2014 Euro Reunion Tour, Day 8: Deutsche Bahn disintegrates, but we nimbly fall back on Kölsch.

On Wednesday, September 17, four of us (minus Jeff and Karen) were scheduled to ride four trains over a seven-hour period to travel from Bamberg to Brugge. Little did we know that the German rail system was poised to fail massively; in the end, it took six trains and twelve hours to make the trip.

The silver lining was an unexpected opportunity to be stranded in Cologne for three and a half hours. That's time to check baggage, see the cathedral, and dash around the corner to PJ Fruh for a Kölsch-powered midday meal. Those lovely small glasses of subtle golden ale -- roughly two swallows per unit, and then, another.

Joe takes a back seat to no one when it comes to enjoying food and drink. We're kindred spirits that way.

Serendipity. Sometimes it works. We came into Brugge around 8:00 p.m., and shifted gears, patronizing a "night shop" license for French and South African wines, and then shifting multiple bags of takeaway Tandoori from shop to rental apartment. We made the best of a challenging day.