Up early to have breakfast and finish packing. There is a bus that leaves from very near to my hotel so I planned to get the one that left at 9:15. All good - you just pay the driver €2.80 and you're off. The bus arrived at the Central Train station about 15 minutes later so I had plenty of time to find my platform and where I needed to be standing before the train departed at 9:59. The train journey took 5 hours but it was very pleasant and a good way to see some more of the countryside. I arrived at Köln station just after 3pm and followed the instructions my cousin Tony (or Tonz as he is known to us!) to the platform for a train to Bergisch Gladbach. I missed one step ... read more

There are a few things that become important when you travel - wifi and coffee! Without good quality, you will find both can be frustrating. i am going to add a rating on both these items, for each country/city I visit. So, to catch up: Stockholm and Malmö, Sweden - excellent coffee everywhere. Internet free and available at most places. Quality was good in my hotel. Copenhagen, Denmark - excellent coffee everywhere. Internet free and available at most places. Quality was good in my hotel. Hamburg and Berlin, Germany - coffee is only average. Internet available intermittently. Doesn't work very well in my hotel room hence I find myself sitting in the lobby when I need to do my blog. Main reason for introducing a rating system ?. It is not only annoying but quite time ... read more

Christiane (the hostess with the mostest!) popped out before I woke up to buy some traditional Hamburg pastries and coffees for our breakfast. She also bought some bread rolls and made them up for my trip, with liverwurst, ham and pickles etc left over from the other night. We had a lovely breakfast together and then said our farewells - until next we meet ? I then took my time getting organised and went for a walk to the lake. It was another beautiful day in Hamburg! I walked past the Hamburg tennis centre which was huge - this is where they have the German open. It is on Christiane's street. Christiane's apartment is in what was the Jewish quarter of Hamburg. The places here are just amazing - I love the architecture and how beautifully ... read more

After waking and getting myself sorted for the day, I walked to Nyhavn for breakfast. I stopped to take a photo of #20, which was the house that Hans Christian Andersen lived in. After a nice breakfast of eggs & bacon, I continued my walk to enjoy some of the final sights of Copenhagen. The time soon came to check out of my hotel and head to the Central Train station for my trip to Hamburg. The journey started off nicely with my seat not actually on the window, but I could see the view of the countryside fully, without interruption this time. After about 2 hours I needed to change trains at Fredericia, which is a town in Denmark. As we were getting close to the station, an announcement advised us that the train to ... read more

After reading up on the best things to do in Copenhagen I was excited to start the day. I walked over the Inderhavnsboen onto the island of Christianshavn. I found a market area and bought some porridge with almonds, apple and caramel for breakfast. From here I walked to the Freetown of Christiania. This area was settled by squatters in 1971 and has drawn non-conformists from across the globe who were attracted to the concept of collective businesses and communal living. It certainly was an interesting place to walk around with its artistic graffiti and dealers on "pusher street" - it was like stepping into another world. It considers itself to not be a part of the EU. Stepping back into civilisation as we know it .... I decided to head to the spot I had ... read more