h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I woke up an hour early, so spent time at the PC, checking (and getting) some last minute emails.
Wondered what to wear, so decided for the onion look which proved to be a wise decision later when it got hotter and hotter.
Got my , underground and train alright and arrived at Cologne in time. Marched out of the station and didn't find the others at first, due to some 'right/left' confusion from the directions I got. Then Sho came and 'found' me.
Went to get me a , and then we just sat there and talked and got 'acquainted' with one another. I had met Sho and TC and had known Toy Box for four years, but never met him, and matodemi was an absolute newbie. Hurrah for Toy Box for being so brave to meet four strange women 'd'un certain âge' (he's really young, and he was the only male among seven!! women/girls), and for matodemi to meet people she only had talked to for a few weeks.
The Gruesome Twosome and matodemi's daughter are lovely and were well behaved throughout the day. They were off to play somewhere while we had some .
We eventually collected the girls and rose to tackle the stairs of the Dom - only to find there was such a long queue waiting to enter the Dom that we decided what we didn't really need was to wait in the scorching sun for an hour or so - especially not with three children.
We then headed for the Chocolate Museum on the other side of the Rhine.
What had been planned as a 'nice walk along the Rhine' wasn't really all that nice: - one side of the path was fenced off for some construction work, and the remaining path was frequented by so many pedestrians, cyclists and the odd car, that you really had to make sure not to be run over by either of the latter. I for one didn't see anything of the Rhine.

The museum was nice if somewhat warm-ish and I managed to find all the sorts I remembered as very special from my childhood. What I really missed, though, was some photos or exhibits to explain the many signs with text they had on the walls. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't learn much because half of the time, I hadn't a clue what the texts were about.
I didn't bother to go to the shop afterwards, because
a) I had enough things to carry anyway

b)it was very warm, so I'd had risked the melted

c)I don't really eat al, that often, it takes a special mood for me to go and buy .

Most of us were hungry, so we looked for a suitable restaurant. We ended up in a restaurant selling Bavarian food - quite like the one I went to with Sho, MMF and RF last year during our German meet.

The waitress was very nice, the food was good if somewhat much for that time of day (I think it was about 2.00pm).


We didn't really have a fixed programme, so we decided to search for 4711 Glockengasse on our way to the English Shop. We did find yet another building, claiming to be the oldest parfumery in town, so I took some photos there - which nearly made me lose the rest of the group because they had wandered on.
It is interesting to see Farima claim to have invented Eau de Cologne, because I for one had never heard of them before. So maybe I'll do some researches on Farima instead on 4711.

The English Shop was small but very nice, I could even have bought haggis, blackpudding or Irn Bru.

Sho bought root beer which tasted like a German mouthwash called : Mallebrin or Doreperol - I couldn't decide which. The Irn Bru tasted like - sweet chewing gum with some added flavour.

Sorry, hope nobody is offended, I don't mean to be negative, it's just what it tasted like to me.

Short photo shoot in front of the shop, then off to 4711 Glockengasse. When we arrived, we saw that there were indeed bells on the house, and a clock and two figures (soldiers, wearing French uniforms). We speculated whether they would move at the full hour, and decided to sit down at the nearby fountain for the remaining 15 minutes till the next full hour. Toy Box told us that the bells would play the Marseillaise - and that's what they did. I did hear some people sing along, so some French tourists must have found their way to Cologne. They played a few other tunes after that while several soldiers came and went, and the whole took a bit more than five minutes. It was a bit like the 'Männleinlaufen' in Nürnberg.


We then headed off to find a 'Sparkasse' (a German bank), because I had run out of cash - I'm always short of cash, no idea how I manage .
After that, somebody suggested we should go and have a look at the beer festival which was just across the road from the Sparkasse. Once there, the girls wanted to sit down and we were lucky to find two free benches and a table. The girls went off to play after they had drunk a lemonade, and we just sat there, had some Kölsch (beer) and talked.

And talked, switching languages as we went.

And talked.

And had another Kölsch, except for Toy Box, who had to drive and had a water.

Several groups passed, it seemed to be a day of groups running through Cologne anyway. There were many groups of 'soon to be married' girls - or one of them was,and I haven't a clue what exactly they did. Maybe it's what Serephina called a 'f´Final Fling' and which nobody explained to me? Sho said this was very common in England, so I just guess this had to be a Final Fling.
Still, the concept escapes me.

Suddenly it was half seven pm, and so we decided to go towards the railway station, as TC's train was due to leave an hour later.

We said our goodbyes to Toy Box who had to go in another direction in order to go home, and slowly walked through the city centre again.
When passing the Dom there were several people who had nearly finished a huge chalk drawing. If I'm honest, I wasn't overly impressed, I've seen some I liked more.

At the station, we found out that TC's train would be delayed, so Sho and the Gruesome Twosome and matodemi and her daughter left first to catch their S-Bahns.

I stood and waited with TC, but every time we looked, the delay was longer. In the end, I suggested she went and asked for another train.
The woman at the info boot was very friendly and didn't make any hassle. She just gave TC a voucher for another train - which turned out to be the train I had booked. This train was only delayed by 10 minutes, so I was lucky. I had TC's company until Frankfurt, which was a bonus for me - even if it wasn't for poor TC.
We knew that TC wouldn't be able to go to her home town by train anymore that night. Then suddenly, I remembered that the DB would have to pay for her taxi home and suggested she shopuld ask the controller - just that nobody cared to control our tickets, but apparently, TC found somebody to ask later on her next train, and the DB paid the taxi.


I didn't get the underground and I had hoped I'd get, but then again, it wasn't problematic, I was at home just 20 minutes later than I'd have been had I been very lucky.

Conclusion: we had a day, absolutely wonderful company and toasted to absent friends who we knew would have loved to join us but couldn't do so.

Maybe next time?

describing excellently the day

I think the final fling is done in France too ('enterrement de vie de jeune fille / de garçon').

And didn't TC sing along the Marseillaise? (I know, I *should* have been )

Don't know about TC, but I did.

Funny though that in "that" city they are so proud of their "conquerors"

the city is named colony (having been a roman one)
and they play the Marseillaise - having been ruled by Napoleon for some time

*sorry, just had to write that...*

Where's the confused smiley? Yesterday I thought (rightly, so it seems) that it was you, and then for some reason I got the impression you told me it was TC!

We talked about Napoleon yesterday. I even have a journal somewhere, after I had seen a film about Napoleon in Germany on TV a while ago. He brought us the decimal system amongst other things.

I thought I had been too 'leise' for anybody to hear.
There was a group of elderly people in front of us who sang along.

And the 15th of August is his birthday, apparently introduced as a holiday in France by the Prince President (I think the one who would become Napoleon III)

Ach, we Frenchmen have a Marseillaise radar.

But really, I felt honoured that you sang along

Actually one of the streets in Düsseldorf has a connection to Napoleon as well.

One day he was passing it with his troups. And there were already a couple of pubs open at that time, which was strange to the French. So they had said: oh, this is a Rue de Matin (a "morning-street"). The Düsseldorfer didn't really understand what they said, so they took it as Retematäng, and it is known (or at least had been) under that name. (it is the Ratinger Straße at the border of the Altstadt)

Awww
It has such a fetching tune and text, I can't resist when I hear it.

I like it as well - it is nice (somehow more interesting than our national anthem)

nice write up!

You didn't mention me getting chatted up at the bar

I filmed a portion of the 4711 bells, and you can definitely hear at least one male voice singing the Mayonnaise (sorry, ToyBox, my whole family calls it that)

oh and you lot want to be stuck with God Save the Queen

I want to be Welsh or French, they have really great national anthems.

Oh. Some French people are regularly suggesting to change it, because of some dodgy lyrics (that 'impure blood' thing). On the other hand, national anthems' lyrics...

Sho, I didn't realise you were chatted up at the bar.

any dig up some scented water?

You were facing the wrong direction

Sho - so you missed the opportunity for a free drink eh?

True, I was facing the wrong direction - but then so were you.