Anseth Family Adventures: Planes, Trains, Buses and a Cab

Monday, June 20th, 2022 required a lot of moving pieces. We were up and packed by 6:30 and on the bus at 6:45 sharp to the Berlin train station. The plan was to catch a train to Cologne, Germany. Things seemed to be going as planned until we go off the bus when we realized someone had left their bag back at the hotel. One dad and one frantic child disappeared in a cab. Would they ever be seen again? A brief walk in the rain and we were mostly safe within the confines of the Berlin train station. The next shoe to drop was one of the adults left their cellphone on the bus with no way to contact the driver. Eventually contact was May and hopefully the 2 will be reunited in the States. Once the ticketing was organized most of us payed 1 Euro to use the water closet (bathroom) to change. After snacks are final assembly area was platform 14.

Berlin trains station

I am in the Berlin train station. Is that a smile or a grimace.

Once on platform 14 we patiently waited for our train. The child, the parent and the luggage arrived on Platform 14 with 5 minutes to spare. Ok things are OK, no this when it got weird. We were on a split train meaning the front half will break off at one of the stops and the back half will continue on to a different set of stops. We were out of position on the platform. We needed to be in the middle to the back. We were near the front. This led to a made dash towards the back of the train, everyone got on (We hoped). Now our problems we’re finding seats and place for the luggage. A little pushing, some angry Germans and several walks up and down the train allowed for confirmation that everyone was there, had a seat and their luggage was stored. The rest of the train ride was essentially uneventful and pleasant cruising through Germany at 200 kilometers per hour.

Scenes from the train

Closer to Cologne

The departure from the train went significantly more smoothly than the arrival on the train.

After collecting ourselves and our bags, we walked out of Cologne train station and almost immediately were confronted by the Cathedral of Cologne. It is massive and beautiful and demands your attention.

The Cathedral Spires

We dropped our bags on the bus and were allowed a little free time to explore the city. It should be noted that in 1946 the RAF in one night dropped a 1000 pounds of bombs on Cologne. Miraculously the cathedral was never significantly damaged. It also means many of the other structures you will see have been restored in one way or another.

Sculptures in Cologne

This sculpture by St. Gereon

Alcove in St. Gereon

stained glass in St. Gereon

St Gereon

The doors at St. Gereon

Love this

St. Ursula in Cologne

The Cathedral in Cologne is an absolute shoe stopper with its size and gothic design. You could easily spend a day in her just looking at the floor. It is probably one of the five most amazing buildings I have been in.

Plaque outside the cathedral

The floor in the Cathedral in Cologne

An alcove in the Cathedral

The main corridor of the cathedral

Some of the stained glass

Alcove as well

Again the Cathedral is amazing

Katie and the cathedral

This church might be big enough that even I can find salvation in it.

I have about 50 more photos of the cathedral. They won’t do it justice. If you ever have the opportunity you need to see this place in person.

In Cologne we board a bus for Liege, Belgium 🇧🇪 . It is in Liege where we would finally rest. To be honest Liege didn’t get a fair shake from me. I was a little too tired to do my usual exploring. There are some crazy steps like (350ish) that give you a great view of the city and there is a statue of Charlemagne as well. What I did not like was the amount of creepy guys who seemed interested in 16-18 year old girls. Those circumstances led to myself and a couple other dads exploring these instead while our daughters ate dinner