Cologne again

This is my first attempt at mobile blogging. Not that I'll be publishing this while on the road. Just writing it. Much the same as taking notes, really. Except that I'll be able to read it later.

We're sitting in the ICE in Cologne Hauptbahnhof, hoping we've got on the right bit of the train. It splits here. Can't recall where the other bit goes. Not Amsterdam, so it's pretty academic. As the reservation display says “Köln A.dam C”, I feel pretty confident. Not totally, but pretty.

It's been a funny old day. Dolores has caught the nasty stomach thing that makes you burp like crazy and feel like shit. We've all had it. My bout was on a workday. As was Andrew's. Lucky us. Not so much fun when you get it on a fun day.

Far less shopping for Dolores. She didn't feel like walking around much. We spent most of the day in the pub. Not such a disaster for me, I guess. Who am I kidding? It was an almost perfect day. Full of Kölsch, sausages and bratkartoffeln (so much healthier than chips). I squeezed in a last sausage just before the train pulled in. You have to love a country where you can buy beer and bratwurst on the platform.

We are on the right bit of the train. Unless the conductor's seriously confused. He's just announced that we're heading for Amsterdam.

Two pubs. Where we spent the day. Not just one. Peter's Brauhaus and Fruh. Despite the tiny measures, I didn't spend long nursing a lonely thirst. The waiters had me sussed as a pisshead straight off and kept up a steady stream of fresh beers. Very important when the beer is sub-4% and comes in 20cl glasses.

I was a bit worried in Fruh. The barrels were suspiciously new and large. The oak still yellow and smooth instead of pitted and grey, the hoops shiny, not rusty. I'm a naturally suspicious type. Change is usually for the worse. Had they swapped to fake barrels like Fässla? The beer tasted fine, but I'd already had 8 or 9 in Peter's.

I was relieved when I saw the barrels chocked up. Not sure if I've captured that in a photo. Though I did get a couple of good ones. I'd wondered about the dim nature of photos taken in poor light with my new camera. I'd meant to read the manual, but you know how it is. I spend half my life reading brewing manuals. It sort of fills my manual reading quota.

I should have known how to solve the problem. Just let Andrew fiddle around with buttons. He soon worked it out. And how to get it to focus on my glass of beer rather than a random bit of the background.. I'm so glad I had kids. They're great at working out all the technical stuff I can't be bothered to.

That's about it. I'll spare you the exact details of my sausages. That information is for Dolores alone. Quite a dull trip, really. I wonder if Lexie fancies a trip to the buffet for some vodka?