Germany

Stayed at a friends house in semi-rural germany Moers (I think).

Went to a Roman ruin nearby and saw almost identical architecture as to what was in Rome. Truly the Roman empires reach was colossal.

Cologne has a huge Cathedral it's a good walk to the top and at 6 euro's for the privilege it's a bargain. Shops were nice.

Dusselldorf at night was sadly young men lurching back and forth due to too much alcohol. Not the sort of place I would normally inhabit but when you are travelling sometimes you find yourself in places you wouldn't normally visit.

The Gasometer was great. An old 115m high Gas tank converted into a museum of sorts. They had a wonderful display of large format pictures and accompanying explanations of many of the worlds natural and man made wonders. I was really engrossed for the time I was there. We took the lift to the top of the structure and got a 360 degree panorama.

Another highlight was doing 160km + in a small VW Golf Diesel being driven by a female friend. The autobarns criss-cross germany enabling efficient travel between regional centres.

Food.
I was being spoilt by the family I lived with. So we had turkish sausage and lots of other nice stuff. But after being physically active in Italy we weren't walking as much in Germnay so I've put on a few pounds.

Leaving Germany for England was easy. The Airport I saw in Germany was clean and efficient.

The flight to Gatwick from Dusseldorf was only an hour and a ¼.