Does this train go to Köln?

I have dabbled a tad in solo travel but have not traveled for an extended period of time by myself before. I've traveled between cities by myself or stayed one or two nights in a city by myself before. This however was the beginning of my first trip actually alone. I was not sure how I was going to handle being alone for so long. I was worried about getting lonely or bored of myself. While I do love traveling with friends or family, so far traveling by myself has been a great experience. Friends who've traveled alone have recommended it highly, expressing the sentiment that everyone should try it at least once in their life. There are definitely pros and cons to solo travel, but I have had a thoroughly good time solo traveling so far.

It took a couple hours and a couple trains to get to Köln from Utrecht. Once I crossed the border into Germany, I got especially excited for the next couple of cities. Hearing the German announcements on the train made me feel right at home. 

The train was delayed so I missed a connection in Mönchengladbach. I figured I could just get on any train going to Köln, so I attempted to figure out which trains went to Köln. I couldn't find an information booth at the station, so I studied the giant yellow timetables on a bulletin board. In size 8 font they listed every train on every platform that passed through each station every day. They were listed by their final destination city. Some had a few major middle stops listed underneath. I searched for a close time and found one that I thought was going in the direction of Köln. The train was supposed to arrive at the platform at 6:03. A train arrived at 6:00 and it looked like the right one. I only had a few minutes to figure it out, so I hopped on and asked the first person I saw, "Fährt dieser Zug nach Köln?" "Does this train go to Köln?" The guy hesistated. "Uh... nein." he told me uncertainly. I panicked and hopped off. I ran to the bulletin board and restudied it. I was pretty sure it was the right train, so I got back on. I figured if I ended up in the wrong city, I could just start over, take a train back to Mönchengladbach, or buy a new train ticket from wherever I ended up direct to Köln. I asked someone else on the train "Fährt dieser Zug nach Köln?" "Ja!" she replied. I realized then that just because someone is German does not mean that they are correct about the German trains. I certainly wouldn't be certain about all American train directions in the US. Luckily, the train did go to Köln.

Right when I stepped out of the Köln Hauptbahnhof I could see the cathedral towering dramatically over the station. I found my hostel quite easily and settled in. I talked to some guys at the hostel and our only common language was both of our second languages, German, so the conversation was very slow going. I found it very complimentary that my hostelmates, trainmates, and other people I came across often mistook me for German. People were very complimentary of my ability to speak German. I think it was just because they were surprised to hear an American speaking German. In Köln at least most people did not automatically switch to English when they heard my American accent, which gave me the opportunity to practice speaking German again. I loved it. 

I was craving dönner, so I asked the hostel receptionist where I could find a dönner restaurant. He looked at me skeptically. "Well there's a market down the street and there is a McDonald's at the train station." I think I looked horribly offended, so he backtracked. "Uh, actually, I think there is a dönner store nearby." He pointed me in the right direction.

Dönnerteller! It was delicious. It had tomatoes, onions, fries, chicken, and tzaziki sauce.

I wanted to see the cathedral at night, so I walked on over. It was about a five minute walk from the hostel. Köln was significantly colder than Utrecht, so I walked around bundled up in my beanie and coat.

Rittersport ad at the train station! One of my favorite German chocolate brands

I have never been to Köln before, and was looking forward to the opportunity to explore a new German city, even if it was only for a day. I went primarily for the cathedral because I had heard so much about it. I read somewhere that the Kölner Dom, or Köln Cathedral, has about 20,000 visitors per day. I was not disappointed by the cathedral. It was absolutely huge. It was Gothic and dramatic. I'm glad I decided to check it out at nighttime. The cathedral was lit up against the dark night sky and the foggy clouds were rolling in. It was so tall that the spires were in the clouds. It was almost spooky. It added to the dramatic effect. It was very, very pretty though.

The next day I woke up and went back to the cathedral to see the inside. It was very pretty inside as well.

Cool stained glass

I tried asking several different tourists to take my picture for me and I got... mixed results. 

Third time's the charm!

After the cathedral, I decided to go for a walk down the Rheine River. There was actually a lot to do in Köln and I probably could have spent a few days exploring. I was eager to get to Munich though. So I left Köln that afternoon.

First, though, I walked down the Rheine to the chocolate museum. I didn't have time to go through it, but I got a hot chocolate at a cafe overlooking the Rheine.

I bought my ticket at the Hauptbahnhof. It was a six hour train ride with one transfer in Stuttgart. I left Köln around 3. Train travel is my favorite was to travel. It's very comfortable. I don't get motion sick very often on trains. You avoid the hassle of getting to the airport, security lines, etc. And I got to watch the beautiful scenery pass by. The Rheine is gorgeous. The train followed the river for a few hours and we passed many tiny German town along the Rheine. There were so many castles in the hills and the towns were so cute. I wanted to stop and explore each one.

The train was delayed an hour so I missed my connecting train in Stuttgart. I started talked to the German lady next to me. She was also going to Munich. So she helped me navigate the missed connection and find the next train to Munich. We talked the entire time in German and it was very cool.

I arrived in Munich late in the evening. I was very excited to get there and felt very comfortable as soon as I arrived. I bought a chicken schnitzel and kartoffelnsalat at the Munich Hauptbahnhof and found my hostel, happy to be back in Munich.