Day 1: Ducklington to Cologne

 Sunday 19 May - Day 1


And we’re off! 


Our taxi driver picked us up promptly at 8.55 …





and doubled as a very efficient station porter.





First train Oxford Parkway to London Marylebone. 



But what happened to First Class? We have First Class tickets! …


A couple of families of noisy but very friendly Crewe Alexandra supporters sat by us from High Wycombe on their way to Wembley for the League Two play-offs. Hope they have a great day. 


Eurostar terminal at St Pancras was busy - like an airport departures lounge. Eurostar quick and comfortable but took a while to get off the platform in Brussels and caught the ICE train to Köln with 3 minutes to spare.



 

We arrived in Cologne on schedule at 6.15pm (5.15 UK time). Hotel Santo is a 10 minute walk from the station. Jill and I were rather surprised by the hotel art …


so we needed some kölsch and German fayre.




With our spirits revived we wandered around Cologne getting our bearings and a feel for the place.





Must have a drink here tomorrow! 






Comments

  1. David's 2022 WalkMay 22, 2024 at 11:53 AM

    I'm enjoying your blog Neil - your commentaries always full of interesting historical facts as always. Were all those beers for you???

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 22, 2024 at 10:44 PM

    No, they lost 0-2 to Crawley. I'm all for a nice creamy head of beer, but not when it occupies 1/3 or more of the glass! That waitress would be glad to see the back of me at the end of a long night!

    ReplyDelete

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