S.'s Grand Melon Tour of Cologne

Wow! Three days in a row! Don't worry, I'm going back to work tomorrow so this won't last. But I thought I should get in another post while the project is still fresh.

I went to Cologne towards the end of the European part of my trip. I'd been there a couple of times before, the last time just six months previously, and this time I stayed on the "other" (western) side of the Rhein. I got on famously with my host, S., and I think that the only time one or the other of us weren't talking was when we were asleep. After she'd given me the grand tour of her flat, which included introducing me to the fabulous mint in the garden downstairs, we headed off for a walk. So I got to see a fair bit of a different side of Cologne. And I took some very random photos. Like these rather eerie dolls:


There had been a lot of rain right up until the day I got to Cologne, but by the time of our walk the only evidence of the rain was the occasional mud puddle. And, just in case we needed reminding, we were re-introduced to the fun that mud puddles can be:


And I discovered that my fantastic white jacket (bought in Rome) (yep, I'm name-dropping cities now) was fantastic for more than one reason - once dry, the mud brushed off without leaving a mark. That's the kind of white I like! Actually, that's the kind of mud I like, too.

After that, we walked ourselves off the (well, our) map, into an industrial area, back to the river, along the west bank, crossed the bridge into Heumarkt, on to Neumarkt where we caught the end of an organic foods market, back towards the Dom, briefly considered catching the S-bahn back to S's place and decided to keep walking instead, and then took a pretty direct line back across the river. By the time we got home, we had been walking for over four hours, with only some Dutch-style chips for sustenance. But this is the kind of walking that I had intended to do in all the cities I visited, managed to do in some, and perfected in Cologne. It is definitely more fun with a friend (especially one who knows the city). Thanks S.!

It had started getting dark sometime after we left Neumarkt, and by the time we were back on the western side of the river the light was at just the right level for my camera to take some night shots. So I will leave you with the ghostly image of the Dom, dwarfed by a skyscraper.