Monday  morning we visited the small but fascinating Bach Museum in Leipzig, just across the street from the Thomas Kirche.  It give us more insight into the professional and family life of the great musician, as well as into the construction of organs!  After lunch we checked out our rental vehicles and hit the Autobahn for the five hour trip to Cologne.  We arrived in Cologne and moved into our two Airbnb apartments, and then walked the short distance down the famous Severinstrasse (Germany’s largest shopping street) to the Cologne Cathedral.   We had a late open air dinner just around the corner from the cathedral.  We were all interested to see how life in the far northwest of Germany might be different from the east.

On Tuesday we had a highlight: laundry!  With that chore done we walked back to the Cathedral and had a lovely guided tour of the Cathedral and town by Mr. Parson’s friend Gary Holt, a retired professor from the Cologne Conservatory.  We saw the river Rhine, some of the few remaining old buildings, and compared the Romanesque St. Martin’s Church with the Gothic cathedral.  Finally we had a very German dinner in an amazing restaurant with a cellar dining room dating back to Roman times.

Here a few words from John:

My day in Köln was fantastic. I really enjoyed the dinner at the end of the day. I’m sorry parents, but I’ve learned to love white asparagus. I got an authentic German haircut….. again sorry parents.  I saw a beautiful cathedral, and I’m having a great time
John Mahaney 2018