Germany -- Road Tripin the North

We are now in our 3rd city in Germany. The Germans just won the World Cup a few days before we arrived and spirits are high around the country.

Cologne, or Köln, has a amazingly large gothic cathedral called Köln Dom. We entered and immediately climmed a spire that was over 1000 meters tall via a seemingly never-ending spiral stair case! I actually got dizzy walking up the stairs. As we got near the top I could feel groves in the old stone stairs where monks has trumped up and down hundreds of years ago. We were lucky enough to be in the bell tour when an hourly bell went off.

Later that evening we headed to a nearby court to kick the ball around. Despite being very overgrown and clearly abandoned, we took the cut in the fence and an invitation to play.

Our last stop in Köln was the chocolate musuem. Mmmm.

We got wheels! We'd been craving a car and finally got a rental in Köln where we began our road trip through the north of Germany.

Next was Breman, a large medieval city, where we spent just one night. We luckly attended the city festival that was an awesome mix of a fair, music shows, circus, and delicious food. We made friends with three Brits at our hostel who joined us. The next day we pressed on, though more time in Breman would have been nice.

We are currently in Lübeck, which is situated on the Baltic Sea in the far north of Germany. It's also a mideval city, which is covered in old red brick. The city center, which is 2 sq km, is an island-- partially made by a natural curve in the river and partially by a man made canal. 

Upon arrival we didn't have accomadations for the first night so we splurged on a nearby hotel with a spa. The spa had 4 different kinds of saunas, each with their own distinct combination of heat and humidity. However, we were most entertained by a wooden bucket that hung from the celing with a metal pull chain hanging from it which allowed the user to dump a bucket of cold water on their head.

Now we're a local hostel which has a great foosball (soccer) pitch nearby. Yesterday we explored the city's old treasures and arctiecture with a self-guided tour (run by Josh), then got some afternoon exercise at the park.

Last night we ate dinner at a nearby cafe and enjoyed a live German folk trio, though one member was Canadian and another was American...

Today we're headed to a nearby seaport city called Trävemunde where the annual sailing festival is taking place.