Day 7 - Germany and Belgium

Before I start writing about the day, I must inform that I had started enjoying the continental breakfast. Cereals of all types with big helping of milk and chocolate were getting tastier by the day.

We departed at 0830 hrs, for a cruise on river Rhine. We reached the cruise point at 1030. Had to wait for about 30 minutes, before boarding the cruise. Enjoyed window shopping in some small shops, which were also selling cuckoo clocks. Those who had second thoughts after Black Forest could make a buy. We did buy a set of coffee mugs for Madhu here.
The cruise was excellent. We had a good view of old castles and huge churches, as we passed. The vineyards, for which Europe is so famous, were great to see. We had a cup of coffee, as we relaxed during the one hour cruise.

Our next halt was Cologne (Koln). This was a 2 hour drive from the cruise point. We halted here for lunch.
The church is huge and imposing. The Gothic architecture on view, is a real sight. We had a good half an hour in the church. The glass work, is to be seen to be believed. We heard that this city was bombed thrice during the world war. However, nothing happened to the Divine church.

We had lunch at McDonald's. The only toilet in the vicinity is in Mac. I feel that Mac may be earning more revenue from the toilet, than the food, as they charge 50 cents for each usage.
We were commenting on the price of the Cheese burger, when a colleague gave a nice piece of information.

It is said that the economy of a city is based "on the price of the Mcburger"

. No wonder, Mac is yet to open in Chennai, even though they have outlets at all other importanct cities in India. The Chennaites, are probably more purse conscious.

We then drove to Brussels the capital of Belgium (and the European Union. The tall buildings in Brussels had more of a resemblance to Singapore, than other European cities. The comparison has to stop here, as the place is quite dirty (for a European city). We visited the Grand Palace, which is the market square. This is of course, full of traditional European buildings. There are quite a few home made chocolate shops here. We had finished our purchase quota at Switzerland.
Belgium has quite a few beggars. They just sit on the pavement, with huge dogs by their side. There are also beggars, sitting by the side of statues, dressed and made up like the person in the statue. Not a very good sight.
We then proceeded to see the Mannekin Pis statue. Ever heard of this? The guide's version is

"When Belgium was ruled by the French, there was great resentment amongst the Belgians. There was little they could do about this, as they were getting beaten from all fronts. This little boy - Mannekin - it seems, used to stand on the balcony of his house and vent his feelings, by peeing on the French soldiers, marching by. Once Belgium got on their own, they erected a statue of the boy peeing"

. Amazing isn't it! Now, this little boy is one of the star attractions here.