Blue skies: Cologne on the Rhine

It's been a while since I've posted photos from our European travels, and I thought I'd use some today, after talking to my eldest niece.
I was happy to have been able to see the city of Cologne on our Rhine-Main-Danube cruise with Viking River Cruises last year.

Richard Schear
photos, 2012

For much of the cruise I was unwell, but in Cologne I was up to doing a bit of shopping. We were looking for two very specific things: soccer jerseys in the white the German national team wears for home games, with the names of a certain two players on them.
One was for my niece's husband who was in hospital in Vancouver last year with leukemia. The other was for his brother, whose blood turned out to be a match for a bone marrow transplant.
We had been warned by a few of the ship's crew that such specific items might be difficult to find, and they were, but we managed it.
Our nephew-in-law was delighted with the result. He has now been home for several months, and is working at regaining his strength with the goal of discontinuing his medications and returning to work. It might take a while, but he is determined to succeed.

So, here, while I'm thinking of him,  are some photos of blue skies in Cologne, posted for Skywatch Friday.