Resist your deepest fears and antigerman feelings and spend a day in Cologne !
Nodermeets seem to have a certain geographical predisposition: all of them (apart from this one and that one, and yes, this one as well, and yes, for goodness sake. this one as well) were held in countries were they more or less speak the queen's bloomin' english, and none was ever held in what I would consider is western Europe. Albert Herring once tried to attempt a belgian nodermeet, but never really got around to it.
So, before I buzz off to New Zealand again, this is my last chance to have a collection of exquisite noders in that brillant city where I spend my weekends. Here's what I propose the cumulative present noderhood could get up to:
- Explore the magnificent beauty of the Cologne Cathedral
- Follow the footsteps of the romans
- Visit the outstanding Museum Ludwig, the largest collection of modern art (1900 - 2003) in Europe
- See thousands of tipsy british tourists on the christmas market and join them with a cup of mulled wine
- Take a boat trip on the rhine
- Eat great food and get terribly drunk in one of the 12 breweries or thousands of pubs
- Just hang around and have a good time
Cologne/Bonn Airport is currently hub of the low cost airlines Hapag-Lloyd Express and Germanwings, both offering regular services to London Stansted, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Regular airlines include British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa and BMI.
If you prefer Ryanair, Niederrhein Airport and Maastricht airport are ca 75 minutes away (bus and train connections excellent), and Frankfurt - Hahn Airport, Ryanair's Hub serving Scandinavia, Scotland, Italy, France and Spain, is only 90 minutes away via a regular buslink.
If you're in the Netherlands, Belgium, France or Germany, Cologne has excellent hourly InterCity Express connections to Bruxelles, Liege, Paris and Amsterdam.
Or, you could just take a car.
Things I would be able to provide:
- Playing tourguide all day
- Assisting in finding accomodation, transport, etc
- Organise guided tours, etc
- Lead you to the appropriate pubs, bars and clubs.
Things I am not able to provide:
- A place to sleep, as my flat in Cologne is tiny and cluttered.
This is not a big problem though, as accomodation in quality hotels and guesthouses costs a fraction compared to London.
Interested parties so far:
Confirmed:
Would like to come but can't:
- cbustapeck writes:I wish I could attend the nodermeet, but alas, I cannot - something about being too far away and having no money. But I can say that Cologne is a truly lovely place, for a nodermeet and otherwise, that I do want to return, and that all those other noders should get themselves to the meet!
If you are interested, let me know. Could be a grand day out.
Tip of the hat to skow for inspiring the title
The nodermeet is over. Aftermath here. | 
