We buy our public transport tickets and head for the attractions. Cologne has a gondola across the river.
We jump on. Nice views and there’s a park on the opposite bank.
Next is the chocolate museum.
This is my mum’s favourite shop. Mail order only in the UK.
2 trains got us to Cologne today (running total now 8). Cologne is a lovely city on the Rhine.
The Rhine is a busy commercial waterway; huge barges carry goods in each direction.
Cologne has a world famous cathedral, The Dom. It keeps appearing over the skyline.
We popped into the Dom. It’s beyond me to describe the sheer scale of the place – it’s simply staggering. Here’s a small part of one window.
The pubs in Cologne all serve a local beer called Kolsch. It comes in 20cl glasses, and as soon as you finish one, another appears. The barmaid keeps tabs on how many you’ve had by scribbling a 5 bar gate on your beer mat.
As I write Germany are playing their opening game in the world cup. They’re 3-0 up at half time against Portugal, so the locals are very pleased.
Last night we had a good wander round the town. It’s typical of the region, and very attractive.
Here are our family.
And here is our hotel.
Today we went to see the Mohne Dam. We all know what happened here in 1943, but today it’s a stunning place.
Great day out!
Caught the train yesterday evening to Birmingham airport.
Commuter flight to Dusseldorf. Full of weary business men and a gaggle of schoolchildren on a day trip.
Not at all like a holiday flight, just a quick hello and off we go. We got to the town at about midday.
There were some storms earlier this week which did some damage to the railways, so to get to Soest, our destination, we have to make a grand tour of Westphalia. We stopped at a small town called Unna and had a traditional German lunch of Schnitzel & chips.
Arrived at our hotel.
Me (in Sunday Best German). ‘Hello, my name’s Mike Easley and I have a reservation.’
Receptionist. ‘Never mind that, how about a beer.’
A pretty good start I thought.
The season has changed, and it’s spring. Here’s our place.
The village takes on a whole new character. In particular the animals, who are kept safely indoors during the winter, begin to venture outside to enjoy the sunshine.
Ducks!
Morning!
Meet the kids..
Wengen in the sunshine.
Innerwengen. A hamlet just below the village. We usually ski here in the afternoons.
The mountains will remain white all summer long.
Strange day today, whole mountain deserted. There was just enough high cloud to stop the snow softening.
Nice menu art at the Bahnhof at Scheidegg.
Inevitable beer at the Figeller bar on the way home.
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