荷蘭是風車之國，這裏的風車居然是民宅，而且主人特別好客，在門前建了個大停車場，讓觀光客在門前攝影留念。

離開風車小屋後，我們上鑽石工廠參觀，了解鑽石的生產製作過程。講解小姐教了鑽石的4C，又讓所有女人試戴了戒指，我與女兒也試了試，當然她的用意是讓大家購買了。

然後我們來到了德國，這是我第一次到德國。上回帶著兒子遊歐洲時，朋友抱怨我怎麽沒有將德國列上旅程。現在終於到了德國，卻與朋友失去了聯係，不知道他現在是否還在德國，心頭泛起一絲惆悵的感覺。

我們到了的科隆，參觀德國最大的教堂。歌德式的大教堂聳入雲霄，音樂家舒曼因感其雄偉莊嚴，譜出流傳千古的《萊茵河交響曲》。我們見到的教堂在整修中，黑乎乎的帶著歲月的痕跡。更糟糕的是那裏扒手當道，小心翼翼地護著荷包，崇敬的心情竟添了幾分重負。

一直到走出擁擠的教堂，大家才長長地舒了一口氣。還好，荷包在，手機在，照相機也在。

我們來到萊茵河畔，這是一個幽靜雅致的小鎮，給人以一種賞心悅目的感覺。

這是我們乘坐的遊船，遊覽風光旖旎的萊茵河。

德國以城堡著名，每座城堡都有傳說故事，關於友誼，關於愛情，為其蒙上樸樹迷離的色彩。我們在遊船上可以看到三座城堡，每座城堡都是一個浪漫故事，我好想進去看一看，呼吸一下那裏神秘的氣息。

神秘的還有這塊巨石，據說是萊茵河邊最大的岩石，是一位在河邊攝魂的女神。

沿著河水一路前行，兩岸有青翠的田園風光，點綴著葡萄園、教堂與小屋。

當然最悠閑的是鴨子了，在萊茵河中嬉戲遊玩，做著自由自在的鴨夢。

晚上的團餐是德國豬腳，讓我想起了周莊的蹄胖。

17 day trip – day 4

Diamond factory: five out of five

I went on a trip to a diamond factory today. The company allows people to take tours. Now, you may think that a thief could disguise as a tourist and sneak in, but everybody is given a tracker sticker so that visitors are monitored a lot. I learned how diamonds are transformed from translucent rocks to sparkling stones. It requires a lot of cutting. Since the only thing that can cut a diamond is a diamond, some of them have to be sacrificed to the cutting of other diamonds. There is a gift shop (naturally) that sells diamonds. Really! One of the cheapest with-diamond products was about 400 euros. The tour guide actually has a story involving the gift shop. There was a couple from New York, and the woman loved shopping. She always got her husband to pay for whatever she wanted, even if he didn't want it. When they got to the diamond factory, the man tried to escape paying for the diamonds that she would inevitably want to buy. For a while, he did. Then, some security guards found him and brought him back to the factory. They had found him hiding four blocks away in the park.

Cruise: five out of five

Another place I visited was the Rhine River. I went on a short cruise. The boat I was on had two parts, an upper deck and a lower deck. Of course, I was on the upper deck. It was very windy there. My mom found a sheltered overhang where we could sit, but for most of the trip I decided to take pictures instead on the sides of the boat. The Rhine River is in a valley, and the sides of it are very steep. I actually am very lucky, because my mom got an offer to go on a Europe tour a few weeks before this one, and a few weeks ago the Rhine River had flooded to the highest level in a hundred years. Because of that, there was no cruise.

Hotel: zero out of five

The hotel I am currently in is terrible. When I first came in, I couldn't open the door of the room I was staying in. Every time I tried to open the trash can, it would flop away and close so I couldn't throw things away. I also heard somebody else complaining about a lack of electricity in their room. There is a king-sized bed, but that doesn't make up for the other bad stuff.

Average: three out of five

If you want to continue learning about my trip, please read the next reviews for this seventeen day trip in Europe!

P.S. if you want to come to Europe, bring lots of spare change! The toilets cost money to use!