Waking up at 5am is never a good start.

And who books a hostel room just to arrive at 5am?

It wasn’t like it was the first time I’d woken up that night either. With this chest infection kicking my lungs around, I was coughing myself awake every couple of hours.

So, apologies to the other guy in the shared dorm that night.

I did try to keep it down.

Mostly.

Breakfast was hostel fashion.

Bread, cheese, meat, cereal and fruit.

At least this time I just went for it. I didn’t ask if it was extra.

I’m sorry, but I’m not paying €12 to make my own ham sandwich.

The rain had started during the night, leaving the roads with a nice wet glisten, but luckily it had stopped by the time my wheels started turning.

9am.

Off I went.

The plan was to get to Cologne, have a coffee and carry on to Bonn.

Instead, here we are.

Cologne.

I’ve booked another A&O hostel for the night, and after this I’m heading onto the European Divide.

According to my Garmin, there’s a lot more off-road riding coming.

Finally.

It’s strange, but I’m actually getting tired of all this road cycling.

I know it’s fast.

But it sure is boring.

So I’m spending the rest of the day as a true tourist, doing some sightseeing.

And hopefully giving this chest another day to clear up.

I’m not having this thing stick around for the whole trip.

Back to Cologne

In comparison to Düsseldorf, Cologne is like glass to rock.

Maybe it’s because the weather has finally cleared up.

Or maybe it’s the nice, clean, smooth roads.

The beautiful buildings.

Or perhaps it was the air ambulance landing right in front of me.

By the looks of it, a motorbike had a fight with a car.

Thankfully, I didn’t see anyone who was actually hurt.

I stood there watching the police and ambulance crews moving around with great confidence and purpose.

And above them all, the Cologne Cathedral loomed over the top of the now very modern-looking buildings.

It gave the whole situation a strange feeling of time.

Something hundreds of years old, still standing there watching life continue.

And, in some cases, end.

After some much-needed maintenance on the bike, I ventured forth to see the sights of Köln.

What a difference from Düsseldorf.

Where one seems forgotten, the other feels like it’s thriving.

With its many churches and huge cathedral keeping watch from the centre, its history is clearly present and bold within this bustling city.

But it’s not stuck in the past.

It’s surrounded by new cultures, new businesses and new people, all creating new history as they walk the very same streets.

I didn’t get the chance to view it from the top of the KölnTriangle, but its grandeur really humbles you.

I’ve seen big buildings before.

But they’re usually just straight up and down.

No soul.

No heart.

Here stands a structure that has been watching over this city for 700 and something years, bearing down on anyone who stands in its shadow.

Looking around, I couldn’t help feeling slightly sad that perhaps something like this might be lost on some of the younger crowd.

But who am I to say how you should feel?

Maybe it means nothing to them.

Maybe it means everything.

But my God, you have to stand there and look up.

It’s a feeling you’ll never get from a picture, no matter how good the picture is.

And Cologne isn’t just a huge monument to look upon.

The streets are packed with clothing shops, food, sweets and pretty much anything else you could possibly need to impress a woman.

If you can’t find something to put a smile on her face, then luckily for you, you’re also in the home of one of Europe’s biggest brothels.

A quick Google search will find it.

If you’re interested.

Coming from the UK, it’s hard to see how some European countries can be so much more liberal when it comes to sex and drugs.

And here I am, thinking we have freedom in the UK.

Maybe we really don’t have it as good as we think.

There are homeless people here, but from what I saw it felt much more limited to a certain part of the population.

And, at least from what I experienced walking around, I didn’t see the same level of obvious drug problems that you can see in many UK towns and cities.

I walked from one side of the city to the other with my phone in my hand, staring at Google Maps, and not once did I feel like I needed to have it safely zipped away.

Maybe we’ve been doing it wrong all along.

Maybe.