I arrived in Cologne last night after about 8 hours of travelling. The weather in Europe wasn't much better than that in London, raining and overcast.
The german trains are really comfortable so I am hoping that our 28 train trip to St. Petersburg from Warsaw on Friday evening is just as comfortable. I was exhausted and although I had every intention of going down to the bar to use my free welcome drink, I decided on going to bed early instead.
I took a slow start to the day and then walked Cologne flat. There are over 250 possible churches and cathedrals to see, so even I got a bit indifferent to them.
I stopped at the Lindt chocolate museum which was very interesting. More so for the working part of the museum where they were making small Lindt squares, wrapping them and then packing them. The old chocolate vending machines also fascinated me, intricate designs and very pretty, nothing like the boring rectangular efforts we get today. I then took another long walk around medieval and roman Cologne, coming to the large cathedral - The Dom. It is one of the largest cathedrals I have ever seen. I wasn't overly impressed with the inside, but the mosaics on the floor and stained glass windows are about the best I have ever seen. I can understand why it is a Unesco world heritage sight.
I was trying to make it to the Museum of Nazi documentation, but it closed at 4, I assumed it would be 6 like most of the museums here. So here I am, in an internet cafe, minus my 20kgs of hell which is at the station luggage storage for which I gladly paid €4 to keep there until my train leaves.
There isn't much more that I can add about Cologne. It is very pretty but I am pleased I am only here for the day. My shopping has been limited to a magnet and a badge to sew onto my backpack.
Will load photos at a later date.
Until Warsaw.....
