I made it!

I hope nobody had any doubts. The day did have it bumps though.

The plane ride was fine. It was a smaller Delta jumbo jet and surprisingly it didn't have any of the seatback video consoles. I was pretty bummed about that. It didn't help I was sitting 20' from the tiny movie screen and I didn't bring any glasses since you need 20/20 vision to see one that small. I opted for my iPod instead.

I took the train once I got to Dusseldorf...platform 4...9:32a...hear comes the train and right on time. No problems right? Wrong! I was on the train for 30 minutes and the conductor asked for my ticket and then told me I was going the wrong direction. WHAT??? What was supposed to be a 40 minute ride to Cologne (Koln) turned into an hour and a half mini-mess. I still don't know what happened. I read my ticket over-and-over and still can't figure out what I did wrong *shrugs*. Stupido American I guess.

Koln was bombed and basically destroyed by the Allies during WWII. For the most part it, and most off Germany for that matter, was mostly rebuilt in the 1940/50s. Koln doesn't have much of an Old Town or a historical center to it's town, but it does have a massive Gothic cathedral that isn't but a couple hundred yards from the station. Koln's cathedral was built in the 13 century, so it's very old and very impressive. Koln is also situated on the banks of the Rhine River, which gives it a very cool riverfront scene too. It is also home to the Lindt chocolate factory.

I can't post a pic yet, but I'll hopefully edit this post tomorrow when I find my USB cable. I have another story to share about the station's automated luggage storage system.

Anyway...I'm in Paris for the night now. Got a nice hostel I'm staying at, but I've arrived late and I'm pretty tired after only having about four hours of sleep on the plane. Tomorrow is a big touring day.

Au revoir!