KÖLN...yeah, I can't pronounce it either

As promised, more exciting adventures from the Bingham household.

After much anticipation, my old colleague and lovely friend, Kristin, came for a visit. While it was a short trip, we packed in as much fun stuff as we possibly could. Granted I had only been walking about 2 days by the time she arrived, we made it work. (However, we could have sat on the couch for the entire week and still had a blast. The laughing rarely stops when we're around each other.)

We didn't do much the first day other than a little driving tour of Mainz and Weisbaden. But day two we were off! We had a gorgeous day (which are few and far between these days) so we hit the road to Cologne, or Koln as the Germans call it. Koln is just over an hour away and the drive was breathtakingly beautiful. I would have taken pictures of the gorgeous trees but I think shooting pics while driving on the autobahn is frowned upon.

After four failed attempts to follow the directions my stupid navi system was telling me, we found a parking garage and made our way to the cathedral. Just stunning.

We hopped on a tour bus to check out the city....plus it would have taken several days to see it all at the pace I was moving. Here are a few shots from our tour:

We had a late lunch and enjoyed a glass....okay, two glasses of the beer that is brewed in Koln - Kolsch. Delish! Very light and refreshing. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Koln, drink Kolsch beer.

We walked the streets, did a little shopping then made our way back to the cathedral to see the inside. Talk about feeling small. Check it out at night:

I just really liked this fountain.

The day was finished off with a visit to the Louis Vuitton store followed by a little gelato. Sidenote - the guy who sold us our gelato spoke FIVE languages. Five. Just sayin.

After a few more failed attempts of listening to dumb navi system chick, we found our way home.

Got a good nights sleep and we were off again the next day. Now I know it's beyond "touristy" but Heidelberg is still cool to me. I mean, come on - a really great castle sitting on the top of a hill overlooking the city. Who doesn't want to see that? Nobody. That's why when YOU come visit, we'll be checking out Heidelberg.

Unfortunately, it was the foggiest day EVER and the drive was less than appealing. And against my better judgement (due to "the foot") we made the trek up the super steep hill to see the castle...and the gloomy view below. It was still fun. A castle covered in fog just has this eerie feel that makes it more exciting. Plus Halloween was only a few days away....oooooohhhhhoooohhhh. Maybe it's a haunted castle....probably not.

I did catch these cool pictures on our way up the hill and inside the castle:

Pretty sure I'm turning into my mother...."look at the foliage, look at the foliage!" Mmmhmm. Trouble.

The highlight of the afternoon was at this cute little chocolaterie place where we ordered hot chocolate. They give you a glass of steamed milk and you drop a small bar of chocolate into the milk, letting it melt. OMG, if you like hot chocolate - this is the way to go. I had rum coconut and Kristin had bourbon vanilla. Super tasty! I brought several home to Brad since he didn't get to come.

The final day of the trip was pretty low key. Did some damage at the H&M in Mainz, always fun. Then finished the day off with schnitzel and beer at our two favorite pubs. Kristin made friends with one of the locals, Heinz. He'd had a little bit to drink and was devastated when we had to remind him that Kristin was married...which happened about every ten minutes. Good times.

Saturday morning the party was over and it was time for work. We spent the next week in Frankfurt doing a program with Dallas Fan Fares. We had the same team we had in Singapore plus a few more gals. While the program was a bit challenging, to say the least, it's always a blast seeing old friends.

Well, Germany misses you Kristin and so do I. I hope you can come back soon!