Bye Bye Amsterdam :(

Thursday, July 15, 2010
We cannot believe it has been a full month since we have left. It seems like only yesterday we were on our way to the airport with our bags overpacked and full of excitement. It seems like the time has gone by so quickly yet we cannot believe how much we have done and seen in such a short period of time. Germany here we come! We had decided to take the 1230 train to Cologne, Germany so we had a bit of time to grab some breakfast and just relax this morning. It was kind of nice. We have eaten a lot of fast food or quick grab items because we have been on the go the whole time we have been in Amsterdam. Anyhow, we arrived at the train station well before our train was due to leave with lots of time to make sure our train times and platforms were correct. We sat and waited and were sure we had the right platform when it was announced that the train would be late, taking a longer route and full. We were told yesterday that we wouldn`t need a reservation but due to the rain yesterday, the trains weren’t able to get through certain areas and would be redirected. Here we go again! Since we didn’t have a reservation, we had to play the seat game. Sit in seats that are reserved and hope that nobody asks you to move. It works well if you are lucky and/or listen to the announcements. So while everyone is fighting to get a seat we were gold. We got one that nobody occupied from Amsterdam and one of the stops was cancelled and therefore nobody from there would be getting on.  Perfect!! We can only imagine what a 3 hour train ride would be like standing. Good news is we got on the correct train!! We have a new motto, “just get on the train”. We have decided when in doubt just get on...who cares where we end up...part of the adventure we think! So we arrived in Cologne (Köln) and navigated our way to our hostel with ease (we are getting quite good at it) and we checked in and in the room by 630ish. This hostel was really big and quite nice. It’s exciting when they are bigger because they are typically newer and have a more modern look. The small ones are quite nice too if they are like the one in Vianden. We decided to go to a beerhall and get some local beer and eats. We had a good German meal! Meat and potatoes pretty much. We were pretty tired and not feeling too well so we decided to call it an early night after dinner and see Köln in the morning.