Day 03 and 04: Arnhem to Köln#

I only got to day 02 before I gave up on writing the blog on the trip. I found it too much to cycle all day and then write up a blog. I’ve got some catching up to do.

Getting to the German border#

We cheated a little bit, we cycled to the German border and then got a train from Kleve to Köln. In the morning we cycled along the Rijn/Rhine to the German border towards Kleve. We headed south through the city centre heading towards the Rhine. We used the Veerdinest Millingen - Pannerden ferry to cross the river, which brought us walking distance to Germany! There wasn’t a sign telling us that we entered Germany. All there was, was a sign in German.

Kleve to Köln#

Upon arrival in Köln I learnt the German word for bike chain oil - Fahrradkettenöl (my bike needed new oil on the chain)!. From Kleve we got the RE10 to Krefeld and then the RE7 to Köln HBF.

Köln#

In Köln we booked a city campsite east of the Rhine. It was incredibly useful to camp in a city, it meant we could use a bikes to see the city and go out. In Köln they drink a 0.2 cl beer called a Kölsch. Locals would drink it in a pub and quickly move onto the next one to get another. Personally, I find it a tad too small and think a pint is a more appropriate size.

We ended the day getting a curry where I got Saag Paneer!

A Day in Köln#

We decided to spend a whole day in Köln to see more sites. We started the day getting a cinnamon bun topped with cream cheese - lovely! We then went to NS Dokumentationszentrum, which is an old Gestapo station. The basement was left exactly as it was and the upper floors was a museum Köln under the Nazi regime. It showed pictures of the famous Hohenzollern bridge destroyed.