Cologne, Bonn, Heidelberg, Salzburg and the Rhine

So we feel like we're on the home straight now, only about 2 more weeks of travelling and then we have to go back to the real world (London) and find jobs...
Right now we're in Cologne, Germany. Have done a few day-trips from here which were fun as you'll see below. Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam.

One of our Cologne day-trips was a Rhine River cruise (free on our rail-passes - woo hoo!). We took the train to Rüdesheim and caught the boat from there to Koblenz, allowing us to see what is apparently the most scenic section of the Rhine.
This is Rüdesheim, where we started our boat ride and one of the several quaint little towns along the river.
Also ubiquitous along the Rhine are the castles. Wherever there was a clearing in the forest you can be sure they built a castle!
Before this day MC thought Mum, Dad and baby swan families were cute. But as MC was feeding them with our leftover stale bread, this family marched up the riverbank hissing threats, before we ran away leaving our backpack (in the photo) to be pecked mercilessly. Evil swans.
You can get on and off the boat at any of the little towns so we spent a few hours in St Goar and had a yummy apfel strudel at the cafe above. St Goar has one of the biggest castles remaining along the Rhine so we walked up the hill for the stunning views.
Today we went to Heidelberg. The main attraction is (another) big castle on a hill. Inside the castle is a huge beer keg that holds about 200,000 litres.
A wee square in medieval Heidelberg. The castle is on the hill in the background.
Another square in Heidelberg with church in the background.
A view of Heidelberg and its river Neckar from the castle.
Here's one for any fellow pharmacists: there's a German Pharmacy museum in the castle with some cool (not so much for John) old pharmacy set-ups.
Another view from the castle.
Back in time a little: after Munich we went to Salzburg for a few nights. Salzburg has a big fortress etched into the surrounding cliffs built by monks which you can see in this photo.
The view of pretty Salzburg from the fortress.
Happy Birthday to John! We celebrated with eis schokolade and cake. Yum.
Although the weather is substantially cooler now, it was still hot in Salzburg. This is a really old baroque fountain.
The beautiful Mirabel gardens and palace in Salzburg with the fortress above.
They sang Do-Re-Mi here in the Sound of Music. Exciting!
What a cool name for a shop!
The easter shop in Salzburg. Filled to the brim with handpainted eggs.
John's choice of birthday dinner - all you can eat Chinese. Of course.
BEFORE the swans turned evil. From Salzburg we took a daytrip to the surrounding Salzkammergut (the lake district).
This town is Halstatt - a beautiful tiny town nestled in the alps beside a lake.
The water was surprisingly warm - a lot warmer than Wakatipu! So refreshing on a hot day.
John beside the lake.
We had to take a boat across the lake to the town as the train arrived on the other side. Awesome views.
Out of sequence again but here is MC in Bonn - another daytrip from Cologne. Bonn is Beethoven's birthplace so his statue is in the background.
No this is Cologne, not Florence! A crazy version of the David.
The Cologne cathedral is a huge gothic church.
Halstatt again. MC found a friendly cat on the waterfront.
The quaint little square in Halstatt.
John in Beethoven's old back garden. His actual birthplace has been turned into a museum which we had a look through.
Cologne. You can see the cathedral over the bridge.
We went on a gondola ride over the Rhine in Cologne.