Western Europe - Day 6

It was expensive to pee in Europe. (vis-a-vis the conversion rate) One had to pay EUR 0.70 in Germany to access the pay toilet. In exchange you receive a coupon worth EUR 0.50 from the machine. Each coupon could be used to offset any single purchase at the store which had the pay toilet. The cheapest item at the store is EUR 1.00 so you get the general idea.

Leonardo Hotel

In Switzerland the pay-toilet cost CHf 1.00 and you are issued a coupon for the same value to be used at the same store.

Mr Edward had lost a considerable sum of money yesterday at Rheinfall. Following his loss, our fellow travelers started depositing their coupons with him. As for what inspired this decision, your guess is as good as mine.

For the EUR 0.70 that is paid you get to witness the auto-clean pay toilet at work. At the wave of a hand at the blue sensor, the toilet seat-cover rotated in an anti-clockwise direction. Detergent is squirted into the bowl. At the wave of the hand over another sensor, the flushing mechanism is activated. You wave your hand near the tap to wash your hands, then wave again at another sensor for the paper towel. We have a lot of those in our neck of the woods, I know, but the rotating toilet-seat cover was a first for me.

Heidelberg New Town

Opposite the hotel

Cologne (GERMANY) Weather forecast 13°C The morning began with a 3 hours drive to Cologne, the most ancient and busiest city in the Rhineland. It was a good time for Ms Yvonne (Tour Manager) to give us snippets of information she'd gleaned from Schindler's List.

Greatest and oldest Gothic church in Christendom.

"Hitler was an impoverished Austrian who hated the wealthy Jews," began Ms Yvonne. "He claimed that the Black Plague (one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people) was caused by the Jews. He had the Jews detained in concentration camps. They were shaven bald and their hair woven into floor carpets. They were made to run naked to see how many would fall, used as white mice in torture chambers, forced to sing the German national anthem at the edge of cliffs, then kicked off it.  They were packed like sardines and made to sleep standing up. Their teeth were used as fertilizer and women's breast removed for use as lamp shades. Those who survived all this were ushered into gas chambers to be exterminated and burned."

Cologne Cathedral (1248 - 1880)  i.e. about 500 years to be completed.

"This cruelty triggered a mutinous effort by 172 of his men to bomb him to smithereens. The mission failed. They were hung by their shoulder to be bled to death."

Ms Yvonne continued.  "The Allied Forces dropped The Little Boy at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That was the beginning of the end. Germany was divided into 4 parts. America, France and United Kingdom controlled West Germany and Russia controlled East Germany. The Berlin Wall kept the East from the West. Secret tunnels were built and in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Germany was united."

The Cathedral Law states that no other buildings in Cologne shall be higher than the Cologne Cathedral.

A moment of silence ensued.

"The one good thing Hitler did for Germany was to build the autobahn system. The Autobahn is the federal controlled  highway system in Germany." Ms Yvonne said in retrospect.

We reached Cologne at about noon. Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant directly opposite the Cologne Cathedral.  While we were exploring the Cathedral as well as the remains of the Roman city walls, Mr Edward went off with Ms Yvonne to make a report at the police station.

Fresh from Mr Edward's incident, we were alert and mindful of every dodgy character that crossed our path.

COLOGNE 4711 Eau de Cologne  meaning "Water from Cologne", or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany.  Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina in 1709, it has since come to be a generic term for scented formulations. We left Cologne at about 2 pm for the 4 hours drive to Amsterdam. Traffic was bad.

The Original Eau de Cologne 4711, is named after the address of its maker at Glockengasse No. 4711. It is probably one of the oldest still produced fragrances in the world.

We crossed the border into the Netherlands and arrived at Amsterdam at about 6 pm. Dinner was a buffet selection with free flowing wine.