Köln

A rest day in Köln today. I got the bus and train into town – it was about a 10 minute walk from the campsite. I’d planned to head into Bonn to do some sightseeing too, but realised I’d bought the wrong ticket, so will save that for when I pass through tomorrow. There was plenty in Köln though.

The cathedral. The statue behind the taxi is a 1:1 replica of the top of the tower summit. I didn’t head up the tower as it was very hot.

I also had some boring stuff to do. My compass had become demagnetised and was pointing the wrong way. I found a Decathlon in the city centre, and got one there. I also wanted to track down some WD-40 to deal with an annoying squeak on the bike’s gear lever. Eventually I managed to find a Bauhaus, which was like a huge B&Q on the other side of the river, which sold it.

Also stocked up on some groceries (well as much as one can “stock up” when you’ve barely any space to carry it) at an Aldi. The checkout staff are as ruthlessly efficient as in England.

Heading south tomorrow. I’m not sure how far. It looks like there are campsites at fairly regular intervals (though not necessary on the right side of the river – bridges are relatively few and far between, though there appear to be some ferries too). There’s rain forecast for late tomorrow afternoon, which may influence how far I go.

Sunset over the river