The Monarch Queen berthed in Cologne this morning around 5:30 pm. A little while later I woke up and this was the view from our cabin window. We're here all day, with a guided walking tour starting at 09:00. It was quite startling to see the MQ berthed on the Rhine River.

Currently the Rhine water level is running at 1.2m but during the winter it can rise as high as 11m which would put our ship 10m higher than shown here. Our guide today was Ulricha and like all our tour guides she was excellent. Very well informed and spoke perfect English. She took us on a 90 minute tour of this city, which was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing in WWII.

Like most European cities, Cologne is quite compact and before long we were walking through narrow cobble stoned streets. Cologne dates back to the first century during which time it was under Roman occupation. Caesar spent time here and there are remnants of the Roman occupation everywhere.

The only building in Cologne not totally destroyed was the Cathedral which is very impressive indeed. As you emerge from one of the little narrow side streets into a central square to finally view the Cathedral it is absolutely overwhelming.

The sheer size of the cathedral is most apparent when you go inside. Of all the churches we have visited on our trip, this is the most stupendous. It really is breathtaking.

Right opposite the Cathedral (or Dom as the Germans call it) is a 150 year old cafe serving traditional German pastries and coffee - apple strudel and coffee all around. We headed back into town later in the afternoon for some German beer and wine. We sail at around 9pm tonight.