Arrival in Germany!

Wilkommen in Deutschland! 

It's been a bit of a whirlwind since I first landed here in Germany! I landed in Cologne on Sunday the 8th of September and had one night to relax in the city, see some sights and do some shopping before heading off to the PAD led induction course in Maria in der Aue. 

I'd been to Cologne twice before this visit so had a degree of familiarity with the city which helps when you've just left home for 9 months! It is a beautiful city: its medieval origins shine through a wonderfully modernised shopping centre laid out on cobbled streets which are really hard to pull a suitcase over let me tell you! The railway station opens up into a piazza which houses the biggest structure I've ever seen:the cathedral. It's immense and nothing I've seen can even remotely compare to it! The stunning Gothic architecture reaches dizzying heights and stands as a navigation mark for anywhere in the city. It's almost impossible to get the whole thing in the picture but I tried! 

Behind the cathedral is the river Rhein and you can take boat trips up and down the river which showcase the size if the city (it's one of Germany's smallest considering the size of the cathedral) and allow a glimpse into the wine regions which lie just a little but further down the bank. On the riverfront there's a Lindt chocolate museum which has the most amazing shop selling premium Lindt choccies at a discount price. Needless to say I stocked up! Next door to the chocolate museum is a sports museum which focuses in the Olympics and traces its history from the Greeks up to the present showcasing German talent in every era. It's great fun to try out the old sports too, particularly the standing long jump - much harder than you think!

Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe came with little surprise!

 I wish I could have stayed longer but no doubt I'll be back later in the year to sample the delights of the world famous Christmas market!