Hanging out at the mall

I've had a very frustrating couple of days. When we arrived in Cologne, I got a tickle in my throat which, by the next afternoon was the sorest throat I've ever had, and since then it has moved into my ears and I'm all stuffed up. Worst of all, I cough violently and hard all night long, and that doesn't make me the most cheerful person the next day....

Which is why today, we stayed indoors for a bit and went to the mall.

What an eyeopener that was! This mall had some lovely stores, which we expected. It also had a market running through the centre of it, which we did not. A bunch of little kiosks selling everything from pickled herring, to schnitzelsemmer to the biggest loaves of black bread that I have ever seen (they were roughly two feet in diameter!). There was a cheese kiosk, another that sold sausages, and another that sold breads and buns and pretzels. Everything looked and smelled amazing. The locals were going about with their baskets, choosing what they needed for the day.

And then, there were several little beer cafes as we walked along. We had lunch in one of those--remarkably affordable, which is good since we tend to spend a bit more at supper.

In the end, we bought some German kitchen things as requested by M's dad, and a little cheese slicer for us (Dave, I think you'll love it!).

I left feeling a little less grouchy.