The last day is Paris. Don't get me wrong i love the place and I'm sure I'd enjoy it better with someone special. I didn't get to see everything that is here, and there is a lot. Today i did manage to fit in, the Sacre Cœur, Montmartre and the little artist square, the catacombs as well as the pantheon. So what will i remember Paris for? The romance for sure, why i hadn't even been in Paris 10 minutes and i had a woman asking me if i wanted sex, good sex apparently. I know I'd be good love! And with 30kg on my shoulders and 7km away from my hotel, i think i'll have to decline that generous offer. I should have said i will pay you to carry my bags to the hotel!
There is a lot to see, and it's everywhere. But i suggest if you do a trip like this, do the stuff that you are interested in. Buildings are buildings unless they have a story, bit like artwork. Some paintings are just portraits, this is who i am, this is my family. I am part of a generation that is the void of good history knowledge. We don't understand it, we research it on the internet, do the assignments and then learn about the next thing. We can't take day trips to Rome, Paris, London. We have to read about it. And to be honest i have learnt more about history from the likes of South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons than i did at school. And on this trip i have learnt more than i ever had, have or did.
I had a great phone call from mum last night while i was in the middle of my last blog and it made me think. The moment when i was in London was the 'oh my god i can't believe I'm actually here' now, it's more of a wow, there's the Colosseum, there's the Louvre. I can believe I'm here and I've seen so much. My emotions have changed and now to be somewhere special is a unique experience but it doesn't have that same London impact. Understandably so too. It sounds like my tour is reaching it's crescendo, and it is to some point. I have left the next few weeks up to friends to do with me as you wish. My only planned thing left is to drive the new and old nurburgring. This was the track where Mark Webber won his first F1 race last year. Thats not the reason why, its steeped in history, great series of corners and it's near my friends Stephan, Alena and Elisa. And i will be driving a rent a race car. It's only a kitted out VW Golf GTI, small zippy, sequential gearbox, little bit bigger than a mini and handling should be similar. My lonesome nights will no longer be lonesome. I have good friends to fill my days and nights with amazing experiences for the remainder of the trip. And just quietly i'm starting to plan my next trip. Smaller and in the same region designed to tick another big bucket list box. The location will be revealed when all the parts come together. It may not be next year but then it will be sure the one after. If i decide to buy a camera then it will be next year. I've surprised myself how much i can actually save, and this trip is running well under budget which is great too!
Today started with a trip to Gare Du Nord, one of four main train stations in Paris, drop my backpack off for my train trip later. Bloody French and their signs, they just stop. Go this way, ok, now what....... And expensive, €9.50 to leave my bag. Berlin was €5, Italy varied depending on how long, €4 for 6 hours, the €.60 every hour after. Nice was €8.50. Close to the train station is something mum had recommended me to see, Montmartre and the Sacre Cœur. It's funny all the way through Paris there are Africans trying to sell you Eiffel Towers and some just have a piece of string with a loop. They try French, no response, english is next, can i show you something for 1 minute, "sure mate, walk with me" no, just for one minute sir, "you can show me while we walk." They don't walk with me? Today i said, i have 5 hours left in Paris, if you wanna show me, walk. The Sacre Cœur was very impressive, probably more from the
Eiffel Tower than right under it, you don't get a real grasp of the size of it. Hit the street and found the artist markets/corner. It's Sunday so it's pretty busy, i wonder what it would be like if it started raining all of a sudden? Some really impressive stuff, this one guy was cutting profiles out of a piece of paper while they stood there, very accurate too! He must have kicked ass in kindergarten!!
Next up was The Catacombs and The Pantheon. Now The Catacombs are a combination of cemeteries that were excavated and moved into one location. Towards the end of the 18th century rampant disease in the les Halles neighborhood caused by the adjacent cemetery leading the the entire cemetery to be completely exhumed. It was decided that the bones of the innocents would be moved to the abandoned quarry in Paris. The the remains from the old cemetery were placed on a cart covered in black cloths and, with the escort of a priest they would make their way at night time to the new site. The chief engineer of the mines had the remains arranged decoratively for when the public was accessible to the public in 1810. Up to 23 cemeteries were relocated to The Catacombs. It's a pretty weird place. It takes about 10-15mins to get to the main area of remains, and it just keeps going! The site is based under the metro (French underground) and the water and sewage lines. The ground is damp, and it is poorly lit for conservation reasons. You cannot use a flash but you can still take photos. Most of the trek down i was ducking down to avoid whacking my head on the ceiling. It's a pretty cool place, bit spooky and it's not sad at all since they are bodies of innocent people who were relocated. You cannot identify who's who, except for a few sarcophagi that are around. It would be a great place for a Halloween party! As long as nothing got damaged or stolen. They check your bags on the way out, and i did see next to the guard a skull and a few arm bones........ Why would you take someones remains?? Some people will steal anything just fir the sake of it! The Pantheon was my next and final tourist destination for Paris. It's a very interesting building, with a lot of history. I had heard about the pendulum but i didn't know it was actually in The Pantheon. The pendulum is a working model and proof that the earth rotates, this wasn't when The Pantheon was being used as a church, since science doesn't go hand in hand with Christianity. The Pantheon was used for numerous things over numerous eras. But now it's a museum/resting place for some pretty. Important french people. I managed to see the tombs of Marie Curie and her husband Pierre, Voltaire and Victor Hugo. I did have a healthy green glow after visiting Marie Curie!!
My day was busy, not rushed and i managed to actually do everything i had planned! I think it's the first place where i have actually done what i'd planned. Back to the train station to take the 300km/h Thyls train from Paris to Cologne (or Köln). Im really happy to be going to Köln, one to see some good friends i had met earlier in the year and two i have no idea what we they have planned for me. Surprises left right and centre! The train arrived on time, and there were police everywhere. Was i getting a police escort? And after walking around platform 3 looking for my hosts, there they were, holding a sign, Wormald (LTP, little tea princess!) Oh, that's me! Haha Stephan's always the joker. It's funny, we have only really spent a few hours in each others company when they visited Australia earlier in the year. But through facebook, msn we have joked and laughed online and become really good friends. We certainly have the same sense of humor! In their company i will be trying new foods, seeing places that are beautiful but also not too touristy. But everything is a secret so far and have been surprised so many times already. They have been great in spending a lot of time researching things for me to see and do, and give me a personal tour of their region as well as a few others. To give you an idea of how much work they have done, Stephan did a pre-Luke run through with some of his colleagues. I cannot thank them enough for their hospitality, kindness, generosity, helping me with German words (not swear words either) and taking time off to show me around. Already they have shown me some beautiful areas, surprised by Alena's sister Elisa with whom I met over 5 years ago. The first night was about getting settled, having some dinner (tapas) again you read right. As most of you know I'm a bit fussy when it comes to food, but when in Rome! Then time to put my mark on their wall. I love what they have done with the flat they are living in. Everything is very cool. The kitchen with fruit slices in glass on the wall, the bathroom has an under the sea theme, matched with ocean toilet seat, fish hanging from the roof and sandpaper clad chest of drawers. It really feels homely and uniquely theirs. As you enter you can barely see these hand prints on the wall and i had noticed they had black lights on the ceiling. Needless to say i was about to get initiated onto the fluro yellow hand wall of fame. Friends they allow to can get their hands painted and make their mark on the hallway wall, and when you turn the black lights on all the hands light up! It's just another touch of uniqueness and coolness that is part of who these amazing people are. I better not say too much, because Stephan will read this and get a big head. But I honestly can't show my appreciation enough for what they have done, doing and are planning for me.
What i have eaten was delicious, capsicum stuffed with feta was just one of them. I tried German bread too, which is a very dense brown bread, it was good too! The only thing i have tried that i wasn't too pleased with was a cookie tester from the Christmas markets. It was good but had a meh after taste, apparently it was the almond. I thought it had a dr pepper type after taste. Since i have been here I have also tried, Hirsch roulade (deer), which was actually very nice. It was a regional specialty of the town of Bacharach, so i thought I'd better try it. So Bambi's mother was delicious! I also tried Dampfnudel (dough, vanilla sauce and cinnamon) and Reibekuchem (bit like a potato scallop, very oily) but both were very nice. You can't go wrong with vanilla and cinnamon, two of my favourite flavours and smells!
Up nice and early for our drive to the Nurburgring, about 45mins west of Köln. I am to drive a 220 BHP little VW Golf GTI around the old F1 track, the track that Niki Lauda had his bad accident in the 70's. The track is called the nordschlieffe! It's been featured on Top Gear a few times. It's over 20km long and about 50 corners etc. You can pay €22 and drive it, €22 per lap. I was planning to do about 5 laps. Now what i didn't expect happened. The track was closed! With the heavy snow and cold weather they have been having, Ice and snow was all over it. The track is difficult and dangerous enough anyway, so no driving at all. The track was going to be closed until at least the 4th (that is when i head back to the UK). So another planned "out of the norm, but very Luke" activity goes unfulfilled. I was sent an email the day before from the rent a car place, but it was the only email address i have and didn't check when i got to Alena and Stephan's place. So we did go there and met the very nice couple who run the business. He showed me the layout of the track and showed me his stable of cars, and some other exotic cars that were being held at their garage. How exotic? Well how about the Ferrari Enzo!! Ferrari's top model, co-designed by M.Schumacher. The price tag on one is €1,000,000! There is also special provisos to have an Enzo. You can't just be rich and buy one you have to apply, and unless you're buying it second hand you must have owned two Ferraris previously. It does well over 300kph and has all the mod-cons and switches of a Ferrari F1 car. I got to see the car i would have been driving. The Nordschlieffe isn't a track that is easy to drive, i know this. And i have more fun in cars that handle well that sheer power. If you gave me $1,000,000 I'd buy a Mini Cooper S. So i got my photo with the Enzo and the GTI. But now we had four more hours of time to see and do things and i had an extra €370 (race car hire) and €110 (in lap tickets). We set off for Koblenz, where the Rhine river meets the Mosel. Here you'll find a massive statue of Kaiser Wilhelm (The Great). The region is very interesting, so many old houses from around the 18th century, stories from the past, one of them was quite funny. There is a statue along the river that shows a beautiful girl sitting there, apparently a girl used to sit on the bank singing and brushing her hair. The sailors were distracted by her and would end up crashing their boats into the embankment. There were some major renovations and upgrades happening in Koblenz which is in preparation for the big garden show next year! So those of you with a green thumb and weren't sure where it was going to be next year......Koblenz.
Right now, it's 1:08am and we are on the autobahn. Stephan has put in a mammoth effort driving us everywhere the last two days! He's understandable tired, but a quick nap (not whilst driving) and some pringles has given him the fuel to make it back to Köln.
After seeing the sights and my first Christmas markets in Koblenz, we headed to Marksburg castle to do a tour of this medieval castle. This was a really cool place with so much history, it had never been damaged or conquered. I never realised how much i liked medieval history, the crests, the castles, the daily life. I think of my favorite movie "Monty Python's Holy Grail!" i would love to be a not the real information tour guide, where i make things up and just make it silly and hilarious. Like when we walked in through the front gates and though the old steps. The guide told as that the steps just used to be a slope and the gates were high so that fully armoured men could stay mounted on their horses and ride into the castle. I'd tell it like this..... i can picture it now, King Arthur with his horse/servant Patsy banging two halves of coconuts together as they "ride" in to the castle. Anothr point is when we were in the blacksmiths room,, i would vouch that the ovens were for pizza and they had some italilan people cooking 24 hours a day. Pizza's for everybody. The toilet was interesting, of course no flushing back then but they had a lock on the outside (not inside) just in case anyone wanted to climb up through the shitter and break in to the castle. Personally i would have been locking people inside as a prank!! When we were leaving i spotted a suit of armour, and i was very tempted to buy it just for fun. Imagine walking through airport security with it on. Sorry sir the metal detector went off, take an arm piece off, tray again, nope sorry sir, take the helmet off, and roll your eyes as if you don't know what is making it go off! It would be too heavy for your baggage, so you'd have to wear it.
There was light snow falling pretty much all day, making driving that little bit more dangerous. But it hadn't had a chance to melt and then freeze again making it icy. I wouldn't like to drive on icy roads, especially with some of the tight steep hills Stephan drove us to. I really like this time of year especially in Europe, the towns really get into the spirit of christmas. Yeah it's bloody cold if you're not prepared, but it's cold in the water at work in winter if you're not wearing a wetsuit. We headed into Bacharach, not Burt, but a little town for two things dinner and sleep. Stephan checked us into our hostel, now at that point i wasn't sure if it was a castle we were visiting or what? And then it was time to find a restaurant. Not much open outside of tourist season, and we feared that the recommended restaurant we'd been given was not open. After being informed by (funnily enough) the tourist information in Bacharach we were 5mins too early! So a quick walk around the town wall and back to the restaurant for some good deer and a surprise dinner guests of Elisa and her boyfriend Sebastian! A real big surprise. I knew i was going to see Elisa at some point during the week but i had no idea it was going to be tonight. I met Elisa while she was backpacking her way around Australia. She me my dad and told him she was heading further north to the Gold Coast, he gave her my number, so she could have someone to show her around the area. I had no idea my dad was giving out my number to random backpackers. But I'm glad he did! I took her into Sea World, she met a dolphin, and we went for a drive to Natural bridge (arch) to see the glow worms. This was when i had a car too! Ever since then we have kept in contact though emails and now facebook. When her sister and husband (Alena and Stephan) were coming to Australia we managed to catch up, show them around a bit, of course Sea World, but to be honest i wasn't very well prepared and had some personal issues around that time. But it was great to finally meet them and we hit it off very well. I'm always nervous about meeting new people, but it's the same as when i go karting. I'm nervous at first then when I get in the kart or shake someones hand then it's all systems go!
The dinner was great, good company and it was sad to see Elisa and Sebastian go. Three and a half hours just flew by. I always have a good laugh and have heaps of fun with Elisa. I'm so lucky to have met all of these really wonderful and gracious people. But it was time to go back to accommodation, and boy was it out of the norm. It was a freaking castle! Yup i stayed in Stahlbeck Castle, it's actually a youth hostel now! It's really pretty with all of the snow lined roof, Xmas trees outside and inside, as well as a beautiful view over the river Rhine! After we dumped our bags, and i had an ice cream! Yep ice cream when it's -3 outside! Stephan and i went to explore the grounds and see if we can get anything with out cameras. We ended up standing on a ledge opposite the castle and hurling snow balls at it in an attempt to take the castle by force. Apparently no one even knew there was a battle going on!
Up early for a big day, Strasbourg and Colmar for the big Christmas markets, Strasbourg being the oldest Christmas markets dating back to 1570. The markets are beautiful, with the whole town getting into to spirit and joy of Christmas. Of course there is some really tacky markets who sell some touristy type stuff, but the majority are intricate stalls with some gorgeous gifts and Christmas ornaments. I know one person in particular who would have loved to be there, even though we no longer speak. I think everyone would loved to have been there, but that one person loves Christmas more than anyone else i know! I would have loved to have purchased a tonne of cool things, but some won't get through quarantine and the others would break in my backpack. Colmar was very pretty, it even had little venice, a very quaint part of town that has a cute canal running through it. Strasbourg was also very pretty and there is a lot to see in Strasbourg, which used to be a part of Germany then wasn't then was then wasn't again. For those of you not sure Colmar and Strasbourg are in France. And on our way to Colmar, we went through Luxembourg i had no idea! Another small european country, so i have to make sure i get a Luxembourg flag patch for my collection on my bag. I'm a bit of a flag nerd! I have an application on my iPhone and out of over 190 countries flags i got 92% correct! So they are my cheap souvenir from every country.
In Strasbourg they have a massive cathedral and if you're going in to pray then you can enter, i had one in mind but it didn't feel like a church. It was a beautiful structure, and as Stephan says it's amazing to see such massive grand buildings and you can't help but think about the slaves that would have built it. The reason why it didn't feel like a church was because there is a gift shop, and not tastefully done either. And it had a clock that was confusing to understand and why would be in a church. When you see the picture you'll probably say the same thing. The building was really impressive but it did feel a bit tacky. Our return home was a lengthy drive back to. Stephan has done an amazing job keeping us safe and getting us home. I'm more than happy to pull over and let him nap if he needs it. I've been in that tired position and it's best to be safe and arrive safe, especially when you have other passengers. I have and even friends have had micro sleeps so i know how scary it is to be that tired. I wish i could take over, but I'm not licensed to drive the car. Upon our safe arrival back to Cologne i was given a multiple choice of things to do in the area. The choices were: (directions)
(^) Skiing in an indoor facility nearby
(<) Aachen for a (printen) cookie purchase (for Vanessa) and the cathedral of Aachen
(V) House of history, in Bonn
(V) Beethoven house, in Bonn
(V) HARIBO factory, funnily enough again in Bonn
(/) Go karting in Kerpen - home town and track of M.Schumacher
(*) Köln cathedral tour
(\) Medieval markets in Siegberg
Most activities were 20 minutes away (inside joke). And they were all in different directions, so i had to make a plan that was do able and one where we could have some decent sleep after Stephan's long driving stints (and the seats in the car aren't too comfy for us taller guys). So, my decision, Medieval markets, Haribo factory, House of history, Beethoven house and karting at the Schumacher facility. I could have done the skiing too at night but i need a good few hours to get my confidence up on the skis, it's been 12years since the grade 11 ski trip. That was a good trip, back when life was simple.
The medieval markets is the first part of our loop from Köln, Siegberg, Bonn and back to Köln before the night time karting in Kerpen. I loved the medieval markets, it was such a great atmosphere. It was a good size too, had a blacksmith, a few jokers in the street, everyone in the markets was in costume, they were all yelling out to each other and giving each other crap. I don't know exactly what they were saying but you can get the gist of what they are saying and everyone around was laughing drinking and eating. I found some cool things and did make some purchases, and a present for Myles too. I didn't buy any armour.....they didnt have any or i might of! Haha you'll probably see a picture or two of me kitted up in my medieval gear! They had a two man band there that really just topped the atmosphere off really well. You hear the music and you think of Conan the Barbarian walking in the town. Cool music too. We were there for a bit over an hour and it was such a blast!
The following port is the home of my favourite lolly, the giant cola bottle by Haribo. Haribo is the creator of the the gummi bear, and the golden bear is it's icon. They no longer do tours of the factory but they have like an outlet store of Haribo! Wow, they do make a lot of candy. Haribo stands for (HA) Hans (RI) Riegel and the town is (BO) Bonn. It was like I'm a kid in some kind of candy store!! They had a video presentation inside as well. Luckily Alena was there to translate for me. He started in the 1920s and the gummi bear we much larger and was a dancing bear. He delivered his creations by bicycle in the town of Bonn. It got larger and larger and in the end the company ran worldwide. The plant closed down during the war because the ingredients were unobtainable. Very interesting history and delicious treats!
The remainder of the daytime was going to be the house of history and the Beethoven house. But midway through the house of history i had a pretty bad headache and had to pull out of the 60s onwards. So i missed the Beethoven house too. The house of history was very interesting. It had newspapers, video and photography from when the war started, the clean up and the rebuild. It also gave me an insight as to what happened to Germany and it's land after WWII, who had what part, what the plan was to unite Germany. I am pretty raw when it comes to history and learned a lot. I guess that is why they call it the house of history! I was unaware that is was the russians who had control over the eastern side and started the demarcation of the east and west side. And they denied germany being a united country again. Also i learned that women who had been doing all the work while the men were at war, were then banished pretty much to the kitchen and home. They had footage of the clean up in Munich, and the enormous effort to pick of the pieces of a battle ruined country. They would place any bricks that weren't damaged in an area and reuse these brick to rebuild houses. And it was all hands on deck. I can't imagine what it would be like to walk outside after the war was all over, no more bombs, no more air raid sirens and to see your home town demolished, and for what? I could definitely take a lot from the house of history and I'm glad i went there. It was a shame that i didn't get to see more and Beethoven house, but i was in a bit of pain and i wanted time to feel better before karting at the Michael Schumacher kart facility. Home we ventured to change into some pants with a bit more warmth because i wanted to do the outdoor track. Stephan had rang the place to see if the outdoor track was running because there was a more availability on the outdoor track. Their reply was, Yes, they said it's running and come by whenever you want. After a delicious pasta dinner, some panadol Stephan and i were ready to take on the MS kart centre. We got there and spotted the outdoor track with no lights on and ice clearly on the track. We had a back up plan, we knew there was some available spaces in about an hour but that was when we checked last night. Stephan checked with the guy and the outdoor track was closed contrary to whoever he spoke to beforehand. But there was a few spots available for the indoor track but we had to wait around for an hour. I don't care, i've missed a lot of cool activities on this trip which will of course make me 'HAVE' to come back! So we got to have a look at the cars going around, the different lines and of course find a place to put the go pro. Just in front of the steering wheel look like a great spot. I could put it facing me for one stint then facing looking forward. Unfortunately i didn't tighten everything in the first stint of driving, so as I'm going around it kept drooping. I got some great shots of the roof, and a shot with my head in the top right corner. But for the next ten minute stint it was in the perfect place and didn't budge. It has some shake but you really have to expect that when going over a go kart track and dick heads in yellow hitting me! I was fourth quickest and improved my lap time by 1.5secs in the second part. The kart was so different to the first one too, really understeery, so i had to alter my driving style to suit the car, and that took about 3 laps. I had a great time. There was one guy who just drives into you to make a pass, just like the other German i know..........newly crowned F1 world champion!! Anyone know him! It was good to be on track and the footage is pretty cool too! When i get back home I'll pop it on YouTube and share the link on facebook. We were back to Stephan and Alena's place before midnight, which didn't happen too often. Our plans after my multiple choice day are now, Amsterdam, Brussels and on the day i leave Germany and mainland Europe a nice tour of Köln's cathedral and a quick browse of the Christmas markets for a mission.
We were planning to meet Jurrien in Amsterdam in the mid afternoon for a FREE boat tour of the Amsterdam canals. But we had the chance to go and see him at his work at the dolphinarium, i normally don't like to change plans and out people out but i got to spend a bit more time with Jurrien and got to see is beautiful facility. And he has Morgan, a 2-3 yr old rescued Killer Whale! The park is generally closed in winter but does open on special weekends. I really like the atmosphere and the ideology that they have there. It would be a great place to work, until winter hits, and this is Jurrien's first European winter in three years. So he was already sick of the cold weather, the scraping the ice off the windshield, the dangerous roads and the cold water which isn't helped by the very cool breezes that freeze his hair after a shower, and we all know how much Jurrien loves his hair!! Don't worry mate it still looks great! We go to see some steller sea lions, and one in particular was massive. His name is Adek and he weighs 750kg! In the breeding time he can weight up to 1,100 kg, so it think he was on the Jared subway diet. We got to meet his team in the dome where they do the shows, some of the interactive team and their facility and a very nice Pom who was great to talk to, even though some of it was about England batting out a draw in the first test. I had no idea how the test finished, once i left Paris i have been away from the internet and the results, but i knew about Hussey's innings! He soon informed me of everything. He was a great guy to talk to, really engaging and very interesting person. We were talking about the possible outcome for Morgan the killer whale, but it's up to the government. But it must be a buzz for Jurrien to be working with such a magnificent creature, and you can see the bond they have too. Jurrien took a shower and off we went to Amsterdam, not to smoke weed but to have some dinner and check out the canals, oh and Amsterdam Arena. That wasn't part of the plan, we took about an hour to find the park and ride parking, which was cheap and it included a train ticket into the central station. We drove around on just about every footpath around the Arena, I'm sure everyone was looking at the German number plates, shaking their heads and just laughing! It was so funny to be there and clearly we shouldn't have been on the paths. We were following the green pedestrian paths signs instead of the blue car signs. So it was a bit dark when we got to Amsterdam and the boat cruise.......the Dutch FREE canal tour, wasn't running. Bloody Dutch bastid and his free shit! But we had a good eat, found some Dutch and Luxembourg flag patches for my bag (which i was then told we missed Luxembourg by about 10km). Very similar flags though the Luxembourg flag has a slightly lighter shade of blue on the bottom of the flag. We had a great Italian meal, told some stories in between Jurrien watching the Europa league game between Napoli and FC Utecht, ex Brisbane Roar boy Tommy Oar was on the bench. Two goals very early on, right in the middle of stories! Very funny. Jurrien went to the tourist information centre to find out about the canal tours, the one he had organised was closed, but there was another company doing a tour in 30mins. And much to Jurrien's dismay it wasn't free! Yeah it's a Dutch thing. Cheap bastid! It was a great tour and had some really pretty sights and info. Some of those house boats are impressive too, and apparently mega expensive! There is over 1200 bridges and about 100km of canals! We saw the red light district but we had had a pretty big day and it's not the reason i came to The Netherlands. So we gave it a miss, dropped Jurrien off to his car and headed back to Köln. Stopped briefly on the way by the German police who wanted to search our vehicle since we had come from the direction of Amsterdam. I kinda feel for poor Stephan, he has done many miles and hours of driving in a really uncomfortable car. And once again we returned home safe and tired, another country and city ticked off the list, but I'll have to come back when it's summer to get the awesome colours of Holland. My nights have stretched out a bit back in Köln, i have about 10days that I'm in the UK that i haven't really planned and now is the time to do it. So off bed at 4am but had booked a rental car, trains, driving routes and accommodation. Sent all my emails i needed to reply to. Andi just want to thank everyone who has kept in touch and been wading this blog. It's been fun taking on the trip with me!
Ahhh a sleep in, well 10am. Today we are traveling to Brussels ,Belgium. But this time it's just Stephan and I. Alena has to go to work so we'll go it alone. I managed to get a MP3 cable from a petrol station so now we can listen to some tunes for the remainder of our journey. So i introduced Stephan to Rodrigo y Gabriela, comedian singer Stephen Lynch and some disturbing Adam Sandler songs. He loved them, and i even introduced him to Flicker Switch, he enjoyed them too. Stephan is very musically inclined and it's really cool to see all of the instruments he has and he plays them all. He's a collector and some of the sounds his instruments make are so amazing. He has a wave drum (I think that's the name) and close my eyes and I'm back home listening to the waves crash onto the beach. The strangest is the nose flute, it's not a flute you shove up your nose but a smaller device that fits over the nose and mouth. But Belgium, The Metropol, Christmas markets, disturbing peeing statues, the massive palace of justice, the dwarfed royal palace and of course waffles! I really like Brussels, it has so much to see and do. The food is of course good. I want to first touch on the peeing statues, first there was a boy statue made in the early 17th century called Manneken pis. Then in the 80s they introduced a female statue called Jeanneke Pis, and it's a little girl squatting down. Both fountains weren't running due to the -5 degrees we encountered. Our first stop was The Metropol bar in the famous hotel of the same name. I had a hot chocolate, and it was the best I've had. I'm not one for hot drinks generally but I'm in freaking Belgium, if i don't then what's the point in being there! We visited a chocolatier, some gorgeous creations, i only knew the flavour of a few of them and they were a bit pricey for me. The palace of justice was massive, unfortunately you cannot go inside but there is some stairs you can access to get a sample of the some and the grandeur of this place. The royal palace seems inadequate after you see the palace of justice. Everything is reasonably close to each other and the streets are all lit, something else Belgium is famous for, every street is lit at night, as soon as you leave Belgium to Germany on the highway, complete darkness. We had some fries for lunch, Stephan had been talking up these Belgian fries, and once again they didn't disappoint! In the back of my mind I know it's all coming to an end. It's under two weeks and I'll be back in Australia, then back to work. This time of year over here feels right. Christmas at home is a sweat fest, it's either stinking hot or it's really muggy and ends in a storm, but which ever it is, it's sweaty. The snow on the ground, the smiles of everyones faces, the Christmas carols, the hundreds of stores selling intricate seasonal ornaments. That feeling of cold, the breath in the air, this is the real Christmas. In Amsterdam Jurrien, Alena and Stephan all were suffering from the cold, but i deal with it quite well. The lack of sun is a problem in terms of your attitude but the crisp air, icy pathways and the numbing of your fingers is just the fun stuff. Speaking of icy pathways, i had a great spill on our way around Brussels. I wish someone got footage of it, i know i gave someone down the road a laugh! I don't know what it was that i stood on, i did see and and i thought, hmm this might be slippery, by the time i got to slip, i was on my ass! Bothe legs slipped on it and I'm sure i was horizontal at some point. And yes after you finish laughing too............... The back up camera is fine. In true gentlemanly style Stephan didn't laugh but offered a hand to get up. Style was our key to slipping over, in Amsterdam Jurrien did it best, turning his slip into a dance move. Everyone has their moments on the icy paths you just can't get complacent with each step. We had one port of call left in Belgium and that was a hot waffle covered in chocolate! What a way to top off a beautiful day. Much better than the waffles i had on the Champs Élysées. Oh and one more thing about Belgium,p they have a bit of a comic cult here. They actually have 85 building facades painted like a comic. We only saw two, but they were a very cool things to see, i had no idea they would look that good, i did bypass the area since we were a bit behind on time. So next time i have to see the other 83!! The drive back saw our car thermometer drop to -10.5! One more day in mainland Europe.....sigh!
I am sad to be leaving Stephan and Alena, they have been so good to me, opened their doors and took in a sober virgin traveller, show me some touristy things but also showed me the little things that most tourists may not see or do. And that is exactly how i wanted it. They have gone well beyond everything i had expected, i wish i could stay for Christmas and see the region when it is Christmas. It's just so infectious.
My last day in Köln (Cologne) consisted of seeing the city centre from the opposite side of the river Rhine, walk across the rail bridge which has thousands of padlocks, similar to the ones I've seen in Florence etc. I don't think anyone is going to steal the bridge! But it was a beautiful walk with Alena, snow still on the walkways even though the sun was out and it hadn't snowed for a while. It was a great view of Köln and the enormous cathedral. Now this is gothic, mega gothic! The top was too many steps for Alena, so Stephan took over for this bit, it was cool to able to spend a bit of time with each of them one the last day, and then back together for our last Christmas markets. So the climb to the top of the Köln cathedral. As you've read I've climbed a lot of steps along the way and i powered up these ones. I'm really happy with my fitness levels and eating at the moment, i haven't been this confident in myself for a long time. If you wanna make a change, only you can do it! The cathedral which i saw on my arrival blew me away. I thought i was sick of churches, basilicas and cathedrals, but this is stunningly beautiful. Masssive, and very gothic. I think it is very similar in points to the Notre Dame in Paris, but this was by far more striking. There was a ceremony going on inside so the viewing inside was limited but the stain glass windows were gorgeous. I could spend all day in there (with a good camera) and take so many beautiful pictures inside. They also have a treasury which includes some of the cathedrals artifacts, plenty of gooooooooooold! A tiny bit of cathedral info....... The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Köln's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an "exceptional work of human creative genius". It is visited by 20 thousand people every day. Construction of the Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete. It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its towers are approximately 157 m tall. The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. It is a shame that people think that by putting their name (effectively graffiti) on area of the cathedral is a great idea. Why? Who cares if you were there? Who goes up and sees someones name and thinks oh Steve and Georgia were here in 2002! It's silly vandalism and a complete disrespect to this mammoth structure. I managed to get some decent angles and i have a great appreciation of how much work has to go into making such a beautiful gothic cathedral. But time was running out, we saw my next camera on sale, but i have decided to buy one in after Christmas. I have 10 more days of the trip and my little camera will have to do. I am missing some great opportunities and the drive to take a shot is lessened since i know the limits that the little camera can reach. We had a quick walk through the Köln Christmas markets, voted europe's best. We only skimmed the surface of the markets just to get Vanessa her German cookies she asked me to get while I'm here. Then we were off to the airport. Saying goodbye was hard, i didn't have any speech prepared, just a lot of thank yous. It was sad to say goodbye to some great friends who have made this last week one I'll never forget! So thank you to you both from the bottom of my heart.
I haven't been in an airport for nearly a month, and I'd prefer to stay away after the great rail experiences I've had across Europe. They are just so easy to get on get settled and get where you need to be, but you just can't beat the speed of a plane. I was dropped off with 20mins to check in, but for the life of me i couldn't find the easyjet counter. I even asked a few workers there, they pointed me in the wrong direction. For those of you traveling to Dusseldorf airport, there is no specific check in area, look at the generic counters and you will come across your airline. Air Berlin and Lufthansa have their own branded counters, but the others will have ticket desks one side and check in on the other. So I made check in by 4 mins. I have heard easyjet are very strict with their check in times so i got a bit flustered after being sent in all different directions by staff. Then the loving hands of security, now I've been "searched" by three different countries. And even had an explosive swab test, i don't know why he asked me to cough.......... The flight was nice and easy, the staff were brilliant, 75% gay, not that there is anything wrong with that, and one cute girl. Went through the UK border, ah much easier than the first time, she was having a whinge about how the German language is an ugly language to listen to, i chimed in to say it's not as bad as the Aussie slang. Ahh yeah, well some Aussie accents can be quite sexy, not yours, she says. I pulled a fake sad face and said oh, welcome to the UK then hey! Haha! Laughs all round. Headed off to the underground to get a ticket to get to kings cross station to pick up my ticket. As i was about to start the process of buying s ticket from the machine, a couple came up and said before you buy a ticket, you can have ours, we bought too many. Wow, thank you!!! Underground score! From then on it was smooth sailing to Paddington station for my train to Bath. The only thing is my backpacks were very full and heavy. I couldn't wait to be on the train so i could take them off my shoulders, i think I'm carrying about 35kg at the moment and i had it on my back for about two hours. My hotel was nice and close to the station, and I've done a quick walk around the block of Bath and it looks very pretty and they have their own Christmas markets too, but it doesn't feel the same without Stephan and Alena.
Now your up to date and so am I.
I hope everyone back home is well. I'm planning to make a book for myself which will include some of my pics, the entire blog, receipts and any other paper tickets/brochures that I've collected along the way.
Tschüss
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