We had a good night’s sleep after our gala evening with Heidelberg Mike last night. Above the town is a huge castle which dominates the whole valley. The problem is that it’s undergoing a big restoration at the moment, and frankly it looks rubbish from down here – hence no photos. There’s a funicular railway up to the castle, but we decide to walk. It’s well worth the effort.
Strolling players rehearsing.
Back in town there’s a wedding in the square. Happy bride.
We catch an early train to our next port of call. It’s a bank holiday here so the train is busy, but we get seats Ok. Our hotel couldn’t be in a better spot; view from our window.
The river is a big attraction here – lots of tripper boats.
A friend of ours lives here, so in time-honoured tradition we hook up for a few beers and watch England get knocked out of the footie.
Another photo of the bridge on the way home from the pub.
Lovely sunny day, so we head for the Botanical Gardens. I’ve seen a few of these around Europe, but this is certainly the best so far. The main building was modelled on the Crystal Palace in London, and was completed just 12 years after the London landmark.
Later we cross the river in the hope of getting some better views of the city from the observation deck of a skyscraper. The lift takes us up 28 floors.
A good view of the Dom at last.
We cross the bridge back towards our side of the river. Young couples have attached padlocks bearing their names along the entire length of this huge structure.
More enormous river barges pass beneath us.
As you can see, this skipper likes to his car with him!
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.
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