Interrail 2025 – part three

Once the weather forecasts had settled down it was (almost) inevitable that this morning would be a bit soggy. So we decided to make it a ‘museum/art gallery’ morning.

First up – breakfast was taken again at our (very) local coffee bar which we were pleased to see open at 08:30. Nothing fancy again – good coffee, lemon & ginger tea & a couple of croissants – but it such a nice place and extremely popular!

For the ‘culture’ we had 3 possible ‘targets’ of which we did two – first up was the ‘Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud’. Quite the mouthful of words eh? The standard collection didn’t appeal that much BUT the exhibition of Impressionists on loan from the Swiss Museum Langmatt (and shown in conjunction with related paintings in the Walraf collection) was fascinating. No photos I’m afraid but the whole exhibition was a masterclass in “telling a story” (and an interesting one at that!

Second choice was MAKK or (another deep breath required!) Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln. In other words a museum for “applied art” or, as we know it now “Design” – there were actually 3 separate exhibitions in the building. One was a totally forgettable one about furniture of which the less said the better

BUT next was the “Faszination Schmuck” exhibition – basically one of the best presented things I have seen in a long time. Themed displays about jewellery. Example pieces set against a dark background with detailed attributions as well as concise and informative narrative.

Next up was the main Art & Design permanent exhibition – a staggering collection of objects from vintage radios, through assorted home & office furniture (including a Frank Lloyd Wright writing desk) and every day objects including an Apple Macintosh and Jonny Ives designs for the first iMAc and iPod.

As we left the museum the promised rain actually started so we walked back up to the apartment for a light lunch and a rest.

We are eating out tonight as a place not too far away – a well recommended bistro type place in the Belgian Quarter of Cologne. Don’t ask me why Cologne has a Belgian Quarter – it isn’t obvious other than a coincidental run of street names. TBH Brusseler Platz, Lütticher Strasse & Genter Strasse remind me of Reggie Perrin’s route to the station via Wordsworth Drive, Tennyson Avenue and Coleridge Close!

We are on the move again tomorrow so the rest of this afternoon will be spent packing and cleaning as much as we can. A relatively simple journey from here to Mannheim and a change to get us to Heidelberg our next stop. I say relatively because the route we wish to take (down the Rhine Gorge) has been subject to some rail restrictions – fingers crossed crossed we should be OK and we have all day plus some Interrail flexibility to help us along.