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*Chapter 37*
Gran Shopping

 
 
“You sure about this, Mum?” Mum asked Gran again.

“Of course I am, I do drive at home you know.”

“But…”

“Jennifer, I was driving before you were born.”

“Yes, Mum.”

I snickered at the exchange, Mum being put down by Gran.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, young lady.”

“Er nothing, so we aren’t going on the train?”

“I guess not, you’re in charge of navigation right?”

“Yes, Mum.”

“Use the car park under the Dom,” she suggested.

“Kay.”

The change of plan has been a bit last minute, Mum was going to drop us at Remagen Bahnhof so we could get the Rheintal Express but George changed the senior team’s training from an afternoon session locally to a day up on the Dutch border where the weather is a bit more clement. We could’ve caught the Express down but Gran suggested dropping Mum off at Apollinaris then driving up to Köln – suits me.
 
 

“See you later!” Mum called as Gran pointed the A Klasse towards the main road.

“So, young lady, which way?”

“Er left, we can get on the spur.”

“Hokey dokey.”

And so we started our journey north. Thankfully Gran drives slower than Mum, which at least made the trip up the E32 a bit less stressful.
 
 

“We’ve not had much chance to talk have we?”

“Sorry, Gran.”

“Hey don’t apologise, it’s good you have friends and do stuff away from bikes, your mother could sometimes be a bit single-minded.”

“She still is,” I opined.

“Oh I think she’s mellowed a bit,” Gran chuckled.

“Right!”

“So there anything you need to get in Cologne?”

“Köln,” I automatically corrected, “only tourists call it Cologne.”

“I stand corrected, so?”

“Not really – oh Gerta says I need a comb thing for Friday so I guess I should at least look.”

“Gerta?” Gran queried.

“She runs Eloise Couture with Dottie, you know, where I got my dress?”

“Which I’ve still not seen,” she pointed out, “so I guess you are putting your hair up?”

“Well I might need a hand, she suggested a chignon, I know what it looks like but I’ve no idea how to do it,” I admitted.

“We might need to get your mother on that, she was always handy with that sort of stuff,” she glanced over at me, “hmm, yes I think I see that working.”

“Yeah,” I agreed recalling some of the elaborate stuff I’ve been subject to.

“So how are you coping,” Gran asked, “being 100% girl, that is?”

“Okay I guess, I mean I was pretty much Gaby 24/7 anyhow.”

“I suppose you were.”

“Some stuff really sucks though,” I went on.

“Periods?” Gran proposed.

“Yeah, big time yuck zone!”

“You’ll get used to it, all women do.”

“I don’t have to like it though or having to sit for a wee.” I added. “We need to turn off here.”

“You’ve got a boyfriend,” she stated rather than asked as we made the turn.

“No,” I denied.

“No? So young Max gave you a bracelet just because he knows you?”

“Maybe?”

“Which way here?”

“Er to the right, it takes us down to the river,” I advised.

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting you like someone, Gab.”

“He didn’t have to buy the stupid bracelet.”

“The one you haven’t taken off for three days?”

I subconsciously reached for the bracelet adorning my wrist, “I didn’t say I hate it or anything.”

“Just remember, if you want to talk you can ring me; stay on here?”

“Yeah, we turn after the tunnel.”

 
 
It was a bit weird being in Köln midweek, it’s still busy of course but the number of tourists is much smaller and we got into the car park under the Dom without having to queue.

“I could do with a cuppa,” Gran suggested when we emerged into Domplatz.

“They’re a bit pricey round here, out to catch the tourists,” I noted.

“I’ll take your advice,” she stated.

“There’s a place near the Altmarkt we sometimes go in or there’s the Karstadt but that’s further on.”

“That’s the big department store?”

“Uh huh,” I agreed.

“Let’s do that, we can spend some time in the warm at least.”

 
 
It was a bit brass monkey, they clearly hadn’t had as much snow here but it was bone cold nevertheless. I used a little local knowledge to miss the worst of the crowds, most of the tourists don’t get much further than Saturn – I guess they get like an hour or something, just enough to do the Dom. By the time we reached the Dinea it was a little after ten thirty, ahead of the lunchtime rush of course but still busy.

Gran was tempted by the morning selection of cakes and pastries and I certainly wasn’t going to turn down a slice of fresh Pflaumkuchen with cream!

“We used to have restaurants like this in the big stores at home,” Gran noted as we sipped our coffees.

“I’ve never seen any,” I admitted.

“It’s true, when your mother was at school we used to go into Chester, it was a treat to go to the restaurant in Brown’s.”

“That the one that’s now Debenhams?”

“The same. Oh it wasn’t all cosy like this, you queued up past the cold stuff and cakes, then ordered your hot food and drinks at the till. Your mum always had the same, steak and kidney pudding with jelly for pudding, it used to have a little blob of cream on top,” she recalled.

“Sounds like Mum.”

“Now it’s all baked potatoes and sandwiches, you can’t get a proper dinner anymore,” she sighed.

“Everyone comes here or the Galleria for lunch,” I mentioned.

“And don’t get me started on those damned cost a packet coffee shops,” Gran went on.

It’s true that the department stores back in England are like the poor relations to the stores in Germany, you really can get almost anything in the bigger ones. It’s not difficult to see why everyone over here is generally better dressed and keen on fashion – we have hosiery departments bigger than the gent’s department in Browns! We mooched around for a bit, I tell you, it is embarrassing with a capital E going around the lingerie department with your Gran!

“Where now?” Gran asked when we reached the street again.

“Along Schildergasse?” I suggested.

“Your mum said there’s a C&A here somewhere.”

“Er yeah, up near Neumarkt,” I agreed.

“It was a bad day when they closed all their stores back home.”

“There was C&A in England?”

“Pretty much every town had one, always good quality and a bit different to British Home and Marks.”

“I think the one in Bonn is better than here,” I opined.

“Your mother took me there last time I came, near that big square, yes?”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

 
 
We looked in a few different stores on the way along Schildergasse but neither of us dipped into our wallets. That pattern changed a little in Cunda, Gran did buy some knickers and I got some over knee socks – intentionally this time. Nothing else caught Gran’s eye so we all too quickly returned to the cold outside.

“So where next?”

“We could have a look in Globetrotter,” I suggested, “it’s like this mega outdoor shop.”

“Is it far?”

“Just around the corner.”

“Okay, we’ll look there then find some lunch eh?”

Food! Now that sounds like a plan!
 
 

I’d never really thought about what Gran does – apart from being Gran of course, but apparently she actually does a lot of walking so she was surprisingly enthused by Globetrotter. I’ve told you about the place before so I won’t bore you again but Gran gravitated to the clothing.

Can you believe the prices of some of this gear? I mean €495 for a jacket? You could get a whole bike for that. Gran though was in her element, trying jackets on and explaining why this one was better than that, the pitfalls of zip in layers – well what she doesn’t know. I left her to it and started perusing the other clothing – it’s not really my thing but I could do with a new fleece.

“Found something you like?”

“I could do with a new fleece.”

“Anything take your fancy?”

“I like this,” I pulled green top out to show her, “but it’s nearly sixty euros.”

“If you want it I’ll treat you to it,” she offered.

“You already got me those earrings.” I mentioned, Mum’ll go spare if she thinks I’ve scammed Gran for stuff.

“They were for Christmas, let’s call this an early birthday present and it’s cheap compared to this,” she noted holding up a jacket.

“If you’re sure, Gran?”

“I am, I can spoil my granddaughter if I want to, after all I hardly see you these days.”

“What about Jules?”

“She gets her share, Gaby, never you mind.”

“In that case, yes please!”

“Let’s go pay, then I think I need some lunch.”

 
 
Maddy Bell 15.03.16