My body is mush!

I have just had the nost relaxing day since... well I cannot even remember. I went to Aachen for a day trip to Carolus Therman, the thermal spring spa in the area. I went with an Aussie, Wendy, and we spent an entire day at the spa. Spending 10.5 weeks on the road, carrying at least two bags but usually three, walking for 8-10 hours a day, sleeping in hostels (really thin mattresses) and just accumulating "grunge" along the way has been rough (but amazing at the same time). So I decided to treat myself to a day at the spa... and it just happened to be really cheap! I spent 8 hours swimming (well floating because I can´t swim) and soaking in the many pools, laying by the pools reading and just relaxing. It was so amazing and I strongly recommend having a day like that to anyone backpacking for an extended period of time. My body has a couple of aches now that I am completely relaxed but I really enjoyed all the jets and water and time to do nothing. One of my favourite parts was the Caravan Oasis room: for 30 minutes I was transported back to Egypt, into the desert, where I could just lay in the sand and relax. The room was painted with an oasis design, smelled like incense and was also a UV room. It was marvelous and I just loved laying in the sad and burying my hands and feet and thinking about Egypt (I still miss it terribly!). Overall, the day was so amazing and I feel completely recharged, relaxed, massaged, just without any pysical contact :( and ready for anything! You can check out the spa at www.carolus-thermen.de

Oh, I forgot to tell you about yesterday. I went to the Chocolate Museum and was in heaven. We went through the displays of the history of chocolate but the best part was the active chocolate factory, where we could see the entire process and sample some chocolate. Yummy! After our 3 hour visit, we had hot chocolate and cake in the cafe (a necessity) and I went into a chocolate coma! I felt drunk and completely relaxed! And the other benefit was that I was so satisfied, I didn´t spend hundreds of dollars in the shop after. I guess I can always shop in Belgium! After, Wendy and I went to Museum Ludwig and looked at the amazing modern art. It was such a great day and I was so happy to have someone to do things with.

So I am having a great visit to Köln and am ready for the next few months! Love you all, Lisa

PS. Pictures to follow eventually but not from Köln as I am unable to use my USB in the hostel computer.