Blogs from Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe - page 18

This past weekend some friends and I headed off to Karnival in Koeln, Germany, 2nd largest in the world! We had to get up really early in the morning to head to the train station and it was a long ride down there. I almost made us get off at the wrong stop because I kept hearing Koeln, Koeln, Koeln and I asked someone if this was Koeln and they said yes so I yelled at everyone to get off cause everyone was sleeping... but false alarm... which was good cause we wouldnt have been able to make it otherwise. We got into the city before we could check-in at the hotel and we wandered around the city for a bit. We got to Airport Hotel by the New Yorker. We left our stuff and headed ... read more

Hallo! Here I am again...another story in a country I see for the first time. And funnily enough, it was during the Carnival. There are not so many things to mention, as the trip was kind of short in order to make a full impression. But what I can say was....well, Koln is quite easy to deal with. Even if I don't speak any German, it was easy to understand the maps and locations. The trains & trams are always on time and very clean. The city was quite clean considering the fact that it was carnival. It was so lovely to see everyone smiling, dancing, being friendly with people they didn't even know! Music was everywhere, but...what music?! HORRIBLE! I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone, but that music was so strange..honestly, I didn't like ... read more

About 11 years ago, Raphael and ... god, that other little french dude - what's his name?? - bah - About 11 years ago Raphael and Raphael's french friend used to tease me coz I spent one morning (okay maybe like 15 mornings) listening to (well... watching) the song 'Wannabe' from the Spice Girls. It was like nothing I had ever seen - they were just so cool, so different, and whilst I didn't think it then, Sporty was just so damn HOT!!! Anyway, the teasing was totally justified as I was like 16 at the time, far too old for infatuations with pop groups... I should have been locking myself in my room with a good dose of Tism or Rage Against The Machine like all self respecting teenagers. Now, the crowds that I move ... read more

There are seven Christmas markets and a chocolate museum in Cologne and the plan was to see them all with my son Sam, daughter Amy and her boyfriend Jon. I originally intended to spend 2 nights in Cologne but due to unforeseen circumstances this was reduced to one night, it would mean quite a lot of driving in a short time but I thought it would still be worth it. Saturday The alarm went off at 5.45am and by 6.45am we were on the road to the Channel Tunnel terminal. We had travelled down from Lincoln the previous evening and stayed in the Travellodge just outside Ashford, which is only 10-15 minutes drive from the terminal. It was a bit cramped with four of us in one small room but it was only for one night. ... read more

Cruzeiro de 4 dias pelo Rio Reno, atracando em Königswinter, Rüdesheim e Colonia. Me veio logo em mente quando as pessoas faziam cruzeiros para conhecer o mundo ao invéz de bombar nas atuais “discotecas flutuantes” de 50 andares. Uma viagem cômoda, cultural, mas que se não fosse convidada a trabalho, talvez jamais pensaria em fazer. De fato a idade média do público não era propriamente jovem, mas vi muitos casais. Embarcamos no navio Viking Helvetica, um 4 estrelas para 190 passageiros, baixo e longo, para possibilitar a passagem sob as pontes. Um pouco depois, sentada na sala da encantadora cabine envidraçada, observando a paisagem que escorria pela beira do Rio, começo a sentir o coração batendo mais lento, ou melhor, mormalmente. Estava precisando! Que sensação maravilhosa atravessar aqueles cenários cinematográficos cheios de castelos e casarões típicos ... read more