Polizei - and lots of them!

Our train was due to leave Cologne just after midday, so we spent a little time at a pavement cafe in the square that has the railway station on one side and the Cathedral on another. When 4 police vans turned up, we thought that one of the coffee shops was being raided, but when the next half a dozen arrived, we wondered if we were being escorted out of the city! By the time the 28th van drove in, we had remembered that Cologne were playing Arsenal - the police were there as a reception committee for the Gunners' fans.

What made me smile was this one particular van. The crate contained food, the open drawer contained cutlery - and yes, that is a hot water urn you can see. Two minutes later and they were doing a roaring trade with a long queue of police waiting to get a drink and a snack. They'd even brought their own folding rubbish bin complete with blue plastic liner!

Holiday backblips start here.