Schokolade

My mother and I are alike in many, many ways. Most importantly, though, is our love for chocolate. I believe my passion for all things chocolate is rooted in my DNA, so I credit Julie Wieters for how much I enjoyed today's adventure.

Next week I'll have one class every day, but our Tuesday/Thursday class didn't meet this week so we had the entire day off. Rather than wasting it away by hanging around the dorms trying to find something to do (like, say, homework), Taylor and I did some research and decided to take the short train ride to Cologne, Germany for the day.

Best. Decision.

We looked up trains last night and everything went relatively smoothly. It was so nice to travel just the two of us and not have to worry about keeping up with 14 other people. We got to our trains and buses easily. We had even looked up walking directions from the Cologne train station to the cathedral, but quickly discovered we didn't need them when we literally walked out the door of the station to see this:

We went to the information desk to buy tickets for the "Chocolate Express", a little train that runs through the city between the cathedral and the Chocolate Factory. I should note: we were the youngest people on this little vehicle by about 40 years. It was a quick 20 minute ride to the factory where Lindt chocolates (among others) are made. I think there was some history about how chocolate became discovered and blah blah blah but here's what we cared about:

This is literally a chocolate fountain. Heaven. 

We stopped into the gift shop--probably the best gift shop I've ever been to, no worthless trinkets, just chocolate--then stopped at the restaurant for a snack by the river. We caused a minor disruption when a bug landed on Taylor's hand and she flung her glass into the river. Luckily the waitress a) spoke English and b) was very understanding.

We took the Chocolate Express back and walked around the cathedral before catching the train back. We've already seen quite a few cathedrals, but this was the first I think I'd really taken the time to enjoy. The stained glass was incredible, and the church was huge.

It feels so funny to say "Oh, I just went to Germany for the day." I love the train rides because the view out the window is so incredible and different, no matter where we are. I've seen more clock towers and beautiful church steeples and green pastures than I can count, which is so strange to this Dallas girl who's used to driving down Central Expressway and passing 15 Starbucks in a 10 mile stretch. We've already discussed how hard it will be to go home, we love it so much here. But the good news is we get 2 1/2 more months to enjoy everything- Paris this weekend!