Lunches on the Rhine

This past week was not as exciting as some have been during my stay here. Most of my time was spent in anticipation of my girlfriend’s arrival here in Germany during her Spring break. On Friday night I enjoyed telling Caroline over Skype that I couldn’t wait to see her instead of the usual “talk to you later.” When I went to bed she had just boarded her plane and was en-route to Düsseldorf where we met on Saturday morning at the train station before heading back to Cologne together.

That Saturday I was an under-qualified tour guide of the city but I think I managed to impress Caroline with the background information I have picked up from Evelin’s tour and other occasions. Caroline’s first real sight was the Dom Cathedral which will leave an impression on everyone who sees it. The Cathedral is located right beside the main train station and you have to walk right by it in order to get to Kolpinghaus. After dropping off her things in my room we took the long way back to the Cathedral so she could get her bearings in the city that she has had to navigate on her own while I am at school. We went by Tünis and Schal the famous statues in the old part of the city that represent two characters in traditional Cologne folk literature and saw the Gross St. Martin Cathedral nearby. For lunch we found a nice pizza restaurant on the Rhine River and enjoyed the lovely weather that we were given. After lunch we walked across the train bridge and took pictures of the beautiful view of the Cathedral that you can see from that vantage point. We continued walking around Cologne and ended up exploring more of the city than I have done by myself so far. After resting at my room for a little while we went out to a traditional Kölsch bierhaus. I had sauerbraten for the third time and enjoyed it thoroughly while Caroline had great potato soup. The dinner was wonderfully German and the Kölsh beer, Päffgen, was delicious.

On Sunday we took a train back to Düsseldorf to see the city outside of the airport and train station. We enjoyed walking along the Rhine and another German meal in the old part of the city. The meal was equally as good as the one Saturday night and the beer, Altbier, as Kölsch is not served in Cologne, was very good. Most shops are closed on Sundays in Germany but we did find an antique market, actually the same one that I have been to twice in Cologne, that we enjoyed browsing. We did not find anything we couldn’t live without at the antique market except for the ice cream cones that several people were walking around with. After leaving the antique market, with ice cream in hand, we had around an hour and half before the next train and spent it relaxing in a beautiful park that was quite popular.

Back in Cologne I have enjoyed a few breaks in my normal routine to spend time with Caroline. We met for lunch on Monday during a break in my schedule and have gone out to eat a few times when I would normally eat at Kolpinghaus. Caroline has been very understanding of the work I have to do with school but it is fun doing that work with her by my side.

Viva Colonia

My past two weeks overseas have included excitement as well as difficulties. I have enjoyed the experiences I had during Carnival and have continued to meet new people and see new places here in Europe.

I was very impressed by the grand scale of Carnival. In its anticipation I received constant information, you might even say warnings, of what I was to experience but I could not be prepared, and am afraid I will not be able to fully describe the events that occurred between Weiberfastnacht and Rosenmontag.

On the first Thursday of Carnival, which is called “Women’s Fast Night,” (and I am not quite sure why), I was woken up by a marching band dressed in White and Blue, French Revolution style army costumes. I arrived at school dressed in the plastic Knight suit I purchased the Monday before at a Carnival costume store. I was very impressed by the costumes that students and teachers came up with. One student in my class was dressed up as a public bulletin board and had various advertisements that he had collected stapled to his outfit. There were several clowns and pirates and I was quite impressed by the Native American chief sitting in the spot where one of the other student teachers usually sits. After struggling through a lesson in Evelin’s 13^th grade English class, I went with Kara to the auditorium where the entire student body was gathered for a costume party and talent show.

After school, Peter had invited me to go to his workplace for a party that was much more traditional. We were entertained with live music and were honored by the presence of the Prince, Jack and Virgin who are the figureheads of the Carnival season. These three people change every year and pay upwards of 50,000 Euros for the honor. Afterwards, I went out with some friends from Kolpinghaus and was again blown away by the amount of people who were occupying the streets. There are no open container laws in Germany and this was quite evident that night. There are laws against littering but one could not tell by the amount of broken glass from beer bottles that lined the curbs. Carnival songs such as “Viva Colonia” and “Hey Kölle,” that I have actually downloaded off iTunes could be heard booming from the bars, each one complete with a long line of costume adorned Kolners waiting to step inside.

On Sunday afternoon Evelin invited me to come to her house to watch the Effern parade. I quite enjoyed meeting the guests she and Chris had over and the wonderful meal she prepared. The parade, about an hour and a half long, was good practice for the six hour parade that awaited me in Cologne a day later. Both parades were filled with music, elaborate costumes and lots and lots of “camela” or candy that was thrown nonstop during both. On Rosenmontag or “Rose Monday” Rafael and I went outside to watch the parade at around 10 a.m. We met up with some people who I had met earlier in the weekend and watched the parade throughout the day which was broken up by a few breaks at Kolpinghaus and lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken which was, by the way, nothing like KFC in America. No biscuits! At the parade I found that I was quite good at catching the candy with my long arms and am now well enough stocked up on sweets to last me until my trip back home.

Over these past two weeks I have at times felt isolated by the language barrier that has been a constant presence during my stay. Over Carnival Kara was with her parents in Berlin and I realized how much I took for granted having someone else who spoke English around me. People like Rafael and Peter, who have not looked down on me because I do not speak German have been a blessing throughout my time here in Cologne.

This past weekend Kara and I took a flight to Vienna. We had quite a good time finding our way around the city. Upon our arrival we checked into our hostel and ventured outside where we stopped for dinner at an Indian restaurant. There were quite a number of Indian places around the city and we were both very pleased with the food. The bill on the other hand offered an amusing surprise when we found we had been charged a Euro a piece for a “Gedeck.” We asked the waiter and he informed us that he added a charge for the napkins. I found it quite funny that only when he was to ring up the bill did he bother to find out where we were from. Perhaps the charge was more so because we were American but I can only wonder.

On Saturday morning we walked around downtown and visited an outdoor market where I had Weiner schnitzel for lunch. Afterwards we visited a few of the cathedrals including St. Stephens Cathedral which has a beautiful mosaic on its roof. We climbed up to the top the tower which was well worth the view of the city and the Alps in the background. Further into the day we visited Belvedere Palace which is now a wonderful art museum. I can now say I have seen, in person, some of the works of Monet and Vangoh. The two paintings that I recognized at the museum were, first Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David and second Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. In the evening Kara and I went to a coffee house before attending a concert that sampled some of the pieces written by Motzart and Strauss. The venue which we went to once held a concert by Motzart when he was still a boy.

Sunday was rather relaxing. We rode on the Ferris wheel which was a bit of a disappointment but spent the rest of the morning relaxing in Starbucks before catching our flight back to Cologne. I thoroughly enjoyed Vienna and am looking forward to visiting other cities in Europe while I have such a great opportunity to.

I will spend this next week in anticipation of Caroline coming over during her Spring break. I am very excited about showing her my life here in Germany as well as traveling back to Paris with her on March 13!

Alarm Clocks and Other Fun Things

I wrote this post almost two weeks ago on February 17th, sorry for the delay...

Living in Cologne has continued to be a mix of pleasant routine and out of the ordinary experiences. During the week I have tried to stick to a set schedule while on the weekends I have taken advantage of the opportunity I have to see and experience Europe. In the time I have spent I have tried to enjoy the everyday and the out of the ordinary with equal enthusiasm.

My basic routine for a typical workday begins at 6:45 when I crawl out of bed and head straight to the shower. I am back in my room by 7:00 with forty minutes to get dressed, eat breakfast and gather my things for school. School begins most days for me at 8:00 except Tuesday when I have my first class at 8:50 and Friday when I do not start until 9:55. Every day is different but I usually am on my way back home by 3:00 except on Tuesdays when I am off at 11:30. Because of unusual scheduling, lunch has to be eaten when there is time. I try to bring snacks to get me through the day and have things for sandwiches back in my room. After school I will try to get some sort of workout in and sometimes will do some studying or lesson planning at Woyton, a coffee shop nearby with free internet. Kara and I typically will get something for dinner at the grocery store and cook it in the community kitchen around 7:00 with friends we have made from different parts of the globe. After dinner I have time to call Caroline before I go to bed at 10:30.

The friends I have made at Kolpinghaus have made daily life here in Cologne much more enjoyable than I think it would be if I was by myself. The first friend I made here is Peter from Antwerp, Belgium. He has a gift for languages and speaks Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish nearly all fluently. He has been a blessing for times when I need some interpretation but has also been a very good friend that I think I will have for life. I have also met Magda and Rafael, a brother and sister from El Salvador, and Chloe from France. We have had several great times together including making crepes, fajitas, and enjoying the night life in Cologne. This past weekend Kara, Peter and I went to Paris on a bus tour. Last night we all went out together to get costumes for Carnival which starts on Thursday and afterwards got pizza and carried it back to Kolpinghaus to eat.

I have two weekends here in the time since my last entry. Kara and I spent the first weekend in Cologne to experience the city in a way that we are not able to do everyday. We went to the Ludwig museum first which is the big art museum here. I enjoyed seeing some of the permanent exhibits which were mostly modern. The temporary exhibits were a bit too modern for my taste. One was on the hippie movement in America and the other showed the work of a famous German film director who had some very bizarre work displayed. Perhaps the more enjoyable part of the day was spent at the chocolate museum that covered every aspect of chocolate from marketing to production.

Last weekend, as I have mentioned, was spent in Paris. We decided to take a bus tour because it was very inexpensive and seemed like a good idea. We left Cologne at 12 midnight and arrived in Paris at 6 a.m. Overall it was a very good experience although it got rather frustrating being stuck on a bus for such a long time there and back. When we arrived in the city we stayed on the bus for a tour that took us to some of the famous landmarks in Paris including the Sacre Coeur Basilica where you can get a tremendous view of the city, the Eifel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe. When we arrived at our hotel we took a minute to plan and then headed back to the Arc de Triomphe to take pictures and then walked down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre. From there we went to see the Notre Dame cathedral and then found a wonderful French restaurant with the help of the owner of wine shop and Peter’s language skills. I enjoyed Paris and the dinner so much that Caroline and I will be back when she comes to visit as I went ahead and made reservations.

Back in Cologne the air is buzzing in anticipation of Carnival. School will be a half day on Thursday and will be out until Tuesday as Cologne goes crazy during the days in between. I am ready to join in the celebration with my Knight outfit that I purchased last night. I cannot really say too much about Carnival now as I have not yet experienced it but I am sure, as almost everyone has told me, that it will be an experience not to miss.