I was back in Cologne once again, but now things were different, I was unemployed. That didn�t stop me from going to work of course, I had accumulated a surprising amount of junk around my workplace and on my computer. Due to the long working hours and the fact that I often ate, showered and did my laundry at work, cleaning up and leaving the office was almost like cleaning house, and took a lot longer than I had expected. By the time I got most of my things in order, and started to prepare all of my computers to be taken over by my incoming replacement, the weekend had already come and with it, Michelle�s father. He was visiting for the weekend on the tail end of a business trip, and was staying at a hotel just down the street from my apartment. Michelle picked Walter up from the train station, and the three of us went out to explore the old town and get a bite to eat.
The following morning, the sun shone brightly and we decided to forsake Cologne and head south along the Rhine to Konigswinter where we could get a little exercise, climbing up to the castle atop the Dragon Cliffs. (link) We passed the site where Siegfried supposedly killed the dragon in Wagner�s opera of the same name. By the end of our climb, we reached a restaurant and had lunch while taking in the view of the surrounding �seven hills� and the mighty Rhine river flowing by, carrying a wide variety of boats and barges on its back. We eventually made our way back down the hill and into the town, at which point we decided to join in to the hubbub on the river, and take a boat back to Cologne.
The Koln-Dusseldorfer ship managed the trip in about two hours, nearly half the speed of the train that had carried us for the first leg of the voyage, but was certainly more entertaining. The boat had three decks and even a band of sorts playing in the restaurant section. We listened to German music that Michelle�s father found past its prime and arrived in Cologne as the sun was setting. To finish off a thoroughly enjoyable day, we stopped at a Thai restaurant at the river�s edge and ate to our heart�s content.
