Chinese restaurant called Peking Restaurant. 

Dishes weren't exactly exciting, but they were a lot better than the ones we had in Amsterdam the day before. I was still full from a heavy breakfast ... so I did not exactly appreciate the dishes for lunch. Heh.

After lunch, we went to the impressive Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO Heritage Site. The construction of the cathedral begun in 1248 and did not complete till 1880. Inside was cool and quiet and serene, and we lingered for a while feasting our eyes on the artwork, stained glass windows and just soaking in the atmosphere ...

Impressive Gothic architecture that is the church

 View from the east or from the back of the church

Shrine of the Three Kings

This relic was brought to Cologne from Milan in 1164

The crucifix against stained glass windows

The interior 

It was truly a magnificent church, deserving to be preserved as a heritage site. We then strolled to the east/back of the church where River Rhine was ....

The Rhine

Here was where the Love Lock Bridge was ... 

Goodness! 

The Love Lock Bridge 

The multitude of locks attracted much attention, especially from visitors! All were busy taking photographs of the locks and with the locks. Heh. Us included.

Also in the vicinity were lots of shops and cafes. We did browse at JD Sports. The tour manager recommended buying Adidas Originals NMD. She got hers for €29. Huh? What? NMD? I had to ask the youngest member in the team to guide me through NMD. Apparently, it was THE shoe to buy, especially in 2017 ... because of its smart design and comfortable fit. We did go and look for the shoe ... and it sold for €149. Hmn .... none of us bought anything.

Instead, we were drawn to ... 

Pretzels! I bought 1 piece at €2.00

The name of the shop was .... 

The pretzels were dense in texture - almost biscuity ..... and was sweet too! 

We also had .... 

McRibs! 

Pretty tasty .... something different from what we have back home ... 

Soon after, we drove to Isenburg and stayed at ...

Best Western Hotel Frankfurt Airport Neu-Isenburg

The room was huge! But the air-conditioner as not working. It wasn't summer yet officially, and the temperature at night would drop to 13°C, so the receptionist thought I might be alright without the air-con if I left the balcony door open. I insisted on swapping rooms ... and I was glad he obliged. Heh. The next morning, I heard that the others had problem with the air-conditioner as well ... some had to push their beds near the balcony door to be able to sleep ..... 

Anyway, there was small mall next to the hotel - Zentrum Neu-Isenburg. We went there to browse ... 

The mall

I wasn't interested in buying clothes ... so while the others were browsing in the clothing stores, K and I went to eat .... 

Beef Burger was €1.00 at McDonald's 

The tour manager saw us there and she shook her head in disbelief .... McDonald's again!! Lol

K and I then went to the supermarket ..... 

Beer was €0.58 per can
We bought a few cans and went back to our hotel to drink and snack and gossip .....

End of Day 3 ....