Yesterday (Friday 30th) was a travel day and involved a very early start, a tram, three trains and a bus. Heidelberg to Nancy isn’t actually that complicated but the timing & connections made it ‘interesting’ to plan.

As it happened it was a breeze – once at Hiedelberg Hbf we hopped on the next available train to Karlsruhe where we were to change for the quick hop to Strasbourg. Karlsruhe turned out to be a nice place. We had about 90 minutes as there were no other suitable trains prior to the one we had booked reservations on so only saw the area immediately surrounding the station.

The rest of the journey was relatively painless – the hop to Strasbourg took around 45 minutes and was on a very busy TGV (Munich to Paris) but was comfy enough. We were offered refreshments but 10am seemed a but early for a beer and I had had my coffee for the day!

By the time we reached Nancy it was getting seriously warm so we stopped at the bar outside the station for a drink (my first good cold beer of this holiday). Within an hour we were in the wonderful apartment we had booked. That evening we dined (very) locally, by which I mean a 5 minute walk. Nothing fancy but most welcome as we had skipped lunch somehow!

Now to Nancy – I am not exactly sure when we have fallen so completely in love with a place – perhaps it was Cadiz some 7 or so years ago. But never so instantly – this place is stunning, different, friendly, interesting and varied. We know we will be back and probably soon once we work out the best way to get here from Edinburgh (it may involve trains)

This morning dawned warm and we were both refreshed after an excellent night’s sleep. We decided to head out to get ahead of the crowds and the expected heat.

What we hadn’t been quite properly prepared for was Place Stanislas – a massive square (with a statue of Stan in the middle) surrounded by large (monumental even) buildings. We were tempted by the Grand Café Foy but elected instead to choose a smaller place on the other side of the square.

We took breakfast at our chosen café – a good selection of bread, viennoiserie, coffee, tea, etc. – and then moved into Parc de la Pepiniere and, though we were already entranced, Nancy worked the very special magic. This park has so much going on that attracts people of all sorts – the next few photos will only hint at the riches but chief amongst them were several comfy benches to sit and ponder.

Sightseeing done, heat rising and crowds thickening Ally bought some new reading & sun glasses and we stopped to discuss lunch choices. I spotted a café that did a cheese/charcuterie planchette so we ordered up some wine and one of those and really enjoyed it. There was a patisserie nearby where several purchases were made – we like puds and have missed the ‘proper’ stuff!

Back to the apartment (the a/c is a blessing! and yes I will switch it off soon) and it wasn’t long before the storm arrived – thunder was heard and it rained very heavily – for about an hour in total. No idea at all what tomorrow might hold as we are getting to the point of ‘let’s just roll with it on the day’ as we usually do towards the end of a holiday.

Today was always going to be about ‘post travel day’ resting, settling into the apartment and getting to know Heidelberg. The apartment is a bit on the quirky side but comfortable nevertheless. Our remaining questions of last night (where the heck is the washing machine and where have the hosts hidden the iron) were answered. Our hosts live next door and Gerold came by, with ironing board & iron and then took us into the cellar where the laundry facilities (shared with Gerold & his partner Ina) were situated.

Having sorted that we decided to head out for breakfast. We are on the south side of the river (Neckar) over the bridge from the town & old town. So we headed in the general direction to a likely looking café down by the river (River Café but not that one!). Nice croissant & good coffee/camomile tea.

We then walked over the bridge to Bismarckplatz and picked up Hauptstrasse. We ambled up there slowly, dropping in to various churches & one or two of the shops that were open (still only just gone 10am) as far as the immense Heilggeistkirche.

It was here that as sort of theme developed as you will see form subsequent photos.

Lots of other building of course – including this one. Also another theme developing – namely how many vehicles there were in a supposed pedestrian area!

The biggest church was just staggering – lovley modern windows, two organs! And a real sense of peace.

The castle was looming over us but the sun was way too bright to get a decent picture

Then we went down to the river to take a look at the Alte Brücke – not ancient for probably obvious reasons but impressive.

Finally we called in at Café Schafheutle for kaffee/kuchen – one of Germany’s finest traditions!

All in all a good morning wander that gave us a clearer view of where we are. As it happens we passed, early on our walk, a restaurant that is open this evening. Tuesday is the Ruhetag or rest day here so a few places are closed. It is, of course, a Spanish place that does wine & tapas!

We have no idea, due to changing weather forecasts, what we will do tomorrow but a castle visit (via funicular) and a boat trip are both possible. Thursday is Ascension Day – many of the shops will be shut but we don’t know if (or how) it will affect attractions & restaurants.

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.

As we had expected the weather set the agenda today. We decided to do the “Hop on, Hop off” bus tour this morning with a view to getting a wider view of the city. We also planned to break that journey near the Zoo and have a walk around the botanical gardens.

First things first though and we returned to Café Reichard for breakfast. It is, for those familiar, very similar to Betty’s Tea Rooms in the UK and has a very Swiss-influenced menu and atmosphere. On the way we met up with an English lady at the underground station, helped her purchase her ticket and got into conversation with her. Turns out she is a singer with the Lewisham Choral Society who are performing with many others at the Kölner Philharmonie tomorrow and she was heading into final rehearsals. We had actually spotted that it was on but neither of us are particular fans of Britten, or indeed, the War Requiem (brilliant as it is), so passed on the chance.

Then to the open top bus – not as daft a decision as it might seem given the forecast, the low temperature, etc. but there was a sliding roof that was easily deployed as required (because, of course, it did rain).

I will be honest and say we weren’t that impressed with the tour it started by going through many tunnels where the clearance over our heads was a little ‘close’! As we got to the Botanical Gardens the promised rain came – we alighted anyway and had a short walk (with brollies in use).

Plan B failed at the last step as the glasshouses were closed for refurbishment. Since the bus was half hourly we ‘hopped on’ the next one for the remainder of the round trip. Having decided that a decent lunch was required and, having examined the menu at Café Reichard over breakfast , we returned there. First though we had 2 quick objectives – first the Tourist Info then a quick ok inside the Dom.

We didn’t stay long , way too many people! We weaved though the huge crowds outside the Dom and blagged a superb table in a very busy Café. Lunch was ordered – crepe for me (Apfelpfannkuchen) and Berner Rösti (bacon & egg with fried potatoes) for Ally. Washed down, of course, with a decent wine each

The food was excellent, the service brilliant and, again, top quality ‘people watching’. We had a good conversation with the group on the next table – an English couple from Thirsk visiting German friends – and that is turning out to be a regular thing we have found.

We did, suitably protected, set out for a quick run to the shops to top up for tonight’s light meal noting, on the way, how different the local streets are on a Saturday. Busier and much more relaxed if that makes sense.

I am writing this as my football team are battling in the Championship Play Off final so apologies for any lapse of spelling or grammar. My devices keep pinging progress (and lack of it!) to me 😉

Tomorrow the weather looks set to be even worse than today except that the rain should ease late afternoon/early evening and the temperature rise to be closer to what we had been expecting (maybe even topping 20 degrees!) I have said it before and will keep on repeating it – Köln is a nice place to visit. Enough to see without knocking yourself out and such a warm & friendly atmosphere.

Do you know that thing when you take to a city and a city takes to you? Cologne has done that so apologies for the delay in writing about it. Quite simply we have been way too busy doing stuff. 

The train journey on Wednesday – Edinburgh-London-Brussels – was good with no upsets at all. Our overnight digs near Brussels Midi/Zuid station were fine if not palatial (certainly better and cheaper than a hotel!).. The evening meal turned out to be a nostalgia trip to a restaurant we visited last time we were there (some 21 years ago), 

Thursday’s run to Cologne was also easy and on one of the newer trains (ICE 3neo if interested). The 1st class compartments were very good and the standard class looked acceptable too though, of course, with less luggage space and leg room (as usual). 

As I said in my brief FB post yesterday we like Cologne – and today hasn’t changed our mind. We had breakfast (just croissant, coffee (for me) & mint tea (for Ally) at a place almost 2 minutes away from the apartment. The apartment is, by the way, good – difficult at first to not have an actual key (or even fob) but we have committed the 6 digit key code to memory. I’m not sure of the bookcase top shelf decoration is a coincidence or deliberate affectation – but it is appreciated either way.

Today was always going to be about going with the flow – we both slept like logs for ages and felt a little refreshed this morning. So we took the underground the centre and walked down to the river to get on the 10:30 “Panorama Cruise”. Really enjoyed the experience – the boat, the staff, the witty but informative commentary all helped make it a memorable morning. 

After that we strolled along the river bank to the Deutzer Bridge and into the Altstadt via St Martin’s church.

Having decided that our apartment wasn’t actually that far away we walked up though the old town into the newer bits (having been reminded why there are newer bits by the cruise commentary!). We stopped at a likely looking café/restaurant for lunch (Flammenkuche – a favourite of ours & a glass of decent wine each). After a brief rest we headed out again to a wine bar we liked the look of then a quick side trip to top up our supplies. What hadn’t expected was Kölner Weinwoche in the Neumarkt Square – so many people, so much wine and so much happy noise! 

The weather, as you may see from some of the photos, has been contrary to our expectations – all long range forecasts indicated dawn to dusk sunshine and temperatures in the mid-20s. In fact it has been cloudy, windy and wet as well as significantly colder. A challenge to our layering + light packing system I can tell you 😉

Tomorrow’s (Saturday) activities will depend on which forecast is right but we have plans for any eventuality including doing very little!