Cologne

Up early, and out to Brussels Nord, we caught a train to Cologne. Passing through Liege and the Belgian countryside, the scenery was lovely, although we spent much of the time planning what to do with our day and where to spend tonight, before settling on Mainz.

At Cologne, we dumped our kit in fancy storage lockers and set out to see the cathedral, which was right next to the station. It's imposing, dark facade (and beautiful flying buttresses) was mirrored inside with a vast, lofty space. The mosaics were especially beautiful.

From here, we wandered over the Hohenzollern Bridge, covered in a spectacular amount of locks, and down the far side of the Rhine. Coming back towards town, we walked through the old town and to the lovely Fruh Am Dom for some local kolsch beer (and Ben had some local cheese too).

Back at the station, luggage retrieved, the platform was chaos with about four trains to Bonn but people running between them wildly as the station staff tried to get the doors shut and the trains away! Eventually our train Koblenz turned up and spirited away to the Rhine Valley.

Beer Index (Cologne) - €4.50/0.5l (Kolsch)Read more