Cologne 🇩🇪

I was up early and on the trams headed for the stadium for our VIP Guest Services training day. A very full day of learning many practical aspects of my role.

Security procedures, where bodyguards and drivers spend their time during the match, walkie talkie practice, the seating area, dressing rooms, the pitch, the carpark entrances and exits away from media eyes, the associated lifts and stairs etc, media interview zones, etc. Our training was held in the VIP Corporate lounge that's taking shape.

The stadium is alive with forklifts and contractors setting up cabling, delivering furniture, erecting banners and posters, different groups of volunteers having tours, and it feels an honour to be chosen to be a part of the UEFA2024 😊

Volunteer lunch again was amazing and today we had an ice block too. I love the location of the volunteer food hub as it's next to beach volleyball courts and today at 23 degrees and sunny, there were 4 games being played.

After training I changed my TShirt and followed a suggestion from another volunteer to go to the Wine Festival a few tram stops away. A very popular event on a sunny day. I tried a lovely Rose and then chose a Bratwurst from one of the food stalls. Not a typical combination but a popular one today 😂

Tonight I shared dinner with Kylash, her well mannered teenage son who has great English and a colleague. A relaxing BBQ on her balcony on a balmy evening.

Manchester 🇬🇧 to Cologne 🇩🇪 - Königswinter 🇩🇪

Well last night overnighting at the airport was not very nice at all. Very cold as we had to stay downstairs and a constant flow of people coming through the door with icy winds. 18 of us did the whole night a😂 no sleep for me 😥

The flight was smooth and I got a good hour's sleep on board. Had the same guy at border control in Cologne as last week and he asked for my reason for travel and then said, "I remember you"! I said I'd see him next week too 😂

My training is not till tomorrow and so I had all day to explore. I sent a message to the German volunteers for their suggestions and one of the ladies recommended visiting the village of Königswinter and then Drachenburg Schloss (Castle).

I worked out the trains from the airport and soon wandered through the quaint historic village of Königswinter with half timbered houses and right on the Rhine River.

The Rhine is currently bursting its banks due to significant rain and has lots of debris floating down. I grabbed a salad and some cherries to have a picnic along the Rhine.

Then off to visit the Schloss. It's situated, as most of them are, at the top of a big mountain and used to be access by donkey rides. In the 1800's they built a railway for access and it's being used today for tourists.

At the very top of the mountain is the ruins of the original fortress with views right down the Rhine to Cologne. The region is surrounded by many mountain peaks and forests and legend has it that a Knight fought a dragon in the castle.

The stone the mountain is made of was considered of high worth and so it continued to be mined for the Cologne Cathedral and other buildings, with the rock being lowered down from the mountain, taken a decent distance before being floated downriver. The Government realised that the mountains structure was being compromised and so stopped mining.

The castle itself is beautiful. Immaculate gardens, the rooms have been restored in detail.

The castle has changed hands many times from the original self made wealthy owner including as a school, Hitler training camp! The climb up the original steep.wooden spiral staircase provides amazing views.

I headed back down the railway and to the village and had a mandarin flavoured ice-cream (1/4 the cost of UK)

and caught the train back to Cologne where I made my way to my friend's apartment where I'll be based during the games. Her lovely teenage son showed me around as her long distance train cancelled 😥

An early night and then off to UEFA training tomorrow!!