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| Actually still in Maastricht. Military display in the town square |
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| Nice armoured car |
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| Military Band played some very nice music |
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| My ideal shopping trolley |
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| In Bonn now - Beethoven statue, detail. Actually it wasn't that easy. Some well-meaning Australians on the train convinced me to go with them, then I lost them and stayed on the train to Franfurt, 120km away. Got back eventually, thanks to nice porters. |
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| Cathedral in Bonn CBD |
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| Town Hall (Rathaus) |
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| My hotel, next to the station and the CBD |
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| Münsterplatz, the main town square, with a market on today. |
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| In the Beethoven shop. Not that exciting, just CDs and books. |
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| Town Hall, Bonn |
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| Don't know what this is. Abstract art? |
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| Bonn Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway Station) |
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| Beethoven statue, almost complete. |
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| Could be the Church of Baby Jesus, all dressed in swadling clothes |
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| Finally found the Rhine river, big, fast-flowing, full of barges... |
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| See the guy on the SUP? |
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| He's still there, in the middle of the river. That T-shaped object in the sky is a kite (not the bird) |
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| Just what I needed - a dose of culture, but it's not open today. |
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| After miles of walking, I had a nice cold beer and a sit-down |
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| Next day in the Münsterplatz there is a big ambulance, fire and rescue display. |
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| I'm getting flashbacks to my misadventures in Chantilly. |
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| This looks like fun! |
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| An ancient part of Bonn that wasn't bombed during two world wars. |
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| Just sitting relaxing in the warm sunshine. |
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| Next day I left Bonn and caught the train to Cologne (Köln). The taxi couldn't get to the hotel as there was this marathon run, leaving me 500m short. |
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| Easier to find the Rhine in this city, just walk down to the end of my street. That big boat-shaped object in the middle is just a building. |
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| Found a wonderful little kiosk and servery right there. Ordered something which could have been a hot-dog but turned out to be this delicious basil pizza. Bliss! |
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| Just enjoying my holiday. Feels surreal! |
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| That tall building on the left is the servery/restaurant where I had lunch. |
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| The Lindt Schokoladen (chocolate) Museum |
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| The Chocolate Shoppe. I didn't buy anything! |
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| Looking out over the Rhine. |
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| You can find your way around Köln by looking for the church spires. The one at the back is the Cathedral in the city, about 800m away. |
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| Tour group admiring the architecture |
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| Approaching the magnificent Cologne Cathedral |
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| The Köln Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway station), whence I got a taxi to my hotel. Turn around and there is the cathedral, cross the platz then there is Hohe Strasse (High Street), below. Only then did I realise that this is the same street the hotel is in, so I could have walked, as I did a few times, about 1.7km. |
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| Very busy and exciting walk down Hohe Strasse. |
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| Right down at the other end of the same street, near the river, you can sit and have an ice-cream, with an admiring audience. |
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| Nice autumn tree and ancient belfry |
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| There is an ancient wall across the area, called Severin's wall, and this is a watchtower. |
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| An interesting (to me) industrial barge. |
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| Walk along the river then back into the city, to the cathedral |
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| Köln Cathedral, side elevation |
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| This was the cathedral in 1947. Lucky to survive. |
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| This is a model of the finial on top of the spire. It must weigh several tonnes. How did they get it up there? |
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| Amazing! Left Cologne the next morning bound for Düsseldorf, my final German town. With the help of my little phone, I walked to the hotel, about 2.6km. |
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| The smell of these waffles dragged me inside for one. Irresistible! |
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| Despite the cost of $400 a night, the hotel was 3rd rate, with no service or dining room. This was the view out of my window. |
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| But full marks for trying. |
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| On my last full day there, I walked, again with the help of my phone, to see the Rhine, or at least part of it. After 5km I was so tired I caught a taxi back. |
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| Next morning I caught a taxi to the airport, and claimed my good seat for the long trip home. Thanks for looking! |
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