Too many beers, not enough time

Day 1, Eurostar
see all photos »

Well after Too many beers the night before, not enough time to pack and not enough sleep i was on my way.

The First leg was Bristol to London which was quite easy and straight forward, but i knew from here on in it was only going to get harder.  After a quick Pasty forlunch and one more tourist walk around London taking in such sights as Buckingham palace, Trafalger Square, Leicster Square, Westminster Abby and the Houses of parliment i was off on the Tube for possibly my shortest train ride to St Pancras station. After going through customs i had just enough time to kick back, repack my bag and enjoy a piece of journalistic filth better known as 'The Sun'.

This one just putts along at 200km/hr.

Thalys - Brussels to Cologne
see all photos »

The train ride was great and i realised why it would be so much better that getting cramped up on a plane with nothing to look at but clouds. It was only about a hour into the journey that we passed into the channel tunnel and within no time i was in France stopping in Lille briefly and onto Brussels.

Arriving into Brussels i had some time to spare so being in the city  i took a quick walk around town.  After picking up some essential items such as a fews cans of the local brew to sample on the train and batteries i was excitedly awaiting my next train.  This one was the 'Thalys' train which is the same as the French TGVs but not as fast as the Eurostar.  This one just putts along at 200km/hr.  But this still took little time to reach its destination after an Hours delay at Aachan.

Cologne Cathedral - the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe built 1880-1884. Destroyed in WW2 but has since been restored
see all photos »

Next stop was Cologne, Germany.  And once again i had a couple of hours to kill so off i went for a quick tour.  You only need to leave the station by the main entrance and you are immediately blown away by the immense architectural wonder of the Cologne Cathedral.  It was simply breathtaking with so much detail and grandeur.  I took loads of photos but have just put the one up, check it out on Wikipedia.    After my stroll around the city it was back to the station for the overnight train to Warsaw.  I continued my international beerfest and grabbed a couple of cans brewed locally in Cologne and was on my way.  After the day i had i was quickly off to sleep on my more that comfortable bed.