Germany

Today was split into two.

The morning I spent on my own visiting two of the main sights in Köln - the Dom (Cathedral) and the Romanische Historische Museum. Both were fantastic, particularly all the artefacts in the Roman History museum, and the view from the top of the Dom. There was just sooo much to see, and unfortunately I had limited time. The treasury at the Dom was also great, and definitely demonstrated just how much money the church has!

The afternoon was spent queuing for the Robbie Williams Concert with Bernd, Verena and 28 of their closest friends and relatives! No seriously, they bought 30 tickets and I was lucky to nab the last one! Considering the 160,000 tickets for Köln sold out in 1hr, I count myself very lucky! 80,000 people per day makes it the largest concert I've ever been to, and it definitely felt it.

We got there about 1:30pm, and already there were maybe 1000 people queueing. By 4pm when we were allowed it, the crowd had grown exponentially! Through a bizarre twist of fate we were in the right place at the right time and got "Wave 2" bands, which means no matter when we arrived we'd be allowed into the 2nd barrier, so really close! Makes all that queuing worthwhile

The concert itself was nothing short of spectacular. As much as I find Robbie annoying as a person, he can definitely entertain. The stage was specifically set up for him and was roofless, so had it rained (as it did in Munich the week before) everyone would have got wet! Even the venue was created just for the 2 nights!

Orson played first to a crowd that wasn't really interested, and as much as they tried, their music just didn't have that edge necessary. It just sounds all the same as everything else that's out there!

Basement Jaxx played next and were AWESOME!!! I've always wanted to see them live and they did not disappoint. They bought with them live bongos, singers and dancers and it was fantastic! Even their new music sounded great

Robbie was on (obviously) last and it was surprisingly great. He can really sing, and played all the 'hits' for over 2 hours! The best ones were the swing songs, done in duet with Johnny Wilks (no not the rugby player).

And to top it off I also got to try currywurst on the train home. Oh, and my special concoction - Sprite'n'Bread - made by strategically dropping a bread roll into a cup of sprite. Delicious...not!

PS: For photos of Koln & the concert, click here

I arrived in Bonn at midnight last night, owing largely to my missing of the train at Koln Hbf station. However, I'm here now and staying with Bernd, one of my mates from Singapore, and his girlfriend, Verena, in their amazing apartment. Thanks guys for having me! (Especially given all that has happened in the past few weeks, my condolences again go out to you and your family, and I really appreciate all that you did for me).

I had the day essentially to myself today, so I woke early but left the house quite late, as I used the occasion to call home and Angela. It was fantastic to hear from them after such a long time between phone calls!

So, after leaving the house at midday (!), I headed into Bonn to visit the few sights that are actually open on a Monday (German attractions close on a Monday nationwide). I visited the fantastic Beethoven Haus (where Beethoven was born), and even though I don't find classical music wholely entertaining/interesting, the house itself was great. I also visited the excellent Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Bundeskunsthalle) (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) which housed a really interesting exhibition on art from all the Guggenheim museums worldwide. This exhibtion served as this week's intake of modern art!

The only downside today was it was my day to suffer from 'Traveller's PMS', that one day a month where one feels homesick. The fact that everything was closed compounded this, but heck, if it only happens once a month then it's hardly a problem!

After a great dinner of pizza and bier, all was well again