Blogs from Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe - page 15

Hi all from Germany. I am writing this at 10.15pm and it’s still 28degsC according to my cellphone. We are sitting outside at a campground in Koln (Cologne), Germany, by the river Rhine, still in singlet and shorts (yes - even me, cold blooded Monique, is still just in a singlet top at 10.15pm!). This morning we packed up all of the camping gear we would need from Auntie Margareth’s and Uncle Albert’s, and then had the joy of trying to fit it all into the boot of the little red Suzuki. After some attempts at fitting it all in, we folded ourselves into the car (nah, it wasn’t too bad!), and off we went down the autobahn to Duisburg - in the 30+degs. While the autobahns are a great way to travel somewhere fast, you ... read more

Staying a hostel in Koln in many ways was going back to the roots. The hostelś actually whatś known as a 2 star hostel. Now, in the olden days, these didn´t exist. They were just a cheap room to bed down and of variable quality. This place had ensuite and a key card. I still got the bunk though. I was pretty wiped and even had an early night. I got chatting to my dorm-mate (if I using the correct term here) - a 50 year old American who was travelling with her daughter who has just graduated. I knew it! This place is teeming with young American grads. Actually, the mum was quite sweet and it was odd that she told me she was from DC which is where the White House is. How odd ... read more

A recurrent thought I suspect I´ll be having during my one month Balkan invasion. Plus Croatia if one is being accurate and doesn´t wish to offend. Of which I will try. Another recurrent thought for sure will be the long trek with the backpack. Surely its not healthy to walk with my body weight attached to my back for an hour. The journey from the train station to the hostel took that long but of course my notorious sense of direction got in the way. In reality, it probably should be 15 minutes and I was prepared with the google map and everything. Clearly that, along with the hostel directions were not exactly lizproof and perhaps there should be a special function on google maps for those with a spazzy sense of direction. Also, I can´t ... read more

We woke up this morning to an Amsterdam streaming with rain. Since we intended to head to Cologne at some point, we figured why not sooner. Arrived in Cologne at about 3pm, and began exploring. Now, I have an important confession to make. I think I am too old for hostels. During all of my earlier travels it never occurred to me that I night one day find these cheap beds nasty. Cologne is our first hotel of the trip (as until budget hotels were approximately the same prices) and I worry that it might be one of the nicest. There is some sort of rodent trap outside our door. Lovely. Tomorrow and the next night we are staying in a dorm in Berlin! Cologne itself seems kinda neat. It was hard to get a real ... read more

Hello All! Life has taken it's twists & turns recently, but somehow I safely made it to Köln in one piece! Well, I'm actually staying with this amazing guy, David, right outside of Cologne in a prompt town called Hürth. Just a 15 minute tram ride to the heart of Cologne, which makes it perfect for me to progress in my new novel, ''Twilight.'' I finished studying in Berlin and explored everything from art museums to concentration camps to the animal park. I was fortunate enough to meet with 2 ladies from Parliament and a German author. All very intriguing people with different views on the world. Alongside learning much about Germany, I learned more about the U.S. and all the cruel things Pres. Bush is/has done. Ironically, environmental issues seem to arise, yet Berlin is ... read more