Farewell Bruxelles
We got up fairly early in order to get ourselves sorted for the onward journey, though check-out was not until 11, and after packing, got some breakfast in a café. It was time to bid a fond farewell to the little city. We’d had fun, but were glad to be on our way.
The place was just to noisy to get much sleep. Noises outside in the street (mostly from late night parties) were easily muffled by closing the windows, but that activated the A/C which was even noisier. Eh it was only a couple of nights.
Transport Shenanigans
Our train was cancelled! We were supposed to be on the 12:25 ICE to Frankfurt, but… just a few minutes before departure, we were all told it was not happening. Unfair! They told us we needed to get a regional train to Verviers, and then a rail replacement bus service to Aachen, and then to ask there. It was almost like being at home in the UK except that the connections actually waited for us.
And so we saw some places we didn’t expect. Verviers was actually rather a pretty town, though I’d never heard of it before, and Aachen too was lovely. It’s just we expected to see the pretty countryside from an air conditioned ICE at 120+km/h, rather than from a hot and sticky overcrowded bus. Oh well, C’est la vie.
In the end, we arrived just under two hours late. I hope its temporary as a delay like that coming home will mean we’d miss the Eurostar and well… maybe never come home.
Köln
The hotel here was easy to find. Just round the corner from the Cathedral and well within rolling distance of the river. Staff were nice, room small but comfortable and with a weird but cool idea of how bathrooms should be attached. I won’t mention the clown artwork on the wall… Oops, too late.
Unpacked, we found some food… German sausages are just the würst, you know, and some beer. Very civilised. We’ll need to see the Cathedral of course, and take a cruise on the Rhine, and Louise wants to see the railway museum in Koblenz (I suspect she thinks I need training), but otherwise we plan to relax.
On the down side, I fell off a curb by the river. Could have been bad but I was lucky and caught myself. That might really have ruined it.
We also discovered we will miss Köln Pride by just two days. Should have come a week later. We live and learn. Perhaps next time. Maybe we can just pretend, and have our own private march round some of the bars and lez the place up.
Did I mention the beer is rather good?