If it is Wednesday, it is Cologne, if it is Thursday, it is Rudesheim

The Cathedral in Cologne, A UNESCO World Heritage site and the city's most recognizable landmark.  It was built to house the relics of the three kings (Magi) and was the tallest building in Europe until the Eiffel Tower in Paris was built.

Windows on the left are very old, the middle windows were made in the 19th century and those on the right were built seven years ago. Many of the windows in the higher section of the cathedral were destroyed by bombings during WWII.  Those were replaced by colored glass. 

The relics of the three wise men are in the bottom gold receptacle.

There are four Christmas markets in Cologne. We visited one of them. It was a very chilly, rainy day. 

Photos of the Rhine from our 

cabin on the ship. 

A statue on the top of a coffin in the cathedral. I entitle this one "Pull my finger!"

Ancient roman tiles found when excavating after WWII. 

The door of our cabin. All decorated for Christmas. 

A surprise in our room. 

A day of castles as we sailed down the Rhine towards Rudesheim. 

Rudesheim

The Rudesheim Christmas Market 

Reisling wine tasting in Rudesheim. 

This is an adorable town. 

German bakery.

Last day in Amsterdam - canal tour, bus tour, and on the ship the Amacerto..

The Amacerto ship with Amawaterways.  Christmas on the Rhine.

  Our room and a rose they gave me the first night.

The floating flower market in Amsterdam. These are HUGE amaryllis bulbs.

The sun coming up at 9:30 am.

Scenes from the canal tour. The bottom left is a stone put in the house to identify who lived here. These were put in during the reign of Napoleon

TheNational Opera and Ballet from the canal.

Wooden bridges on the canal.

You can see seven bridges through here. 

A 3 tiered bicycle rack outside the train station. 

The public library with a beautiful view on the 7th floor and a great cafeteria. 

The windmills were used to pump water out of the rivers to reclaim land called poulder. 

A Beginhof women's community 

We saw lots of windmills as we cruised the river to Colgne. 

Our weekly schedule. 

Last day in Brussels. Thanks Maureen for a Great Week!

A tour of the Brussels Opera House

The costumes Department and a hoop skirt Christmas tree

A mini stage

The Opera house inside

A group of very earnest drummers from the poor neighborhood in Brussels.  This is a program for the children.

Learning how to skate on Brussels

A Christmas tree made out of books

Little Thai Prince in Amsterdam. Highly recommended by Trip Advisor, Yelp, AND the clerk at the RHO. Very good. 

The queen of Belgium's funeral, a piano recital and a few other experiences in Brussels

The Royal Palace where Queen Fabiola died at 86 on Sunday, Dec. 8. when we were there. 

Flowers outside the palace in honor of the Queen

View of the Grand Place from the Royal Library

Marco Polo's bible in the Royal Library

A piano concert we went to at the Royal Library. 

Wonderful.

A statue of Queen Elizabeth from Bavaria who married King Albert of Belgium. They ruled in the early 1900's and she was well loved by the people of Belgium. 

She began the nursing groups who went to the front during WWI. 

An adorable restaurant we went to just off the Grand Place.