Trains Trains Trains.....

....or if this is Sunday it must be Luxembourg

WILL IT COME BACK?

Another day, another adventure!  Our hotel had no storage facilities and our train to Luxembourg did not leave until  2:30.  So off to the train station for a locker.  Cologne train station does not have 'normal' storage lockers....there's is an automated system.  First you must locate the luggage 'containers' which is a large metal structure wit h 3 'garage' doors,  You deposit 3€ in a coin slot and one of the garage doors rolls up.  We had about 1 minute to stow our packs in the garage, when the door closed, a ticket was printed and we're not too sure where it went!!!  A helpful German tried to explain everything to us as best he could as the English directions were not too specific.  We had wanted a 24 hour time. But the machine would only allow 2 hours.

Our plan was to do another 90 minute tour on the hop on/off bus to really see the sights again and then wander the town a bit more. The bus left at 10:00 and we had to be back for the packs at 11:35.  We were 2 minutes late returning and when we put the ticket in, it said we had to pay another 3€ ....since we were late!  Had we known, we. Could have just left it until we were ready to leave and then paid the extra money.  But, our luggage did return within 40 seconds as advertised!!!!  sorry we didn't take picture!

Having taken our packs back early, we decided to stay around the Cathedral area until our train left.  Our reservations put us in a closed compartment with 6 seats.  While a bit stuffy and warm, we were able to chat with our traveling companions.  Unfortunately, there was a problem with the train at and we were delayed  for an hour, not arriving in Luxembourg until almost 7:00pm.

Mosel River Valley

Checked in, found a quick dinner and walked to the old town, attempting a couple of caches enroute.  The architecture was amazing and there was something different at every corner.  After noticing several people entering one of the justice buildings we decided to investigate.  Inside was an elevator which deposited us in the 'Grund' or area below and outside the fortress walls.  Took a quick trip down to investigate and as it was nearing 9:00 (and darkness comes early in these lower latitudes!) opted to return in the morning.

Tunnel to the elevator

Back up the elevator and heading home....when the big black cloud overhead opened.  By this time we were halfway across the bridge and nowhere to duck into. By the time we crossed the bridge, we were very wet.  We waited under cover for several minutes, then moved from awning to awning until the rain stopped.  Since we were already wet and the rain had stopped, headed to the train station to investigate their luggage options.  Luckily, the ticket office was still open, so purchased tickets for Brussels, found out about luggage and walked back to the hotel.  The wine really tasted good as we watched the final FIFA game and were glad we were not in Germany when it ended....it would have been party country!!!!