Oompa Loompa

"Oompa Loompa doompadee doo;
I've got another puzzle for you.
Oompa Loompa doompadah dee;
If you are wise you'll listen to me."
- Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory






We just completed our side trip to Germany. Once we landed in Cologne, we immediately toured The Dom then found ourselves walking the streets of the shopping district. Friday night we stayed in a hotel recommended by Rick Steves (of course). Cute and quaint on the outside...HOT with no ventilation on the inside. Nobody got much sleep, but we woke up early the next morning to take the 509 steps to the top of the bell tower at The Dom.





Then we took the train south along the Rhine with expectations to tour the Burg Eltz Castle. Once we arrived to the station and walked 15 minutes we encountered torrential down pours. With a vote tally of 3-2 (I lost)...we returned to the station and continued to our next stop.








Bacharach is a small town located on the west side of the Rhine River. We again stayed at a hotel made famous by Rick Steves. Cute and quaint...but the rooms were equipped with a fan and windows that opened this time. We walked the main street and then settled down for wine tastings of the local Rieslings.






After my detour on Sunday, I enjoyed the afternoon in Cologne touring the Imhoff-Stollwerck Museum and watching real Oompa's at work. I was also able to sample from the chocolate fountain, but disappointed that it did not look like the one Augustus Gloop plunged into. I then enjoyed a few cold Hefeweizien with some sausage at a German Kuchen along the Rhine. I eventually met up with my family that evening.