Essen and Koln

I apologize for missing a day of writing, but I had a very busy day yesterday, and the same went for today. Yesterday, my sister and mom slept until 10:45 with a wopping 14 hours of sleep. They were happy, and we had our first breakfast together with the the rest of the family. It was fun watching them experience what I had experienced with all the breads and toppings. I thought that we didn't have anything planned untill later at night, but I was mistaken. Ulf told us to jump into the car, and off we went. He took us to a massive mansion, that used to be the largest house in Germany. From the outside it looks typical, with marble pillars, etc. But on the inside, everything was carved and made out of wood. It was beautiful! It had large tapestries, and two ballrooms. And that was only on one side of the house. There was a sprawling park stretching in every direction outside of the mansion. The owner had loved trees, so he bought many types of trees from around the world, and now you can see hundreds of different trees. Later, we went home, and had a tea party. Then the main event began. We all packed into the car again, and drove to the Essen city center. I can't explain everything that happened, because there was so much happening, but I do know that we bought ice cream, lundjager, chocolate, bratwurst, sauerkraut, schneeballs, and a cool German toy that has birds pecking at a ping ping paddle. We rode the Ferris wheel, and charlotte almost got frost bite, and then took the s ban back home, where we watched transformers. The next day, we woke up late, but my mom went with Ulf to get the bread today. The breakfast was good, and then we all went our seperate ways for a little while. At around 3, we went to the s ban station, and began our hour and a half trip to Koln. When we approached Koln, the first thing we saw was a massive church cathedral, the famous Dom of Koln ( we call Koln cologne in America). This was the most impressive architectural building I've seen in my life. It was so giant, and tall. But every inch of the Dom was covered in intricate statues, gargoyles, and different designs. Inside, the ceilings seemed to be touching heaven itself, and the pillars that held it were so thick, that I'm sure Thor would gave a hard time smashing through them. Next we went to Kolns Christmas market, and enjoyed miny pancakes, and chocolate almonds, all in the shadow of the Dom. For dinner, we ate ate at a very awesome resteraunt, where I ordered sauerkraut, pork, and mashed potatoes, while my mom and charlotte annoyed giant sausages. It was a great day today, and I'm excited for the next few exciting ones. I most likely won't be able to post on Monday or Tuesday, but I'll clue you in on Wednesday.