Bruges to Cologne

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So after my last blog, I decided to walk back into the city centre of Bruges and climb the bell tower. I paid the 10 Euros and started up the spiral staircase on the marble stairs. So far so good!



As I carried on climbing the stairs got more and more narrow, and kept changing materials between wood, marble, and stone. There was only one staircase for people climbing up and down, so there was a lot of squeezing past other people while trying not to slip on your arse! There were a few platforms you could stop at to catch your breath, and read something historic about the tower. The way up was comparatively fine until about two thirds of the way up, when the staircase became TINY!! The steps were about 6 inches wide and the only thing to hold on to was a rope hanging down the centre pillar of the stairs. I was also still passing all the people on the way down, and some of them had obviously been to McDonalds a few too many times…..Need I say more?



Anyway, I made it to the top, and the views were outstanding even though it was a partly cloudy day. The openings in the bell tower are covered with metal mesh, and the stone walls are quite high so you can’t see down to the square below very easily. So the view was great, but now I felt like a cat stuck up a tree! I was SO close to sitting on the top stair and going down every stair on my bum like you do as a kid, but I didn’t. Instead I clung on to the rope for dear life and took every step with quaking knees! When I got to the bottom I went straight to the nearest bar and ordered a large wine and sat there for about an hour!



An English couple sat at the table next to me and we got talking for a while. After about 10 minutes the man asked me, ‘Do you like dogs?’(which of course reminded me or the first question I was asked in my interview for work!) ….. and when I answered yes, he said ‘because I have a theory that all nice people like dogs’….



Aww, how nice!.....and then I left before he could say anything else weird ?



When people say they go travelling to find themselves, I have instead found something out about myself……. Which is this: - I absolutely bloody hate tiny slippery spirally confined staircases!! Lesson learned!



Later when I went back to the hostel, I met a girl called Andrea from Buenos Aires, and we talked about the walking tours I had been on and the old legends & ghost stories they mentioned. She said an interesting fact which was that, in Spanish, Bruges relates to their Spanish word ‘Brujas’, which means ‘witch’. So that seems like concrete evidence to me that the stories must be true ?



So for my last night in Bruges I decided to have a final walk around the city and canals, which are all lit up at night, then head back to the hostel. I took a shower, and used my new microfibre compact towel – which if you’re wondering feels very much like trying to dry yourself with a wet suit, and then went for one last beer in the bar before bed. If you ever go to Bruges, it seems that they don’t know what a ‘half’ is in a bar, so there’s really no point in asking – just get yourself a pint and be happy with it….. Apart from the huge amount of froth on each drink that is!



All in all, I really liked Bruges and would definitely go again. The city feels very safe, and has an oddly appealing mixed smell of horse and fresh Belgian waffles (owing to the horse drawn carts about the place!)



The next morning, I got up early (and tried not to wake up the entire dorm full of people), and caught the bus back to the train station with my excessively heavy backpack (I have taken to calling it ‘twatpack’ now, or TP for short). I then got a train from Bruges to Brussels which would then connect to Cologne. When I got the Eurostar from London to Brussels, I realised I had forgotten my earphones and was cursing because I had to buy a pair at the station. They only sold the ones that squeeze into your ear (which I don’t like) and block out all other sound. But, when I got on the train from Bruges to Brussels and took my seat, an entire class full of 6/7 (I estimate) year olds boarded the train and sat right next to me. Those noise blocking headphones are the best purchase I have ever made!!



The next train I caught from Brussels to Cologne was very confusing as it looked like every seat was reserved. I nice German man with his young grandson (I think) helped me out by saying the seat opposite wasn’t taken. Along the journey, he and the kid worked through a children’s book of German spellings and pronunciations etc, and it made me realise just how little German I remember from high school – Balls!



I arrived at Cologne, needing the toilet, and made a quick rest stop. People don’t tell you just how awkward it is to use toilets when you are travelling with a backpack. It really is! You have to negotiate the one-way swing door, and then practically climb in the toilet bowl to close it behind you, before then having a ten minute squirm out of your arm straps in the confined space so that you can fit yourself near the loo with the pack crammed between your knees. Then you have to bloody repeat to get out! The struggle is real!



Also at the station, at lot of the trains are double decker, which is brilliant! (I don’t know why we don’t have them at home), and the escalators don’t run the whole time. They are automatic when someone stands next to them and it shows a blue arrow when you can step on. It took me quite a long time, and unnecessary stair trips, to get to grips with this.



Cologne has a U-Bahn, which is almost exactly like the tube in London, but cleaner. I needed to go on this to get to my hostel but it was surprisingly straight forward and I arrived without a problem. I got to the hostel and was greeted by the owner who asked what my plans were for my stay. I said I intended to get the boat cruise down the Rhine from Cologne to Linz or maybe Bonn, he replied with – ‘Nein Nein Nein, Das ist bullshit, rip off, waste of money!’…… Well alrightly then! When someone puts it that succinctly I think it’s best to listen. He said that the top part of the river is just factories and pollution, and to take a cruise instead from Koblenz which is much prettier.



So I spent the next hour or so re-jigging my plans to take his advice, and booking a train and hostel for the next day. My plan now is to get a train to Koblenz, then take a boat tour from there to Bacharach which is supposed to be a lovely old German village.



After my planning, I took the U-Bahn back into the centre of Cologne and arrived at the Cathedral which is very impressive. I went inside and had a look around, and received a message from my Uncle Tim that I must climb the tower for the view from the top. You know how I said lesson learned above? – well that was bullshit, I climbed the Cologne Cathedral tower anyway. This one actually wasn’t so bad – it was a long way up with no breaks (thank you Lindsay & Sindy for getting me running – it helped a lot!!) but the view from the top was very nice looking over the Rhine. Who’s ridiculing my cow calves now eh, El?!



Other than the Cathedral, I didn’t find a lot else to do in Cologne. There are loads of shops for people who like shopping, but for me, every time I look at an item in a shop I’m starting to assess it not based on quality or money, but on how heavy it is and the likelihood of it crushing my spine in my TP! I haven’t bought a thing yet that I can’t eat or get rid of as soon as possible.



The hostel owner had told me that there was the Cologne Festival of Lights on that night, and there would be fireworks from a boat on the river so people could watch from the banks. I spent the rest of the day roaming around the city, and at one point I walked into an area that, all of a sudden, was really quiet but FULL of people making elaborate hand gestures. It took me too long to realise that I had walked into a huge group of deaf people. I had also managed to get myself stuck in the middle of them all, and there was no point in saying ‘excuse me’ to get out!



I had to wait a few hours by the banks of the river until it got dark enough for the fireworks. I didn’t realise it was such a big event, and the radio towers said there were one million people there watching. Everyone waits for the parade of boats to come up the river, and greets the boats by waving sparklers from the banks. I must be quite a sight from the boats! The fireworks were nice over the river, and it was a nice end to seeing the city.



Back to the hostel for a sleep, ready for Koblenz in the morning!

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Comments

[Jackie Kempton]

Twat Pack!!
This has to be my favorite ever description of a backpack ..... Loving the description of negotiating a wee, imagine a tent, sleeping bag, fiddle and banjo as well!! That is me every time I go to a festival! So glad that you are having a great time .... I really enjoyed reading this ..... love ya! xxx