Cologne and back

Just back from a train trip to Cologne or Koln. It is a beautiful city, with the history of the war in your mind, it is interesting and arresting to see areas which were leveled in the war. The cathedral is huge, I was not prepared for the enormity of this gothic construction dating from the 12th C. It was packed when we got there, so revisited it the next morning, and it is beautiful with stunning stained glass. We found a lookout 28 floors up, which gave amazing views of the city. The weather was not brilliant, but it nevertheless showed the stretch of the city along the Rhine. The street scene is the city pedestrian mall. Huge crowds - summer in Europe

We then came back to Brussells for a couple of hours. (Midde photo)Very difficult to navigate yourself around on foot, the signage is dreadful. Eventually found the Grand Market, featuring the historical town hall, and other buildings, the total of which forms a square, and is on the world heritage register. Brussells seems to survive due to the EU, it is not a city on the 'must return to' list.