Siegburg, Cologne and Bonn

Since Friday I've been staying with my friend Mani, who I met in Cusco, in a city called Siegburg which lies between Cologne and Bonn and having an absolute whale of a time. Not only has it been great to see Mani again and be back on the road, I'm also loving the feeling of knowing exactly what I'm doing (sort of). Although my first big adventure was exciting in that I was constantly learning and having to figure out how to do this thing called 'backpacking', it's nice not to worry about the little things that bothered me last time.

Despite having had only two hours sleep in the airport lounge the night before, as soon as Mani came to pick my up from the airport we headed out into Siegburg. I'm just so hardcore. After wandering around the centre and climbing up to the Convent at the top of the hill to see the pretty view (still being hardcore obv.) and sleeping in the afternoon, we headed out to a lake in a nearby town called Hennef, where we had beers and cake and bubbles and music to celebrate Mani's friend's birthday in the sunshine :)

On Saturday we visited Cologne. En route to the Cathedral we wandered across this really cool bridge which was COVERED in love -locks (I think that's what they're called...) There's literally thousands and apparently they're getting so heavy specialist people are starting to worry about damage to the bridge. I love it though!

We then climbed the Cathedral which was FLIPPING high, something stupid like 523 steps. But it was totally worth it, the view was really something! The inside was kinda cool too, you could see the huge bell and all the graffiti on the walls which has been there for years. Usually I'd be apposed to drawing on the walls of a church but I think it gave it character in a weird way. You could see the thousands of names of those who'd visited the church in the past and I personally love to think about where those people are now... does Ole still love Christina? How did Dave's 'eurotrip with the lads' end? I suppose I just like to let my mind wander.

That night we went to see Die Ärtze with two of Mani's friends. IT. WAS. AWESOME. I seriously recommend you check this band out.

I reeeeeeeeally hope this wasn't a real tattoo...

We decided to have a lazy Sunday, which consisted entirely of eating McDonalds, drinking beer, swimming and drinking more beer. Oh and a party in the kitchen where Mani and I learned to catch popcorn in our mouths and I tried and failed a juggling apples.

Today was my first day as a lone ranger as Mani had to go to work. I spent my time getting lost in the centre of Bonn - I'm telling you that city is like a maze, I kept on going round and round in circles. I bought some wool to make a headscarf with to give myself something to do on the train (its like 12 hours long tonight, which admittedly, I would have been ecstatic with in South America, I've just gotta get back into the swing of things!)

I leave Mani's at like 9 o'clock tonight for the station and then it's off to Poland, which is a new country for me which is all very exciting. I'm also meeting up with Mitch, Josie and Steve once I reach Krakow, which suggests to me that tomorrow could be a rather messy catch-up night.