Today we had breakfast in the morning before going to class. It is included with our room in the hostel and I forgot to mention that yesterday. Breakfast is different here in Germany. You won’t find scrambled eggs, bacon, waffles, and pancakes. They typically eat a very light breakfast made up of bread with some slices of meat and cheese or cereal with some coffee or juice. Most Germans have their biggest meal of the day during lunch, where they will have multiple courses including an entrée, salad, dessert, etc. and dinner is usually something smaller like fruit or sandwiches.
Anyway, after breakfast we went to the language center (CDC) and began class by reviewing some grammar and then listening to him talk in German about climbing Mount Everest. In sounds random, and it is, but just listening in German helps you learn, no matter the topic. It seemed like something he knew a lot about, and it was interesting to learn about the geography , the methods, and the dangers involved. Then we talked about German food and drink. He gave us some recommendations on beer and bakeries in Cologne. He told us that Reissdorf, Paeffgen, and Gaffel are great koelsch beers, but the absolute best in Cologne is Muehlen Koelsch from Brauerei zur Malzmuehle. He also told us that the best bakery in Cologne is Fassbender on Mittelstrasse. Apparently Fassbender is one of the best bakeries in Europe and they cater many parties for kings and royalty in Europe. After that, we listened to a presentation by Corey Knapke and Nathan Wukie on jazz music in Germany. After class ended around noon, we had a free afternoon.
The first thing we did was head over to Fassbender bakery to have lunch. Along the way walking there we saw an Astin Martin DB9, and there was a crowd around it taking pictures. Later, we also saw an Audi R8 drive past but didn’t get a picture of it. I forgot to mention it, but yesterday we also saw two Masserati’s. The cars here are amazing. We see Posches all the time and Audis, Mercedes, BMWs and Peugeots are everywhere.
In Fassbender, there were the most delicious deserts you can imagine. For lunch I got a sandwich with ciabatta bread, basil, parmesan, tomato, spinach, and meat and a café macchiato. It was super good. I wanted to go back for some desert, but didn’t get a chance to because once we started walking around into some shops, we wandered too far away.
Some people in our group wanted to buy some water bottles, so we went into a huge mall that had a gigantic store called Joseph Wolfskins, which sold all kinds of outdoor gear. Here there were three stories and it was open in the center with a huge pool at the bottom where you could test the rafts, kayaks, and canoes. I wish we had that kind of thing in the US.
After that we decided to head over to the Malzmuehle brewery to try their beer. When we first got in there, we asked to have a table and the waiter joked with us saying they had none, when clearly there was an entire room of tables empty. It took a second to realize he was only joking, because we forgot that in Germany they don’t typically have hosts and hostesses to seat you. You normally find whatever empty seat you want to sit at. We each ordered beer at the brewery, which was very good and then some of us bought bottles to go. It was super cheap, 0.88 euros per half liter bottle. After that, we walked along the Rhein river until we reached the Koeln Dom.
In Fassbender, there were the most delicious deserts you can imagine. For lunch I got a sandwich with ciabatta bread, basil, parmesan, tomato, spinach, and meat and a café macchiato. It was super good. I wanted to go back for some desert, but didn’t get a chance to because once we started walking around into some shops, we wandered too far away.
Some people in our group wanted to buy some water bottles, so we went into a huge mall that had a gigantic store called Joseph Wolfskins, which sold all kinds of outdoor gear. Here there were three stories and it was open in the center with a huge pool at the bottom where you could test the rafts, kayaks, and canoes. I wish we had that kind of thing in the US.
After that we decided to head over to the Malzmuehle brewery to try their beer. When we first got in there, we asked to have a table and the waiter joked with us saying they had none, when clearly there was an entire room of tables empty. It took a second to realize he was only joking, because we forgot that in Germany they don’t typically have hosts and hostesses to seat you. You normally find whatever empty seat you want to sit at. We each ordered beer at the brewery, which was very good and then some of us bought bottles to go. It was super cheap, 0.88 euros per half liter bottle. After that, we walked along the Rhein river until we reached the Koeln Dom.
Every time we got near the cathedral, we couldn’t believe how big it is. We went inside and climbed a spiral staircase to the top of one of the steeples. We saw 5 gigantic bells inside and once we got outside to the balcony, the view was breath-taking. We could see all of Koeln from above, and we realized how big the city is. After that, we descended the staircase and went in the cathedral entryway. The inside is gigantic and magnificent. The ceiling is very high and the thick pillars lead up to the flying buttresses. The stained glass is incredible and the detailed art and architecture inside is amazing. There was also the biggest organ I’ve ever seen extending up to the ceiling.
After that we looked for a place to have dinner. We found the Frueh brewhouse off of Hochstrasse and most people ate there, but I decided not to because I wasn’t very hungry. So I went to the Starbucks across the street and had a short skype video chat with my beautiful girlfriend Janie. It was so refreshing to see her face again. I miss her so much. After they were done eating, they found me in Starbucks and we went to Gelato’s and this time I was able to try the mint chocolate chip and it was DELICIOUS! After that we rode the train back to the hostel and worked on our homework together as a big group. Then I heard that the hostel was providing free wifi tonight, so I went down to the lounge to take advantage of that. It’s normally 1.50 euro per hour, which is very inconvenient. Free wifi is very rare here, and Starbucks is the only place I know of that does it, but even then it’s only a 2 hour trial period. One trend I’ve noticed is that many of the things we take for granted as free in the United States, you have to pay for here in Germany. For example, bathrooms, grocery bags, internet.
While I was soaking up the free internet, Janie got on randomly and we were able to video chat again. Twice in one day! Time for bed. Goodnight.
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