Watch out Deutschland! We're on our way!

So it came a little sooner than we planned, but we're heading off to Cologne in less than three weeks. And just to make you INSANELY jealous, here's a picture of our accommodations for a two-night trek down to Bacharach.


That's a castle that's been converted into a hostel, and we'll be sleeping inside it.

But for the most of our stay we'll be staying at a joint run by some lovely ex-pats in the tourist haven that is Cologn (Köln to the locals). We're looking forward to touring the town via our personal guides, including a trip to a chocolate museum and The Dom, which boasts a new window designed by Gerhard Richter. It's been somewhat controversial given its minimalism and non-traditional approach, but I really like it, and it seems to represent the era in which it was designed and constructed better than a more traditional look. Peep it:


So basically it's randomized square pieces of colored glass, making the whole thing look like a mass of pixels. Eat that modern look, National Cathedral!

To our family preparing to introduce us to their new European home, our perspective has been shaped entirely by stereotypes from Kraftwerk and Sprockets and we'll expect no less... you'd better have black turtlenecks when we get there.