Köln by bus

Rumours have it that the train strike ended today. Well, we made it to Köln safely by bus. Up at 5:30am, bus station ZOB (that's the German initials for central omnibus station) for the 7am trip to Köln and eight and a half hours later here we are. The trip wasn't as bad as the overnight one we took from Arnhem to Berlin. As you can see we immediately had a beer to celebrate! 

The Köln Cathedral is gigantic. Except for the two spires, the church was destroyed in the war and has since been rebuilt. 

Inside it seems even larger.

Walking along the river we found where we leave tomorrow for our bike trip by converted Dutch canal  barge, named Sailing Home, seen below. She is our home for the next week, sailing down the Rhine and other waterways to Amsterdam. The boat is already here in Köln with a group of cyclists who did the trip the other way round.

Sailing Home. Details tomorrow.

A quick snack for dinner, more beer and frites. You can see why supermarkets in this part of the world carry frite sauce, or mayonnaise, in three-liter containers. (We're on holidays)

While wandering through the town we came upon a wine festival with music, lots of wine, cheese and of course a statue in the back ground. 

We skipped this party and headed back to our hotel. Some interesting train noises from our back room, but tomorrow starts a new adventure. Hope they have wifi on the boat.......