Dreaming of a White Christmas - Day 11
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. It was
cool out, but not cold, and the fresh air was refreshing after the stifling
interior temperatures.
And so we waited, watching the board for information, aware that the train
prior to ours was due in on platform 7 at 1130, a mere three minutes before our
ICE722 to Koln. On the arrival of that delayed train to Hamburg the information
which showed us the positioning of the carriages on our soon to arrive train,
indicated that we needed to make a beeline for what would be the front of the
train at position F on the platform - we were standing at C! At the same time
the platform information on the board, changed from 7 to 6 (a change that was
luckily picked up by Wallsy). There had of course been an announcement, but
only in German! We hoped everyone was behind us as we sprinted for the front of
the train as it pulled in.
Fortunately we had pre-booked first class seats for this journey, so on hearing
the whistle we abandoned the platform and jumped on the nearest carriage,
making our way through to the front of the train, stowing our luggage and peering
anxiously down the carriage in the hope that our fellow travellers would all
soon appear … they did … just as the train was pulling away … Phew!
So, the moral is, next time I travel in a foreign country my pre-trip language
study will be rail announcements, never mind phrases about cats and dogs.
Having identified our allocated seats just in the nick of time, we settled in to
enjoy the comfort and the free wifi as we flew like a bullet across the foreign
snow-free countryside at speeds of up to 302km/h (that is the highest speed I
saw recorded on the overhead screen in the carriage). The tunnels were dynamite
on the ears at those speeds.
We arrived into Cologne Messe/Deutz
station at 1442, just under half an hour late, so we had made up some time
along the way, given our train departed 34 minutes late. The next step was to
drag our bags, bumpity, bumpity bump up two flights of steps to platform 10 where
we could catch a train to take us across the River Rhine, to Cologne Hbf, the central
station, which, it became apparent, was opposite the jaw-droppingly huge, Koln
Dom (Cologne Cathedral) and just around the corner from our hotel for the next
two nights.
Following check in, we explored (and I mean explored) our huge rooms in
the luxury 5-star Excelsior hotel. We really are in the lap of luxury here and
feeling very spoilt. This done, we ventured out, although the rain somewhat
dampened our adventures. Wallsy and I did a circuit of the cathedral and
wandered through a couple of the nearby Christmas markets, before returning to
the hotel room to dry off and research a suitable and convenient location for
dinner. We soon set off again to continue the search on foot, all my online
investigations failing to net anything that had a table available.
We had a couple of false starts but wound up eventually at Funkhaus
where we put paid to the ‘hangries’, having missed lunch yet again, and enjoyed
a good meal, followed by an espresso martini and a shared apple strudel.
Delish!
We had just returned to our room when a message came through to say some
of the girls were in the downstairs bar, so we joined them for a drink and some
laughs, and did some planning around tomorrow, our one full day in Koln.
Another day of adventure and misadventure is complete.
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