What an absolute shower

The weather was not great for our day out in Cologne some sunshine but
mostly grey skies and showers. The cathedral, the main attraction of the
city, is very impressive indeed but very black and dirty on the outside,
although they seem to be in the slow process of renovation and cleaning. It
is quite huge and very simple inside, not overly ornate like its Italian
counterparts. As to the rest of the city, we spent most of our time in and
out of shops to keep dry and strolling around the streets in the odd dry
moment so we did not really get to see many other highlights. As this was
going to be our last stop in Germany and we were particularly hungry we
decided to eat out. A nice old bar we found with an interesting menu had
finished serving food for the day, so we just enjoyed a beer or two of the
local Kolsch beer, only produced in Cologne, and were entertained by their
1920's 'automatic tuba-accordion'. This was a most amusing and musical piece
behind the bar that consisted of automated models of two men, one playing
the tuba and the other the accordion. It is like a jukebox and you can
select from a range of tunes, and then watch and listen as they do their
thing. You have to see it to believe it. After our beers we set off to find
somewhere to eat and found a nice if touristy place near the river that
specialised in pork knuckles, Eisbein. We ordered and tucked into a large
grilled Eisbein each, washed down with a large beer, and were suitable
stuffed. Thankfully our cycle to and from the city was dry, and not far on
our full stomachs.
The next day we headed off to our next country on the tour, Holland. The
first campsite we tried near Vaals was full due to some horse event going on
nearby. This was the first time we had encountered this problem, the full
site not the horse event. Thankfully we had an alternative not too far away
near Gulpen and found plenty of space there, and probably a nicer site
anyway. Most campsites you visit have nice free showers that you start and
stop, as you want. Some have time limited, to save water, via tokens that
you buy, or get included in the price, but you can also start and stop
those. At this site the showers were included and were timed. Not that this
really saved any water. You got 5 minutes worth, non-stop. So the water ran
even while you were not using it and trying to lather up and wash. The first
morning I got caught out and was not rinsed off before the water cut out.
The shower was on a time switch and you could not start it again for another
few minutes. Thankfully it was not cold so I just stood it out and kept
hitting the button until the water flowed again. What a stupid system. We
had a nice two nights at the site and also enjoyed our first hot and sunny
day for the last 6 or so weeks.
We left Gulpen and headed south to our next country, Belgium, we will return
to Holland some other time. We are now down in the south of Belgium near the
French border at the small village of Poupehan. We are staying at a very
nice site next to the river Semois, and are pitched on the riverbank. The
site is very peaceful and quiet but apparently it was packed out during
summer, and they actually had a hot summer here. They also have silly timed
non-stop showers here that are activated by an electronic tag. I can't
imagine how they think it saves water. Anyway, we had a wet day yesterday,
horizontal heavy soaking drizzle all day. Thankfully they have some English
paperbacks that one can borrow from reception and we spent a nice day
engrossed in a book or two. Today was lovely and sunny, but with a strong
chilly breeze at times. The lady in reception says that it should be dry for
the next few days, lets hope she is spot on.
We will chill out here for most of the week, if it stays dry, then cross the
border into France. Our current plan is to head towards Paris and stop there
for a few days. Then turn north up through France and back into Belgium to
visit Bruges. From there we will wind our way down the coast to Calais in
time for the trip back to the UK.
Less than four weeks to go now. Not that we are too concerned. Don't have to
worry about going back to work or anything like that!
Cheers
M&S