Cologne: Good-bye Germany

Today we walked the streets of our last German town - Cologne. It is certainly not the prettiest city we have visited but it was almost completely destroyed in the war and while they tried to restore the town to its former glory - it seems a little soulless compared to some of the beautiful towns we have visited. 

Cologne of course is famous for production of cologne. We visited the oldest perfume store and saw many signs for the original scent - 4711. And why the name? Simply 4711 was the street number of the shop in which the famous (infamous) cologne was first produced. 

Back on board in time for lunch before setting sail for Amsterdam. The first activity of the afternoon was a towel folding demo. The cabin stewards will often leave little animals made using towels on our beds. Paula is our absolutely gorgeous stewardess. She is a real expert and I have made a collection of her fun work - swan, elephant, rabbit, stingray, snail, dog and ET. 

Next we had our disembarkation meeting. This was a reality check for us all. Tomorrow is our last day. Wednesday morning we are on our way home first thing in the morning. Yuk!!!

The Captain's farewell dinner was next on the agenda. The fare included lobster and chateaubriand. Yum!!!

The last activity for the evening was a disco. The best part was that the crew joined us for the party. They all came dressed up in their flares and bright neon colours. It really was great fun for all.