Thursday 23 December

Although I had not hit the pillow until 1.15 am, I had to get up only 6 hours later to catch the ICE train to Cologne, Germany, where I was going for a daytrip with my father. The bus took us to the station in Arnhem, and ICE 105 left at 9.06 am. It is a luxurious train, and I had booked seats for the 100 minutes to Cologne. Well, it turned into more than 2 hours, due to a signalling fault at Wesel and the generally snowy conditions. Arrived at Cologne at 11.15 am, and the weather was downright unpleasant: sleet and freezing rain, and freezing temperatures.

My primary objective had been the Dom, the Cathedral, but it was cold in there, and not just in terms of the temperature. The Cologne Dom is a massive structure, with the spire rearing to no less than 400 feet in height. But when you come in out of cold conditions, and being ordered to remove your hat: well, there are ways of conveying a message. And the clergy in the cathedral should be aware that in cold weather, people may come in wearing a hat, because it's cold, and not out of disrespect. A wee notice at the door would help. At least then you don't cause offence. As I said, the Dom is a magnificent structure, and I was as overawed as I was on my first visit in 1998.

After the Dom, we ambled through the Christmas market outside the Cathedral, then the adjacent Roman / German museum. A bit of lunch in the Früh cafe consisted of a small glass of beer (zwei Gölch?!), salt potatoes and Hungarian goulash, complemented by a fruit salad. The italicised phrase means "two beers" and was barked out by all the waiters at every customer. The Germans can be very abrupt, which is something I'm aware and familiar with. It was funny in the cafe, though.

The train back departed at 14.46, and got duly delayed due to the weather. We had to change into an old NS carriage at Emmerich for the rest of the journey back into Holland. The train was extremely busy, in both directions, due to the Christmas holidays.

I shall post a separate entry with pictures.