Read, Write, Ramble

A Tale of 4 Bridges It was 0 degrees in Frankfurt when we set out this morning, Wallsy and I opting to do our own exploring for the day. Number one on the list was to walk across the very interesting suspension pedestrian bridge, known as Holbeinsteg, which spans the Main River near our hotel. Having crossed this one, we aimed for the Iron Footbridge (Eiserner Steg)   which is also known as the Love Lock Bridge, for reasons which are obvious, although they have a long way to go to catch up to the Cologne Bridge. This bridge was blown up by the Germans in the final days of World War II but rebuilt in 1946. Next, we spotted Alte Brucke an interesting brick arch bridge, which is apparently the oldest bridge over the river. It also had an interesting building, called a Portikus, off to the side, which is currently a gallery, but wasn’t open when we crossed. Underneath, this bridge also houses a rowing club as it passes over a small island in the river. The final bridge which caught o...

Frankfurt   Back in Germany’s central west, the air is noticeably colder, but the atmosphere is also conspicuously more Christmassy than in the Netherlands. We docked in Cologne early this morning and were supposed to have our cases outside our cabin door by 06:45 so they could be taken to the shuttle buses for transfer to the railway station. Wallsy told me he had set an alarm for 6, so we would be up and ready to go in plenty of time. The announcement at 07:30 regarding disembarkation arrangements came as a complete surprise to us both, jolting us from our sleep. A degree of panic ensued, although my case was already packed and just had to have the toilet bag added so it could be zipped up,   Wallsy still had to wrangle a few things into his. We were however, going to have to ‘lug’ our ‘luggage’ off the boat ourselves. We raced down for a coffee and breakfast snack, still trying to work out why the alarm had failed to go off, then gathered our possessions and made ...

Dusseldorf I wasn’t up and going very quickly this morning. I am still trying to shake this bug, which has sapped some of my energy. Another of our group has come down with it and Wallsy is still slightly worried by an ongoing cough. Fingers crossed all will be well. We have turned the corner, and the end of the holiday is in sight now, so we just need to get everyone home safely.   One more night on board, then 2 in Frankfurt and we will be in the air, winging our way home to the warm sunshine and a very different Christmas atmosphere to the one we have experienced here. Wallsy and I disembarked at about 9:30 and walked the two kilometres into Dusseldorf Old Town, meant to be a 5-minute walk away, which would have facilitated coming and going to the ship during the day, however, water levels meant that we couldn’t dock according to the original plan, so we had a pleasant, longer stroll instead in conditions that were comfortable and not cold. I’ve hardly needed the warm, wooll...

Nijmegen    We docked in Nijmegem at 5am. I was woken by the ship stopping – it is amazing how your body so quickly becomes accustomed to the movement, that when it stops, you can’t sleep. It didn’t stop Wallsy however, so much so that I had to wake him at 9:20 and remind him that breakfast service finished at 10 and we needed to get down there if we wanted to eat before disembarkation. Breakfasted, and shore passes in hand we set off into this unknown city, apparently the largest in the Dutch province of Gelderland, situated on the Waal River and close to the German border. From the dock we found our way into the town square, the Grote Markt, but having seen a steam train crossing the rail bridge earlier, we decided to pass on through in an endeavour to find the station. We walked through the Kronenburgepark and I was reminded how much I was missing green spaces and birdsong. At the station, we were about to leave none the wiser, when Wallsy, who has a keen eye for th...

The city of bikes and canals After a day wandering the streets of Amsterdam, I am left wondering what the statistics are for death by bike. And I don’t mean the helmetless riders … I mean the hapless pedestrians who forget themselves for a moment and step into the path of a cyclist. The bikes here are relentless, numerous and unforgiving. If you are lucky, they give a cursory ding on the bell, but more often than not, they just come straight at you and rely on you to hear or see them and make sure you are not in their way. Being a pedestrian in Amsterdam in a dangerous occupation. We had a day to fill in the city of bikes, so after breakfast the 7 of us made our way to the Railway Station and purchased tickets for the Hop on Hop off bus, usually a good way to navigate a new city and find some worthy sites to explore. Jill and Phil decided to go their own way buying tickets for both the bus and canal boat tours, while the remainder of us opted for the bus only, as there was a nightt...

Dordrecht I have finally succumbed and become the 4 th member of our little group of 7 to become unwell, so I confined myself to barracks this morning, Wallsy plying backwards and forwards down the corridor to bring me coffee and croissants on demand. He also organised my own special meal for lunch as the Asian-themed cuisine on offer was not at all suitable. I had taken to my bed again, when he arrived with a specially prepared meal of   chicken and rice … the only thing that could entice me out from under the covers. We pulled up in a town called Dordrecht after lunch, so I showered, masked up and ventured out to join a two-hour walking tour of the city, which promised to be in both German and English. The guide, who seemed to be proficient in many languages, managed to translate some of her spiel into English for us, although she often forget, or became distracted by questions from the German contingent – Wallsy and I being the only English speakers on the walk. Nevertheles...

Cruise #2 Well, where to begin ... The good news is we are on our second cruise … the bad news is we are travelling in the wrong direction … but let’s begin at the beginning… We all had a leisurely morning in Cologne. Check out from the Hotel Excelsior was not until 1300, so we left our bags and set off after breakfast, to visit the last few sights that we wanted to fit in before our departure. The Cathedral was high on most people’s lists, but having visited it yesterday, Wallsy and I walked back along the river to the Chocolate Museum and swing bridge. Although we didn’t actually want to visit the museum, we enjoyed exploring the precinct and some different   markets with more local produce, with some Christmas themed stalls, but also others, like the woollen products stall, where I purchased some lovely fur-lined gloves for myself, having found my polar fleece gloves lacking when we were in the thick of the snow. While I am confident we have left the snow behind for the re...

Hop on Hop off Cologne We had a very restful night in the Excelsior and even managed a sleep-in … well, by my standards anyway. We met for breakfast at 9:30 and then set off for the Hop on Hop off bus which conveniently stopped just around the corner from the hotel. It took an hour and a half to do the full tour – we didn’t do any hopping off as the weather was drizzly and the bus was cosy. We seem to have left the snow behind and found the rain instead. Jill and Phil went back later and used their ticket to return to the Schokoladenmuseum (Chocolate Museum) precinct, which Wallsy and I thought we might visit tomorrow morning. We went our separate ways after the bus, and Wallsy and I found an Italian restaurant for lunch. I keep saying I didn’t come to Germany to eat Italian food, but at least I know it is free of allergens. It will be a long time before I eat another pizza though. I enjoyed gnocchi today and a glass of my all-time favourite Gluhwein – that is one little bit of Ger...

German Rail … continued! Using public transport in most countries involves an element of ‘hurry up and wait’, even when you are on home soil. This is magnified when you are travelling in a foreign country and your knowledge of the language consists only of phrases like ‘der hund ist klug’, (the dog is smart). Thanks Duolingo! So, taking this into account we were up early and breakfasted; some of us opting for a walk around the now deserted streets which were so crowded last night, before we assembled in the hotel foyer, checked out and hailed taxis to take us to the Hauptbahnhof in readiness for our train to Cologne, or Koln as it is known here. We arrived with an hour to spare, a little too early as it turned out, because it quickly became apparent that our 1058 train was delayed until 1133, due to intruders on the line apparently. We headed for our designated platform 7 regardless, after discovering our first class tickets didn’t afford us entry to the DB (Deutsch Bahn) lounge. ...