London to Cologne

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Day 96 Thursday 18 June

Hereford to London

21c fine some cloud



After breakfast which was quite good we checked out the money card to find we had more left on it than we thought which was good news.



We headed off to the Cotswolds and were going along well until we ran into one of the traffic queues we had heard about. It took us about an hour or more to go 5 miles. Eventually we got out of it and found it was caused by workmen mowing the verges.



The first place we got to was Burton on the Water which was very pretty but overrun by the coach tours including about 200 Asian teenagers in very formal school uniform. There was a public footpath that ran along beside the Windrush River so we went for a short walk along it. Back in the town we walked beside the river where it runs through the middle of the town centre. It was a bit chocolate box lid. When we pulled up in the car park an English bloke gave us his parking voucher which had 90 minutes left on it so we used that time. He must have only used 30 minutes.



From there we went to Stow on the Wold which was a very nice market town. Then it was on to Burford another pretty place. Brampton was the village where they filmed the village scenes in Downton Abbey so we went there. It has always intrigued me the way film makers use locations. The whole village in the series is filmed in one street about 100 yards long and the church is right at the end of that street, Church View Lane. Evidently Thomas is the favourite of the girls in town (the actor, not the character).



All the farm scenes in each of the series were filmed at a place called Cootes Manor House which the GPS could not find so we went looking for Swinbrook but got a bit lost and accidentally came on the signs to Cootes Manor so went there instead. They shut at 5 and we arrived at 4.30 so they let us in for nothing to have a quick look around. It was an interesting place which has a pretty grand manor house but somehow the directors made it look like a tenant farm.



We found the way to Swinbrook and went to the Swan Inn (another Downton location) and had a drink. It was lovely beside the river, lovely gardens and a pretty good looking dining room but the kitchen didn't open until 6.30 and we had to get on the road to London. We were going to try a circuitous route to avoid the congestion charge in London but realised that it stopped at 6.00pm so took the direct route down the A40 that morphed into the M40 that took us almost directly to St Pancras. That probably saved us more than an hour on the route we had been planning.



After we returned the car at St Pancras we walked down Euston Rd to Kings Cross Road to the Travelodge and booked in. The room was fine and we had a shower and went to bed.



I finished an "Innocent Man" a non fiction book by John Grisham



Day 97 Friday 19 June

London to Brussels

18c fine.



When we woke up we both had showers and I cut my hair. We had a Continental breakfast then organised ourselves and walked up to St Pancras international station, changed some English pounds into Euros then went through customs and immigration, English and French.



The Eurostar has lost a bit of its glamour compared to last time we used it as there are hoards of people using it and boarding is very much like boarding a plane. Found our seats and put our cases in then settled down for the ride. We read and did some stuff on the iPad. Because of the time difference we arrived in Brussels an hour earlier than we were expecting.



As we were getting the bags out from the end of the carriage I heard someone say "Ron Burns". It was Steve Haynes who I worked with at CAS. He and Bernice were travelling with her daughter Gail and her very new son to visit relatives and show them the baby. Bernice is Belgian.



We talked for a little then we had to go and meet Louise who was one of Glenn and Laurette's witnesses who had promised at the wedding to show us around Brussels where she now lives. She was waiting for us with her bicycle. We caught a taxi to the hotel, The Hotel Opera, and Louise rode her bike. She beat us there.



We booked in then went for a walk. Louise took us to the main square, the Grand Place which was huge and surrounded by beautiful buildings with lots of gold decorations. We went over to a corner of the square where there is a statue of a reclining woman that everyone touches for luck. Then she took us down some lovely old streets and we found a famous waffle cafe and went in and some waffles. Evidently there are two types the Brussels and the Liege (which is sweeter). She said the important things in Belgium are beer, waffles, comics and the Pissing Boy. He is a statue. We went to see him and he would be easy to miss because he is quite small and tucked away in a corner, but he is famous. We also saw his associates the pissing dog and the pissing girl who is tucked away on a wall up a lane full of bars. One very strange thing was that Louise took us to a parking station and we went up in a lift to the top floor which had no cars which she described as the number 2 viewing point of the city. There were lots of other people up there viewing too.



She took us on a walk through some back streets which were lovely but every now and then there would be a modern building that looked out of place. This seems to be the one thing that Louise does not like about Brussels. There is a canal but it is a bit drab compared to water courses we have seen in other cities. When Louise took off on her bike to ride home we went back to the hotel, organised a few things then went down the street and bought some fries and took them back to the hotel. After we ate them and were getting ready for the night I discovered that I had left my Kindle in the seat pocket on the train so that was a bit of a downer on an otherwise really good day.



Day 98 Saturday 20 June

Brussels - Brugge - Brussels

19c clear



After a very disturbed night because of the noise from the people leaving the bars in a very happy mood who kept us awake for quite a while so we woke up late. Breakfast was very simple, basically cereal, bread cheese and cold meats, juice and coffee. Our first step was to go back to the station to see if the Kindle had been handed in but no luck. From there we walked up to the Palace de Justice which is huge, evidently bigger than St. Peter's. We went up the glass elevator to the observation deck which is the number 1 viewing point for the city.



From there we set off for the Central Station where we had arranged to meet Louise at 12.30 to catch the 12.59 train to Brugge. We walked past some gardens and imposing buildings until we came to what we thought was the Cathedral that the station was behind. But it wasn't. It was a cathedral but not THE cathedral so the map didn't work. Eventually we asked for directions and arrived just a few minutes late only to receive a text from Louise that she was late and we should buy our ticket and go to the platform and let her know which one it was ( 4) which we did only for her to text back and say it was platform 18 which was a problem because there were only 6 where we were. That's when we realised we were at the wrong station. After some negotiation on the phones we realised that because the train was 5 minutes late Louise could catch the same one as us at the next station. Isn't it great when a plan works.



We actually found each other on the train and did the hour journey to

Brugge together. When we arrived we walked through a women's non secular monastery which was interesting. There were what looked like tree houses very high up in the trees with no ladders so we tried to figure out their purpose only to find out that they part of an expressive art festival throughout the city.



The city itself is spread around a lovely river and canals with the building foundations actually under water, a little like Venice. All the buildings, even the new ones, were similar in style so the place has a really historic aspect. There seemed to be a huge church on every corner, we looked at the architecture but did not go inside any except for the one that had Michelangelo's Madonnas and Child but it was not on display so we went back out.



Louise found a garden restaurant and we had Croque Mesiour and a beer. Then we walked some more. There were some magical little streets and interesting buildings. At 9.00 pm we walked back to the station and caught the train back to Brussels. While in Brugge we went to a chemist and bought some ear plugs for the night.



Back in Brussels we went to the restaurant over the road and had a pizza and Gail had a red wine and I had a bucket of beer.



Day 100 Sunday 21 June, the Summer Solstice and official first day of summer.

Brussels

19c some cloud



The ear plugs worked and we had a good night's sleep. After breakfast we went out and bought some chocolates and biscuits for presents then walked up to the cathedral to meet Louise on the steps. On the way we went to Gare Central to validate the Eurail Pass and book tomorrow's train to Cologne. Gail tried to ring Edith but could not get a connection.



Louise arrived just after noon and showed us the King's Palace and we walked through the Royal Park eating our Liege waffles we bought from a roadside van.



The next stop was the European Parliament which is pretty grand then we walked around a private school which was set in a park to Maison Aboise where we lined up to buy what are reputed to be the best Frites (chips) in Brussels. Evidently people queue for up to an hour to get them. The trick is supposed to be that they are fried twice.



From there it was to the European Commission which was monstrous, then to another park where there was a huge arch like the Arc de Triumph except I think larger. Just in front of the arch there was crane that had a stage attached that had a formal dining table set with chairs, it's called Dine in the Sky. People sit in the chairs and are lifted by the crane and served fine dining meals while suspended. Doesn't sound like fun to me.



Louise left us here as she was heading of to Corsica and had to pack so we said our goodbyes and she rode off. We went into the military museum which is in one of the sides of the arch because you could get up to the top of the arc. We did look at the aviation display which was quite interesting. We climbed the stairs to the top of the arch from where we had a great view of the city.



From there we walked back to the hotel which took over an hour, found an ATM and had a cup of coffee which came with a big side dish of Chantilly cream. We went back to the room and packed then showered and bed.



Day 101 Monday 22 June

Brussels to Cologne

14c raining



The ear plugs worked again and we had a good night's sleep. After a good breakfast we put on our raincoats and left the hotel pulling our cases through the rain for 100 metres to the taxi rank but of course because of the rain there were no taxis there so we started to walk. It was about a 40 minute walk and we had an hour. Luckily, however, we were able to hail a taxi and arrived at the station reasonably dry and with plenty of time.



I bought a book to replace the lost Kindle and we found the platform the train was leaving from and went up there to wait for it. When it arrived there were a lot of people getting on so it was lucky we had booked seats, even in first class.



The trip took just under 2 hours and just as we got out of the train at Cologne Edith was passing by on the platform so that made things easy. Walter caught up with us just after so we took our bags through the rain to where they were parked. The drive home was very wet. Edith had prepared some nice soup so we had lunch and a coffee and talked. We were going to go for a walk but it was raining all the time so we just kept talking.



Gail did some washing and hung it out in the cellar which is actually a very dry environment. Walter showed me his new hot water system which is very new and very state of the art. He actually installed it himself.



Walter bought out three bottles of red wine and we did a little wine tasting to determine which bottle we would have for dinner. Edith had prepared a whole lot of tapas for us which were really nice. After a very pleasant evening we had a shower and went to bed.



Day 102 Tuesday 23 June

Cologne

15c raining



After breakfast the rain stopped for a little while so Gail, Edith and I went for a walk to the local shopping centre where we bought a card for Oliver and Jana and I bought some inner soles for my shoes which are just about worn out from all the walking we have done.



When we got back home we had a light lunch then went for a drive into the city but only on this side of the Rhine. The main part of Cologne is on the other side. We went up to the Cologne Triangle Panorama which is at the top of the Landschafts Verbaud Rheinland building and gives a wonderful view of the city.



There was a coffee shop in the foyer of the building so we went in and coffee and a beer. As we were driving home there were reports of traffic problems so the decision was made to leave earlier than planned for Meerbusch where we due to meet ( surprise) Oliver and Jana for their 15th wedding anniversary at 7.00. Jana already knew because she had made the booking so the surprise was for Oliver.



We left at about 5.15 and arrived in plenty of time. We had a drink beforehand because they were a little bit late. Oliver was surprised. We had a lovely meal and a good talk. Edith and Jana had a hard time stopping Walter from bursting into song.



The drive home did not seem to take too long so it was a late night, but a good one.



Day 103 Wednesday 24 June

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