Night Location: Aachen - Germany

Song of the Day: Proud Mary - Glee Cast

Mumisode of the Day: "Wedgie? What do I know about wedgie?" Mum questioned in a loud voice while surveying the completed 'Scrabble' board. David was very proud of his addition and took great delight in explaining to Mum what an atomic wedgie was.

Today was another transit day. We were up early and off to the Hauptbahnof. David had booked us on an ICE (Inter-City Express) train in first class so were able to access the first class lounge at the railway station. Free drinks, newspapers and wireless internet so really can't complain. The German trains make a lot more sense than the Czech and Italian trains as they come complete with pictures. Carriages and seats are clearly numbered and there are no stair-ladders to climb to enter the train. Once again we are extremely grateful that our bags are the same size and shape It makes it so much easier to fit them into overhead baggage racks.

The ICE train travels at 250km/h and is extremely smooth. It provides an excellent opportunity for catching up on some writing and of course for some more 'Scrabble' where Amber continues to reign victorious.

Mum has been writing in her journal and laughing at overheard catches of the blog and is a little concerned about the Mumisodes. She thinks that she needs to have a read of this blog!

At least the train had a restaurant car. We were a little concerned about this journey after the five hours of starvation experienced on the last train ride when the restaurant car went "caput."

Made it off the train in one piece and made a beeline for the nearest bakery for lunch. Then came the moment we had all been waiting for: we all had a look at the car that we will be driving in for the next month. This time a VW people mover. The luggage is a little trickier to fit in but we all have a lot more space so it's a trade off. Amber and Gemma intend to work further on the packing system, particularly as in two weeks the group grows by another person.

We went exploring Koln's cathedral that towers over the central railway station and took over 600 years to build. The interior, while incredibly ornate and extremely high, was quite dark. Amber and David pointed out that midnight services might be quite the experience.

Claude is now ack with the group. How we have missed him. He is fairly impressive in Germany, complete with pictures and traffic information. Made it to the hotel and into the duplex carpark. Unfortunately the people mover could not fit into this garage, so we are parked in the garden.

Amber has bought the 'Game of Life' for her iPad and so the children spent a while playing this while Dad researched where we should have dinner. We set off on an interesting walk. Aachen is probably not a place you would want to go wandering in by yourself after dark. We met a few odd sorts including a girl shouting and punching cars. Amber was not impressed. Luckily for Dad, the restaurant was fantastic. Another vegetarian/vegan place with only four items on the menu and no English translation. It was like playing roulette for your food and drink. Gemma and David lucked out with the tofu steaks and we all decided to steer clear of dessert as the only discernible ingredient was tofu.

We returned home at a rapid place, played another 'Game of Life'. Gemma has now won twice. David did some research for the trip tomorrow. We are on our way to Luxembourg via Trier.