2nd day in Köln

Today we got up, had another German breakfast haha, an headed into the city. First thing I saw in the city was a bridge that is covered in locks. Couples get locks and put their names on it, attaches it to the bridge and then throws the key into the river. There must be hundreds of locks! Right on the other side of the bridge is the huge Köln gothic cathedral. We headed into the cathedral and bought tickets to walk up to the top of the tower. There were just under 600 steps in this very small winding staircase where sweaty people are going up and down and it smells. All these smelly steps are worth it when you make it to the top and see the beautiful view of the city. After climbing the tower we headed to the basement of the church to see the treasury. The treasury is the gold, art, and other artifacts contained in the cathedral. We looked through the treasury and then headed to the archeological dig under the cathedral. Under the cathedral there was a big archeological dog that went on to find out how the cathedral was built. We took a tour of down here an learned how this cathedral was built over hundreds of years, how there are $$remeneces$$ of an even older cathedral, graves and roman ruins. It was freeeeezing down here compared to how hot it was outside and especially walking up all those steps. Then two days later we all had colds haha; well I ready had one and Rebecca and Caroline got one.

After the cathedral we met up with our other old friend Peter from WMA. So nice of him to come visit! We headed to get some food, Currywurst. Currywurst is a sausage with this red curry sauce. All I wanted to eat here In Germany was everything typical. That being said I ate a lot of sausage! I love trying the typical food every new place I go, it's part of the experience of traveling and experiencing a new culture.
After eating we headed to a wine festival, bought a glass of wine an went to the Rhine River to sit, drink our wine, and enjoy the view. After we finished our wine we took a walk around the old part of the city. It's so pretty with the cobble stone ground and the design of the old buildings, I'll put up pictures. From the old part of town we headed to the "beach". This place is so awesome, it's like going to Cancun in Germany. It's this man made beach with sand on the Rhine River. It is fenced off an you have to pay to get in. There is a bar where we got mojitos and a snack bar for food. The place is filled with white beach chairs and white beds where you can go hang out with friends. We all headed over to a bed, sat, relaxed, and talked for a few hours.