Cologne and Amsterdam

We arrived into Cologne in the afternoon, which is famous for its awe inspiring catherderal. We are doing a short city tour and then having some German tapas at a brewery.
Koan as it is known in Germany is the fourth largest city and sits on the banks of the Rhine, it has a population of just over 1,000,000.
Cologne Cathedral was built in the homage of the three kings also known as the three wise men.

A little trivia...at the beginning of the 18Th century, Italian expatriate Johann Maria Farina (1685-1766) created a new fragrance called Eau de Cologne, water from Cologne and named after his new residence Cologne. It is still produced today by the Farina family.

 We attended the winter market, I bought a sheepskin and leather hat

One of the famous bridges in Cologne

Inside the cathedral 

The Cologne Cathedral 

Inside.

Picturesque shop fronts.

The stairs leading to the square.

Moiac floor in the cathedral 

Stained glass window 

The weather was cold with light rain, we visited the winter market, had some great tapas and beer then made our way back to the boat, for tonight we dine at the chefs table, and partake of 6 courses.

We sailed overnight and reached Amsterdam mid morning, after lunch we took a tour to !Zaanse Schana typical Dutch village with preserved windmills.

Decorated bike, the Dutch did invent the rubber Duckie..

This house is on a lean.

Zaanse Schans village with the windmills..

Far too big..

Nice windmills

Lovely in the evening

Lots of clogs

Out and about in Amsterdam

Statues

Walking the streets

My flea markets

A clog making demo.

Exploring Chinatown in Amsterdam

Dutch village below with goats who were very friendly.

Cheese making demo.

Saturday we all leave our boat and we will spend the next three days in Amsterdam, then off to Malta.