So, on the 6th of August I got on a Megabus coach from London to Cologne, Germany. I like doing this kind of journey because you do it overnight so by the time you get there it’s the morning and you can enjoy the rest of the day and it’s also cheap! 😉 I’ve done something similar previously when I went to Amsterdam.
I left Victoria Coach Station at 21:30 and by midnight I was in Dover for the immigration control, basically while you are in the UK you have a passport control for UK and then pass through the French passport control as well, even though you are not in France mainland. It was super quick and in less than 5 minutes I was on the French side and back on the coach, it usually takes longer than that but it seemed that everybody was tired that day or that we didn’t have many Non EU passengers, who knows?!
After that you need to cross the English Channel (UK is an island, for the ones that didn’t know), so the coach needs to get on a ferry.
During the ferry ride, everybody has to get off the bus and on to the boat. So you get a bunch of people running around, trying to find the perfect couch to sleep on or just relax. The ride is under 2 hours so its not too bad. Once we had crossed, we had to get on the bus again.
Maybe you didn’t know or maybe you do, but on the ferry you have a Café and a restaurant in case you want to buy something to drink or eat. Keep in mind that it’s expensive, that’s why you should always go to the supermarket before getting on the coach, that’s what I always do.
A little piece of advice, Megabus UK, in my experience, is not the best but it is the cheapest that you can get. They have Wi-Fi but it never seems to be working properly, it rarely gets to the destination on time and it’s not the most comfortable or organised. But hey, you get what you pay for.
Ok, let’s go back to the trip. So after 10/11 hours we got to Cologne, to a bus station that looked more like a parking lot than anything else.
Because I know that Megabus sometimes arrives to these weird coach stations (it’s like the Ryanair of coaches), I checked in advanced how to get from there to the Central Station, it was just a 5 minutes train ride, so not too far. I just needed to go there to drop off my backpack so that I could enjoy the rest of the day.
Once I got to the Central Train station I went looking for the Luggage Lounge. I, eventually found it! The luggage storage is done on a machine, you can pay to leave your bag for 2 hours (€4) or for 24 hours (€7). A bit pricey for me but I didn’t want to be carrying my big backpack around all day, so I didn’t have many options.
You initially pay for just 2 hours, a little door opens, you put your luggage in the machine and then it gives you card that you need to keep so that you can pick it up later on, then the door closes and Voilà! If you get confused (the instructions are in German but you should find a sign in English) don’t worry, there is always a staff member to help and provide you with change (the machine wasn’t taking notes).
I’m going to be honest now, though it is a bit embarrassing, I didn’t understand how it worked. I was just paying for 2 hours and then I had to come back and pay for the rest. I kept thinking “how inconvenient, I need to stay around for 2 hours and come back before the time runs out?” So I did that, I hang around the station for 2 hours. Just to be told that I would need to pay the remaining €3 when I come pick up my backpack, whenever that would be.
So basically I wasted 2 hours…Amazing!!
Well, let’s skip the part of me being silly and let me tell you what else I did on my day trip in Cologne.
As soon as you get out of the station BOOM!! The Cologne Cathedral is there (unless you got out on the other side), the icon of the city.
It is a Gothic Cathedral, its construction was finished in 1880 after 400 years being left incomplete. The two huge spires give it the largest façade of any church in the world. They say it is a miracle that it survived the bombings of WWII but I heard that they used to use the Cathedral for orientation, it was the easiest building to identify. It is now part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, that’s why there are no other high buildings around it and that it is so well kept. If you like you can go up the 509 stone steps to a viewing platform at about 98 meters high. When you go inside and you realise about the size of it, it’s just incredible, plus it’s free entry ;). The big vitreous inside reflecting the light in so many colours it’s just beautiful. Definitely a must see!
If you just walk around it you’ll be able to see a Hohenzollern bridge. They call it the Padlock Bridge, like in the one in Paris, couples come here to put a padlock on the bridge representing their love towards each other and then throw the key to the river, showing that their love is strong. There are so many padlocks that there is no more space and people are just putting them wherever they can find a place. You can find some interesting padlocks, big ones, small ones, old school ones, heart shaped ones. It’s nice to walk along the bridge and see what you can find.
Next to the bridge you have a park, the Rhine Garten, beside the riverbank, where everybody was just enjoying the day. There was also this structure, like a fountain but it’s not really a fountain, where water was flowing. Considering that it was over 30ºC all the kids were there swimming and playing. I joined them, I chilled there for an hour or so with my feet in the water and then lay down on the park for a while as well. It was too hot to do anything really.
You should also try a Kölsch beer, a beer specially brewed only in Cologne. It’s a kind of light ale, it is traditionally served in a long glass. Try going to a “Brauhaus” (the traditional German pub where the beer is brewed). If not, there are a lot of bars around the station where you can relax and enjoy a cold one.
If you don’t have much time you can at least try do the most traditional things in Cologne. The one of a kind type of places or drinks that this city has to offer.
When it comes to food you can spend as much as you like. They sell Berliners (a kind of pastry) 2 for €1.25, that plus a coffee and you would have breakfast sorted. There are a lot of bakery type shops where you can get pizza slices or savoury pastries for around €2 and a bottle of water is €1 depending where you go. So not too bad.
Of course, and I’m saying of course because Germany is known for it, you have a lot of German sausage places, it’s like their fast food. I went to one and I had currywurst (a fried pork sausage, cut in slices with some curry ketchup sauce) for dinner. I couldn’t leave without having one!
Then I went to the supermarket to stock up (Crisps, cookies and water) and then I was ready for my night train to Warsaw, 14 hours is nothing, I should be ok…
What do you think?