London to Berlin via Cologne
For nearly a year I have been selling the virtues of the German railway system based on my colleagues' first hand experience, but finally it was my chance to try it out.
The journey started in typical fashion with an evacuation of an entire tube station leaving me rushing around London first thing on a Sunday morning. So instead of a leisurely journey to St Pancras with time to get some food for the journey, I had to go straight through security which luckily was a very speedy process. I was glad to find the first class carriage relatively empty and I was able to sit back and relax after the stressful start to my day.
Before long I was in Brussels with 2 and a half hour gap to fill before my ICE connection. While the Gare du Midi is probably not the first place you’d choose to kill time, there are several places to have lunch, and of course there are two branches of Relay for all your magazine related needs. And if the idea of the ever present ‘Quick Burger’ doesn’t appeal, there is even enough time to go in to the centre of Brussels. Fortunately I was kept entertained and soon enough I made my way to the platform for my ICE. This was a busy train and I was grateful for my seat reservations which not all passengers have. Fortunately the rightful owner of the seat opposite mine claimed their seat and the man who had chosen to air his feet to the whole carriage was quickly moved. The journey went very quickly and in less than 2 hours I was in Cologne. I was able to get my bearings pretty quickly and was able to navigate around the crowds. Once I was done with my appointments and checked in to my hotel (Mondial Am Dom) I decided to see what the Christmas market fuss is all about. As soon as I entered the square by the Cathedral and came under the huge canopy of lights, I understood, and instantly got that christmassy feeling.
I didn’t have much time to fully explore the city as the next morning I was off on the first train to Berlin. Although it is easy to get from London to Berlin in a day I would definitely recommend a stop off en route. By leaving Cologne at just before 8 am, I arrived just after midday, right in the centre and ready to explore. Again, it was hotel appointments first and I started with the best – the Adlon Kempinski. This hotel is truly amazing and is in the perfect location right next to the Brandenburg Gate. This was my second time in Berlin, the first having been over 10 years ago. Despite the long gap since I was last here I found Berlin very easy to navigate on foot, and only needed to use the U-Bahn once. As long as you avoid Hallesches Tor, where two different lines you could in theory connect to, disappear, then it is easy to use.
The next day I went on a walking tour. Our guide Carlos was hugely informative and managed to condense Berlin’s extensive history as we walked around the main sights. This is a great way to get to know the layout of any new city so I would definitely recommend it! One piece of advice – it may be a walking tour but in reality more time is spent standing listening to the guide. So, don’t do as I did and assume you will be warm and won’t need a hat, gloves and scarf – you will! I was absolutely freezing so that lesson was learnt the hard way.
