Hello Europe

 We arrived in Frankfurt at 6.30 am Saturing after an eight hr stopover in Saigon. A wonderful foot massage helped pass a little of the time. Frankfurt Airport is massive. We sailed through Customs in no time & thought, this is a breeze! Three hours later we were boarding the train to Cologne. After having difficulty (with the rest of the plane) finding the correct baggage collection, it looked like my bag didn't arrive as it wasn't on the carousel. We were reporting this when  Peter saw it standing on its lonesome on the floor next to the carousel. I just beat a Security Guard to it and confirmed it was mine.  What a relief! 



Surprisingly, the German train system has a reputation for running late and they didn't disappoint. We left on time but took 'the tourist route' to Cologne with the one hour trip taking three hours. 



Possibly Rhine Reisling vines?


Cruising down the Rhine




After checking into our hotel, to help with jet lag we hit the streets of Cologne, walking 18,000 steps. It's not unusual for European hotels not to have a top sheet on the bed and only a quilt. With central heating, this can get uncomfortably hot. Reception kindly obliged with my two requests: An additional flat sheet and a kettle (often not included in room).  

Looking for a place for dinner, a few blocks off the main restaurant strip we found a small Mediterranean restaurant, Ba'rile. It reminded us a little of Signor Vitelli's - interesting menu from fresh ingredients, with exceptional service. A great little find. 

We're off to explore more of Cologne but will be rugging up - the temperature has dropped from 22 C yesterday to 11 C max! 

Comments

  1. Iain Davidson15 October 2023 at 16:26

    Love the clean new look. Have a wonderful time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Iain Davidson15 October 2023 at 16:29

    I took a similar trip up the Rhine and decided that those vines were to produce Moselle, and given the steepness of the terraces it had to represent one of the most worthless agricultural efforts ever. Did you get wet?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solo Train Trip to Tarragona - 10-12th Nov

Image
  I caught the train to Tarragona on Fri 10th for the weekend. Tarragona is just over an hour south of Barcelona and was a very pleasant trip by the Mediterranean. Tarragona is best known for its Roman ruins but is also a very pretty city, particularly with the lovely weather I experienced.  I booked an apartment close to the centre and the host left a bottle of red wine and a pkt of yummy chocolate wafer biscuits.   First stop was the Tourist Info Centre, followed by a visit to the Mercat Central where I had a light lunch at the counter of a bar.  So simple but the combo was delicious, with slices of quince paste giving it a real lift.  I visited the Praetorium & Roman Circus Fri night. Compared to 4 pm, the streets were packed at 8/9 pm (it's what happens in Spain).  Saturday morning was Cathedral time - very impressive! Consecrated in 1331.  My favourite part of any cathedral, as Helen & Iain know, is the cloister. I do love a good cloi...
Read more

Athens - 17-20 October

Image
  We arrived a little overdressed (20 deg C) at our apartment in Athens, ‘We Saw Athens’ at 10.30 pm and were met by our host, Penny. It was a spacious studio; apartment located just five minutes’ walk from the main metro station, Syntagma.   After Cologne, we agreed that Athens had a lovely vibe. Penny recommended some places for a late dinner and we enjoyed a light dinner and wine before bed at 1.00 pm (good practice for Spain!).    I had downloaded a travel app called Rick Steves Audio Europe before leaving home. It includes audio tours of different cities. The two I downloaded was a one-hr Athens – City Walk and a 50 min Acropolis tours . We used one Bluetooth ear pod each and found both tours to be very informative and easy to follow. I would highly recommend checking this option out.  Kapnikarea Church – a Greek Orthodox church built in the 12th & 13 th centuries.   I call the scarf I’m wearing, Barb’s scarf. When admiring the scarf a year...
Read more