With Germany's clash with Nigeria being a late (8.45pm) kick-off in Frankfurt, it effectively gave me a day to kill on Thursday, as the train trip from Bochum to Frankfurt takes just over two hours. The scent of Cologne beckoned … After bidding farewell to the stunning Stefanie Huus and the team at Ibis Hotel Bochum City, where I'd been based for three days, I caught the train to Koln Hauptbahnhof, stepped outside, looked up and could say nothing but "WOW!!" They began building the Cologne Cathedral in the thirteenth Century, and it took 632 years - count them - to complete. It is simply magnificent - an absolute must-see if you're on manoeuvres in Europe. The detail, the glorious colours of the many stained glass windows, the treasures on show, the sheer size of it … awesome! A very pleasant hour-long cruise on the Rhine followed - some of the barges which cruise up and down it are massive!! - after which it was time to head to Frankfurt and watch the reigning world champions in action. I caught a fair bit of the other Group A game beforehand, on TV in the Stadium Media Centre (SMC), and it was a game which produced the first footballing lesson of the tournament. France absolutely battered Canada 4-0, with Louisa Necib in formidable form - she's one of the stand-out players at this tournament so far, make no mistake. Gaetane Thiney, who was voted France's sexiest sportswoman last year, proved she has the substance to match her undoubted style with two goals either side of half-time. Camille Abily condemned Canada to certain defeat just after the hour, and Elodie Thomis latched onto a Necib through ball to round the 'keeper and roll the ball home into an empty net to crown a convincing display. In a pre-tournament story about the Football Ferns which I wrote for German paper "Die Zeit", one of the things they asked me to comment on was potential winners of the Women's World Cup. I'm pleased to say that the team I tipped as tournament dark horses is very much alive and kicking, and playing some delightful football in the process - ooh la la!! France's win secured them a quarter-final spot, and they were joined in the last eight by the host nation, although Germany, while far superior to Nigeria, weren't very convincing victors to put it mildly. A 1-0 win at the venue which will hold the Final - and 48,000-odd fans made for a terrific and at times deafening atmosphere - was just what the doctor ordered, but it wasn't pretty, although in fairness, the officiating wasn't much chop, and the Nigerians made the most of it. It's not nice seeing players of the calibre of Birgit Prinz and Simone Laudehr being scythed down with near knee-high tackles, but the latter had the last laugh by scoring the only goal of the game. Her celebrations weren't a patch on her Women's World Cup-winning goal in 2007 - understandably - but at least I now have my photo of said celebration signed by one of the genuine stars of the women's game today. Another of these stars is Fatmire Bajmaraj, whose background in itself is amazing. A Kosovo refugee, she's an incredibly talented player with pace and skill to burn - I'd kill to have her sporting a silver fern over her heart, but given she's got Women's World Cup and European Championship winners medals to her name, I guess the only chance of her playing alongside Hayley, Amber, Bex and co is in my fantasy football side! It's a real shame "Lira", as she is nicknamed, isn't getting much game-time here so far. The fans love her to bits - her name got the biggest roar of all from the Frankfurt crowd when the teams were being announced, even though she was on the bench - and she has been the real star of the German marketing

WOW!! Cologne Cathedral An example of the stained glass window work at the Cologne Cathedral - this depicts Christ's birth Guarantee this barge would have difficulty stopping on a dime, never mind executing a sharp turn! An example of Fatmire Bajramaj at work marketing the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals

campaign for this tournament. Just about everywhere you look where these Finals are concerned, any advert or magazine cover promoting it (except German Playboy's Women's World Cup edition, of course!) has the free-flowing curly locks and smiling face of this photogenic footballing champion front and centre. I'm not alone in looking forward to seeing her being given a start or three before the tournament is over - she's excitement plus! Onto a cross-country trip behind the "Iron Curtain", destination Dresden, during which I've penned the bulk of this update. A win for Nadeshiko Japan over Mekeeko was what I was hoping for prior to our match, and it appears a certain Japanese player read my match report from the Football Ferns game and decided she'd make me write what she wanted to see written about herself. Respect is due to Homare Sawa, the first hat-trick heroine of the tournament, who single-handedly condemned Mexico to a 4-0 drubbing in Leverkusen, watched by over 22,000 fans. Shinobu Ohno also netted in the rout, with Nadeshiko's first two goals coming in as many minutes inside the opening quarter-hour. It could have been worse for Mexico, too. Yumi Nagasato had a goal wrongly ruled out by the offside flag, while Aya Miyama hit the offside flag in a one-sided affair which confirmed Japan's place in the last eight. Sadly, they've all but been joined in the quarter-finals by England, who came from behind to down a Football Ferns team which gave everything it had and then some 2-1 in front of over 19,000 fans in Dresden. Sarah Gregorius' eighteenth minute goal - I went nuts in the Media Tribune when that one went in, and can you blame me? - had England getting increasingly nervous as the hour mark ticked by, but soon after Jill Scott headed the equaliser then set up substitute Jessica Clarke for the winner nine minutes from time to leave a certain soccer writer crestfallen and standing virtually rigid for the best part of two minutes, wondering what might have been. After doing a special haka for the healthy New Zealand support crew, the girls were understandably low after the game, and so am I - this is how I feel on those rare occasions LFC lose a cup final or, worse still, lose to ManUre or Blue Scum (Everton to the uninitiated). They are so close to cracking one of these top-level teams, and yet that win remains agonisingly elusive. When it comes, this team will explode, no question - the belief they will gain from finally smashing through that glass ceiling will take the Football Ferns to another level. They will do it, of that I've no doubt. The one indeterminable is when. Onwards and sideways, and I'm really enjoying the chance to see Germany by rail. This weekend offers me more opportunities to do so. Saturday entails a crack-o'-dawn start for another cross-country trip from Dresden to Sinsheim in order to see the USA playing Columbia, while the next day, I head north to Rebecca Smith territory, Wolfsburg, for the clash between Brazil and Norway. That's followed by the first rest day of the tournament, during which I'll be indulging in the first of the car factory visits I have planned. Volkswagen, you have been warned! Group A details: Canada 0, France 4 (G. Thiney (24, 60), C. Abily (66), E. Thomis (83))  HT 0-1 Germany 1 (S. Laudehr (54)), Nigeria 0  HT 0-0 Group B details: England 2 (J. Scott (62), J. Clarke (81)), Football Ferns 1 (S. Gregorius (18))  HT 0-1 Japan 4 (H. Sawa 13, 39, 80), S. Ohno (15)), Mexico 0  HT 3-0