12 Oct
2001
12 Oct
'01
1:37 p.m.
It's easy to stay in Dusseldorf and visit Cologne as a commuter. It's
about equivalent to commuting between Flossmoor and Downtown Chicago,
except the train service is even better. There are regular trains every
20 minutes, that take about 50 minutes, and once an hour there is a
non-stop "ICE" bullet train that makes the trip in a frighteningly fast
25 minutes, with whole suburbs flying past in a blurr. The last train is
around midnight for the trip home after your Kolsch pub crawl.
The most fun part about German trains is the precision of their
schedules. It's part of the national psyche. I once was waiting for one
with Steve Hamburg that had a 20 minute delay, and the incessant deeply
heartfelt apologies broadcast over the PA were amusing.
--Roger
On Fri, 12 Oct 2001, Al Korzonas wrote:
Ray writes:
Cologne: no recommendations although there is a
tourist office across the
street from the Dom that can help you find a room and quite a number of
hotels around the downtown area where the breweries and their outlets are
concentrated.
I stayed in Koeln the last time I was in the Duesseldorf/Koeln area
and I recommend... you stay in Duesseldorf. Koeln is certainly worth
a visit (especially Peters and Malzmuelle breweries, which have their
own tasting rooms/restaurants), but Koeln is primarily a business city
and thus rooms cost three times what they cost in Duesseldorf!!!
Oh, and Todd... please take copious notes on the Koelsch and see if
you can't come up with a way to characterise the style... I've tried
and although a light pops on in my head when I taste a homebrew or
US commercial beer that's close, I'm still not happy with my written
definition of the style. Perhaps you can do better.
Im Prosit
Al.