I've got an ohrwurm (ear worm). That's what they say in Germany when you have a song in your head. I watched Hillary and Jackie on the weekend and now I have Elgar's Cello concerto in E minor rolling in my head.



We are having a last little summer. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live here, but Sunday reminded me. I had been out late the night before, to Cologne, to a tiny, smoky bar, and didn't get to bed till 6am. My flatmate woke me at midday and we wandered over the Rhine to have coffee in the Old town. They had run out of bread, so we couldn't have breakfast, went on to another cafe.



Then our lazy afternoon journey took us to the Hofgarten in front of the grand university buildings, before leading us back to the Rhine again. There was a Boules tournament in progress, and a huge spreading Plane tree in the centre of the beer garden. My flatmate tried to be too clever with his Berlin drink names and accidentally ended up with half beer, half fanta. It was disgusting.







There is an old man who regularly comes up to people at the beer garden and in outdoor cafes. He always wears a suit and offers to draw your picture, very quickly, for just 3 euros. If none at the table want a portrait, he argues quite fiercely.



I couldn't do this at home.