Corey and the Chocolate Factory

Thursday, March 31st

The last full day in Cologne!! …and the first rainy one! After some fond farewells from the helpful staff at the CDC center, we had the entire afternoon and evening free to see any final sights. We decided the local Chocolate Museum would be a good choice. Indeed it was.

The admission was steeper than the history museums, but we decided to give the Schokolademuseum in Cologne a shot. It had just about everything a good chocolate museum would want or need. It was founded by a chocolate factory owner in Cologne and is currently continued by his wife. This museum walk-through began, naturally, with a sample of their made-in-house chocolate. Yum!! …and that would be the first piece of German chocolate I’ve had! This could be bad, because it tasted amazing! …Germans take their chocolate and candy very seriously. I only infer this because every convenience shop and store has at least one full aisle dedicated to the largest assortment of chocolate varieties I have ever seen. Perhaps I should start a log of chocolate types I’ve tried here! In any case, we entered the museum and were brought first through a level on what cocoa beans are and how they are collected. They even had a small contained section in the front of the museum with an environmentally controlled rainforest! Inside this room were tropical plants, including cocoa trees, rubber trees, and Christmas palms. The remainder of that floor had information on the trade, price, and development of the chocolate industry.

The second half of the museum was the really sweet part! …sorry for the pun. They had a miniature chocolate bar manufacturing line set up for visitors to see! Workers were operating the machinery and streams of smooth chocolate seemed to be running on every side of us! The only thing we were missing were the Umpa Lumpas! At the far end of the chocolate production line was a chocolate fountain with wafers so you could sample the freshly produced chocolate. Uh… yeah. Awesome. You can check out what I mean below…

Chocolate Fountain and River!

The upper floors had a lot of cool nostalgic items. Chocolate bars and display items from the early 1900s through the present were on display. There was even a small display on the beloved Nutella brand spread. Thank you Frau Schwegman for introducing us to such wonders!

We left the museum only to stumble upon another jewel across the street… a Cologne mustard museum!! …with free entrance!! Now, I’m not sure if you like mustard, but if you do, this place would have knocked your socks off. They produced mustard on sight and sold it in the storefront. The varieties were rather extensive, and very delicious. The clerk informed us that they made their mustards with a special variety of spice so that the heat never reaches your nose. It stays right on your tongue… and he was right. Free samples were had by all. And all were satisfied… until we hit up the special variety rack. Apparently Germans like to mix their mustards with jams as well. Would you care for a banana-mustard blend? How about an apple-spicy-mustard? I personally didn’t mind the flavors, but others disagreed. We did all seem to agree that the beer-flavored and heritage-flavored blends were the best. They certainly know a thing or two about mustard here.

We didn’t dally too long before grabbing a quick dinner and heading back to the youth hostel. Many had to do laundry and pack for tomorrow’s early departure. I’m catching up on some email and blogging. It’s been a pretty fast and busy past couple of days. Wednesday was also sort of a milestone for me. That marks the longest I have ever been off US soil. That struck me a little stronger, but upon that thought, I looked up and saw the big dipper. It’s always cool to see the stars and know those never do change. Again… awesome.

A Test and Final Debriefing

Wednesday, March 30^th

Today was the day for our final test in the German class. Our instructor informed us several times yesterday not to worry about it (after he told us we were taking the test a day earlier than planned!). Basically, it was explained to us as pass or fail… so none of us worried about it! It went well, and with a final homework assignment, we were out for lunch.

I took a small trip through Neumarkt during lunch and hit up Aldi to test out the bottle recycling machines. Germany is very environmentally conscious. It is a very encouraging thing, and an example I personally think we need to better follow in the United States. Trash receptacles EVERYWHERE give room for cardboard, plastic, paper, and glass. When purchasing any glass or plastic bottle for beer, wine, water, or pop, you can receive a refund for the empty bottle. This is widely taken advantage of for two reasons: 1) the refund is substantial… for a 69 cent bottle of water, one can receive a 25 cent refund! …and 2) the recycling and refund are conveniently located right inside your local Aldi! Check out the picture below! Two giant machines were inside this particular Aldi. You simply place your empty bottle in the opening and the conveyor system starts. The machine uses a laser to inspect the bottle, and when approved, the bottle moves through and is registered/counted/crushed by the machine. You just keep adding bottles until you are finished and hit a green button at the end. It then prints you a receipt to take to the register for the refund. AWESOME! For my 8-pack of water (purchased for around 3 Euros), I received a 2 Euro refund!

The final portion of the day was the important part. We made a final trip to Bonn to visit GIZ for our German employment orientation. Since we are obviously not German citizens, we need to fill out residency forms, foreign tax forms, and employment forms. These will be our tasks upon arrival in our cities and towns. Lastly, we received instruction on applying for a band account in our respective cities and towns. It was a decent amount of information, but our program coordinator was very helpful and made it clear she would be available by phone or email if we needed anything throughout the next six months of our stay. We closed the evening with a visit to a Bonn brauhaus for dinner. With full stomachs, we said our final goodbyes to our coordinator and called it a night.

A Trip Back in Time

Tuesday, March 29th

On Tuesday, class began as normal in the morning, but around 10 am we took a small field trip with our professor. We visited the El-De Haus in Cologne. It was only a short walking distance from the CDC. The house is now a museum, but was actually a prison during WWII. In the basement, we saw the cells where communists, Jews, and other “enemies of the state” were kept for extended periods of time. You could see the original writings on the walls from prisoners. It is interesting to note how immediately after the war, this building became an office building and the prison cells simply became storage rooms. Decades passed after the war and those who worked in the building simply ignored the inscriptions on the walls. It wasn’t until years later that Germans began to stop denying the Holocaust’s existence. When a journalist noticed the markings on the walls, a large write-up was compiled and the house was converted into a historical site for the purpose of remembering what had actually passed there during the Third Reich. We explored the museum and walked through a timeline. Our group of 13 broke into subgroups and we each had to explain an exhibit while speaking only German. It was a heavy topic, but one worth visiting in a German light. It is a very sensitive subject in the country where it happened. By that I mean that it is not casually spoken of… nor should it in any country… but here especially. The current German mindset is that something such as this will never happen again.

In the afternoon, we traveled to Haus der Geschichte (House of History for Germany) in Bonn. One of our GIZ program coordinators took us there by train. The museum was rather well put together. It was one of the most complete history museum experiences I have had yet. Entrance is free to the public (brownie point number 1) and they supplied us with an incredible guide (brownie point number 2). We were well received and the guide was pleased to hear we could all understand German fairly well. To our advantage, a rather smart device was used to aid in our listening experience! Every received a headphone and receiver. The guide then had a microphone hanging around his neck so that we could hear him crystal clear regardless of our position in the group. This would be VERY useful for large groups of students! …uh… or a group of newbies to the language…

We wrapped up around 5pm and were exhausted from the day. Two museums will do it! Up to speed on Germany history, we retreated back to Cologne where half of us took off to do laundry. This is now the second time I have EVER been to a laundromat. The first time was in between band camps during my first year of college! …let’s just say they aren’t as cheap as the machines in a dorm or apartment complex. It took a little while to decipher the instruction rubric, but we succeeded and victoriously walked out the Waschsalon with a load of CLEAN laundry!

Düsseldorf – Brief Update

Heute (Today) was jumping back into classroom mode. I’ll give a sympathetic shout-out to my Cincinnati friends who had their first day of class today as well. It’s hard to do after being on a break! After a rehash of German prepositions and modal verbs, we broke for a quick lunch. Micah and I skipped out so we could book our Youth Hostel stay for next weekend. We found a nice one in Munich close to BMW, so all is set to go for the next big transition! It’s unfortunate we have to pay for an additional weekend outside of our apartment, but it all works out.

At around 2pm, we hopped a train to Düsseldorf. This is another city just outside of Cologne… perhaps 50 minutes by rail. This community rivals Cologne in culture, living, food/drink, and architecture. The primary mission of our trip was to visit the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf (University of Applied Sciences). We visited the small campus (read, “Giant Building”), which I believe had around 6000 students, and met with some of the department heads. The school was very education-driven. That is, those professors who taught there were more focused on educating students than in their own research. They did have some pretty awesome research sectors though. Air quality measurement, food processing, machine automation, and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis of blood flow were the main sectors of research they showcased for us. All were very interesting, although following all the technical jargon in another language was taxing. I was wiped out from just having to concentrate on what they were telling us! I think I was able to get at least 50% of it. That’s good, right??

Following the tour, the 13 of us German-Engineering-Junkies ventured to “Altstadt” to check out the local breweries, shops, and architecture. There was definitely a cleaner and perhaps newer feel to this area than in Cologne. I’m not sure which I liked better. I think I’ll ultimately go with Cologne, but for most of the younger crowd, I believe Düsseldorf is the hot spot. We went to a brauhaus by the name of Brauerei zum Schlüssel (Key Brewery). Here I learned two definite things. 1 - Schüssel Altbier is perhaps a little better than Kölsch (don’t tell my counterparts in Cologne)… it is a darker beer with a smoother consistency. And 2 – Blutwurst, despite sounding rather gross (translating to “Blood Sausage”) is quite good. Smeckt gut!

And with that, it’s back to the grindstone. Two more days of class and one exam to go!

A Relaxing Sunday

Sunday, March 27th

Today began with what I thought to be an early start. It’s a good thing that Elizabeth came down to breakfast to meet me before mass. That’s when she informed me of being behind the times. Apparently there was a time change here this morning, so all clocks were set forward one hour! SO… there is now a ¼ day discrepancy between my posts and your viewing (if you live in Ohio). That’s six hours for you mathematicians!

*Pic from web*

Mass began at the cathedral (Dom) at 10:00am. It was not a high mass, so the bishop did not preside; HOWEVER, it was no less “traditional” than I would expect in such a place. If I thought St. Peter in Chains was traditional, this would have made me think twice. The procession consisted of four priests and 12 or so altar boys. I thought I was doing well at translating the German during the readings and homily, but when they broke out in the Latin for the Eucharistic prayer, I was done. Haha! It was a beautiful mass though, and the choir was incredible. The oddity came at the end of mass when we turned to leave the cathedral. At the entrance of the aisle were two clergymen guarding a throng of people armed with cameras and phones anxious to tour the building. As soon as mass had ended and most people had left their pews, they unleashed the crowd and the nave and wings soon filled with tourists. Personally, I think the church should only be open for tourists, at the least, 30 minutes after the last mass of the morning. Luckily, nearly everyone in the church was respectful and mindful of those in prayer.

I took the opportunity after mass to look at the Cathedral’s interior more closely along with the crowd. Again, I’ll state here that the masterwork of stone carvers, sculptors, and painters from the time periods of the churches construction was incredible. Every pillar within the church had at its head a full size statue of a pope or saint. Unfortunately, it was hard to make out the names for identification, but they mostly had characteristic features which set them apart.

Around lunchtime I was able to purchase my Bahncard50. This gives me 50% off all DB regional and distance train travel for a fixed price of 118 Euros! …that’s the student rate… which is half price! Oh yeah! Micah and I then purchased our tickets to Munich for Friday morning. Work begins at BMW at 9:30am Monday morning, so we’ll move into the BMW apartment house that morning as well. Through the weekend, we’ll make a reservation at another youth hostel.

The afternoon was a museum adventure with Elizabeth. We visited the Römisch-Germanisches Museum (Romano-Germanic Museum). This was a building FULL of artifacts from Roman times within Cologne (and even other places in Europe). Jewelry, dishes, clothing, statues, and tombs filled the halls of the very sophisticated collection hall. The most incredible piece was probably the mosaic dining room floor on the museum’s base level. It was the floor of a private dining room from a Roman building in Cologne. The floor was discovered right where it currently rests. Apparently Bill Clinton dined on this floor during a G8 summit in 1999. I’m not so sure about how comfortable I would be with dining on a 2000 year old floor!

I’ll skip boring details of the day’s remainder, but a small group of us did walk across the Hohezollern bridge (where the trains run) to walk to the other side of Cologne. We walked through the blooming Rheinpark and ended up walking across another bridge farther down near our hostel. The evening was a comfortable 55 degrees and the sun was out again. A great ending to a relaxing day.

12 Romanesque Churches of Cologne

So after wrapping up my evening on the web last night, I spent some time planning out Saturday. One of the great parts of Cologne is its many Catholic churches. They are simply everywhere. You need not travel more than a block or two to find a church within the inner city. The age of the city tells the tale. One must consider that this is one of the oldest cities in Germany. It was established by the Romans not long after the death of Christ (in the first century) and has stood since… through wars, world events, and other thoroughfares. Most of these churches were built between 800 AD and 1100 AD. Some date far back, but have been rebuilt and remodeled several times. Most churches in Cologne see a number of overlapping architectural styles because of this. My mission was to visit all twelve of the Romanesque Churches of Cologne. These are well known churches and most remain standing because of their connection to this very old group of churches. Congregations at each are very small. In most cases, they were built for a monastery or cloister. Many saw reconstruction later in their existence with Gothic tones overlaying the Romanesque ones. In the 1800s, many also changed from religious community churches to parish churches during the secularization of the Church. The beauty and elegance of these churches are hard to explain in words. They are simply gorgeous. Unfortunately, most did not endure the Second World War. During air-raids of the war, most of Cologne’s structures were destroyed, churches and all. It wasn’t until the mid twentieth century that they were rebuilt. It was an architect by the name of Karl Band who helped reconstruct most of these churches. You can see below where old church remains meet new stone and concrete during reconstruction.

I began my tour in the morning at around 7:30am. I first visited St. Kunibert and St. Ursula. Since it was so early, I did not gain passage into the churches, but I did get some pictures of the outside. I then walked to St. Andreas for mass at 9:00am. This was my first “Messe” or “Gottesdienste” in Germany. These words simply translate to “mass” and “god-service”. The webpage had told me that the service was in the crypt (where St. Albert now rests), but five minutes before nine, the priest came down to inform me we were actually having mass “nach oben” (upstairs). Apparently, I had stumbled upon a couple’s 30^th year anniversary and they were celebrating with a renewal of marriage vows. The organ music was thunderous (as I later found out most church organs here are!) and the church was relatively full. Every time I attend mass in another country, I get a strong sense of why the Catholic church is, in fact, so universal. I don’t need to completely understand the language to know what my heart is saying during mass. It was slightly funny to see the family of the couple figure out the ritual. Most were not Catholics, so since they were in the front (regulars were in the back) they usually missed cues or were delayed in the sit-stand-kneel nature of the prayers. The priest simply smiled. The main point was the joyous nature of the couple’s renewal of vows. I was actually trying to figure things out as the mass proceeded as well. Responses such as “Gott sei dank” (thanks be to God) will eventually become second nature, but for now, I will do my best. The gentleman next to me was tall and in his late twenties or early thirties. He must have noticed I was silent for most of the mass, but during the exchange of peace I received a big smile when I responded to his German sign of peace with an English, “peace be with you.” Most Germans know English, so I’m sure it became clear to him there.

After mass was over, the gentleman walked over and asked if I spoke German. I responded in German and we proceeded to have a good conversation. He was surprised to see me there, which wouldn’t be so much of a surprise in Cologne. The interesting part of such a City steeped in Roman Catholic tradition is that not more than 30% of its population is Catholic. Most of that percentage is older in age. Germany, despite its large number of Catholic traditions, holidays, and churches, remains largely a secular community. My impression is that during the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, many of the darker spots in the Churches history touched those practicing the faith and turned them away, especially as younger generations began to enter the scene. I am no theologian or historian, so more research is to be done there on my part. In any case, this small interaction made my day. We introduced ourselves to each other and discussed our business in Cologne. He works at the Dom and faith is especially important to him. I described by intentions of working for BMW and staying in Munich. It was certainly a blessed way to begin the day!

St. Kunibert

St. Ursula

St. Andreas

After leaving the church I made a trip to St. Gereon, St. Aposteln, and St. Cecilia. I was able to enter the first two as they were still active/practicing churches in the area. The first parts of St. Gereon were constructed in the 4^th century! In 839, it was first mentioned as a collegiate college. St. Aposteln was consecrated in the 10^th century in honor of the twelve apostles. Unfortunately, due to extensive war damage, St. Cecilia was never fully rebuilt. It was rebuilt in some regards as it transformed into the Museum Schnütgen. Thanks to my international student ID (which cost me $20 back in November), I gained entrance to this gem for 3 Euros. I was unable to take pictures while inside (my hands were quickly slapped for my first attempt), but the artifacts were INCREDIBLE. Guards/curators were everywhere, and for good reason. Statues, garments, candle holders, staffs, pictures, sculptures, relics, and ivory book covers lined the walls of the once active church. I saw wooden statues of Mary from the 13^th century. I was able to see the intricate beauty of a monstrance from 1100 AD. The alter candle stands from a church in 500 AD were there. All of these artifacts were collected and placed in the old church for display. Seeing an exhibit such as this only reminds me the strength of the Church Christ founded so long ago.

St. Gereon

St. Aposteln

St. Cecilia

From St. Cecilia, I found St. Pantaleon, St. Severin, and St. Georg churches. I was fortunate enough to catch an organist practicing in St. Pantaleon during my visit there, but not so fortunate when visiting St. Severin. It appears, from the amount of construction in Cologne, that many things are still in a state of repair or restoration. St. Severin’s main tower was draped with a giant tarp when I arrived. Some sort of celebration was taking place in the square, but I couldn’t make out what it was for. Needless to say, I was unable to enter, but glad to see it nonetheless. St. Georg was a few blocks down and had a more contemporary style. Once could clearly see the transition from modern to old architecture.

St. Pantaleon

St. Severin

St. Georg

The last three on the trip were St. Maria Lyskirchen, St. Maria im Kapitol, and Gross St. Martin. St. Maria Lyskirchen was a beautiful little church just off the Rhine founded in the 9^th century. It was the first to have no pews. I was confused on my approach to St. Maria im Kapitol. I actually found St. Martin Klein instead. I have no pictures of the second St. Maria, but did get to see its exterior (as I found out later). The final church was Gross St. Martin. This was perhaps the largest of the churches and it rests just off the Rhine east of the Dom (Cathedral). It was almost completely destroyed in the war, but was rebuilt. The really interesting part was seeing the history of its foundation. Back when the Romans were in Cologne, the sight of St. Martin’s foundation was actually a Roman sports training center. Later, it became a warehouse in the last centuries of the Roman Empire. Due to flooding and such, debris covered the foundation to these places and in the middle ages, St. Martin was built. It wasn’t until this past century that it was discovered that the churches foundation lines up almost perfectly with that of the swimming pool room of the old Roman sports center. An archeological dig underground bore proof of the foundations existence.

St. Maria Lyskirchen

Gross St. Marin

I’m not quite sure how many miles I walked today aimlessly with my map and camera (iPhone!) out constantly. I probably looked like the biggest tourist around. Two Germans asked if I needed help during the day! One was an older gentleman with this wife. It looked like they were out for a casual walk. He was very kind and complimentary of my German, which I can’t seem to lock down when I actually encounter a German. I later ran into another German lady who asked if I knew my way. I think the accent was strong because she asked if I spoke English. She spoke English as well, so she went on about how German is a hard language. She was actually from California and spoke Spanish (in addition to English and German). She had family in both Mexico and Germany, but was in Germany for work. What a small world we do live in! We had a great conversation before parting ways.

Altogether, the day was blessed and exciting. I returned to my room at about 3:00pm and ate a quick sandwich before setting to the computer. I’ll be killing some time this afternoon until most of our group returns from Düsseldorf where they spent the day. I’ll be heading that direction on Monday as we have a cultural activity with GIZ, so I wasn’t too heartbroken at not spending the extra train money.

Oh, and it was finally cloudy today! Ha!

I hope you enjoyed that small walk through history. Until next time…

One Week Nearly Complete!

It is now Friday, and I need to do a double take on how fast the first week has flown by! First, let me give you an idea of what the daily routine has been in this two-week language program. Every morning, I’ve been getting up around 6am (I’m an early starter) and heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast. As stated earlier, it is included with the hostel price and the coffee is great. Our language program is carried out by the Carl Duisberg Centren and begins promptly at 8:45am every morning.

At that time, our semi-crazy German teacher begins instruction. Picture an older gentleman with semi-long white/gray hair. He is clean shaven and wears a variety of colored ties, sports coats (mostly plaid), pants, and shirts. He enjoys red-wine (not an observation…he simply told us he’s not a beer-loving German), smokes cigarettes from an old leather cigarette case, and moves about the room in the same manner as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. He is terribly funny, but also a very good teacher. I have yet to hear him speak a full sentence of English. Our language classes typically end around 12:00pm every day. The classes consist of German language review (although, I confess some of it seems new!), daily homework, a report, and a project. None of this is too intensive, but I am looking forward to being done with academics for a short six month stint very soon! I enjoy German. I enjoy Engineering. I also enjoy free time. Going back to the “routine”, in the afternoons we typically have some form of organized cultural activity. These vary, but are very useful. Our evenings are always free. Now, let me catch you up on the past four days…

Tuesday, March 22nd

On Tuesday, after our language course, we had the afternoon free. A group of us took off to check out the acclaimed “best bakery” in Cologne. It was called Fassbender KG. I purchased a cheese, tomatoe, and spinach sandwich on fresh baked bread. Mmmm… I love the bakeries here. In fact, I have yet to see one loaf of “processed” bread… even at a general store! After lunch, we spent the better part of the afternoon exploring Neumarktplatz and the shopping in that area. The weather was beautiful and the market was very lively. After an afternoon of checking out the shops (sporting goods, books, clothing, and others), we visited the Malzmühlen Brauhaus for a couple beers. After relaxing for a bit, we walked down the street to the boardwalk along the Rhine River. Bicyclists, walkers, runners, street performers… they all filled the walkway. It is a rather wide one too. To our right was the

beautiful Rhine and to our left was the skyline of steeply pitched roof houses with a towering cathedral behind them. At around 4pm we decided it would be cool to climb the stairs to the top of the Cathedral’s (Koelner Dom) right tower. It stands at nearly 500 meters, so it was a hike, and anyone willing can make the journey for only 1.5 Euros!

We were all panting at the top, but it was well worth it. The view was incredible! We then spent some time checking out the inside after we had descended. Absolutely gorgeous. I cannot speak to the chills I received when I walked in. It was SO big. Columns towered around us; intricate statues of saints adorned every nook and cranny. A magnificent tabernacle rested in the distance as I entered the church. It is truly amazing what sort of architectural feats one can accomplish with time. It took centuries to complete this church, but its beauty is unmatched. I may be making a return trip soon! After exiting the church, we went to purchase dinner at Früh Brauhaus. After the meal, a single scoop of Gelato ice cream completed the day’s adventures. Gelato is an Italian ice cream. It has a lower fat content and higher sugar content. It is made through a more refined process than US ice-cream and bears a very creamy texture. It typically doesn't keep as long as our ice-cream, but with as good as it tastes, they probably don't have to store it for very long! After ice cream, I headed back to the youth hostel where I spend a decent about of time battling Blogger to get up that last post. Blogger hates formatting! Good thing the wi-fi was randomly free that night.

Wednesday, March 24^th

I decided to take the 40 minute walk to the learning center on Wednesday. With weather like we’ve been having, I couldn’t bring myself to waste the time on a train. After our language course, we met our GIZ Program Coordinator, Genevieve, who brought in a guest speaker on German culture. We spent the afternoon (until 5pm) learning the dos and don’ts of German

business culture. There we reviewed how exactly we would interact with our employers on day one. The main take-aways for me were the importance of being extre

mely polite, giving background information, and practicing speaking situations one will likely run into beforehand. For instance, one encounters of situation where he is given a waterfall of German speak

(happens often!) and wants to communicate, “I cannot understand one lick of what you’re saying!” Obviously, we say this a little more elegantly, but you get the point. It is extremely awkward being the guy on the other end of a language. You feel about 10 cm tall and a little dumb, because you know what you want to say, but can’t!

From the class, a small group of us went back to the Malzmühlen Brauhaus for dinner. I had a dish with ham, fried eggs on wheat, and home-made potato salad. It was called, “Strammer Max.” Again, delicious! That evening was pretty laid back. I was mostly just wiped out from the day, so I crashed around 10pm.

Thursday, March 25^th

I walked again today. For the fourth in a row… beautiful weather! After class, we had a tour of the “Altstadt” (old city). Our tour guide was German, so I didn’t catch everything, but was surprised at how well I did understand most of it. This city has amazing history! …and again it catches me off guard to hear just how far back it goes. We talked about structures from when the Romans were in the city! That’s a long time ago!!

At the end of the tour, we took another tour… this time of a few breweries. We visited three and learned about the history of the beer and why those in Cologne practice certain traditions. First, one should always toast by hitting the BOTTOM of the glasses together. This prevents spilling and glass breaking. Logical, right? Second, the glasses are small in size and the opening diameter is small because those in Cologne enjoy fresh and cold beer. Smaller glasses mean the beer sits out for less time and is exposed to less air. The concept was at first confusing, but with explanation, it makes sense. (*Note: I still enjoy our pints at home!) After our tours were complete, a few from our group headed off to Lidl (German supermarket) to get some bread and cold-cuts for dinner. I decided to walk along the river back to our youth hostel. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy the walk. It’s very relaxing and a great way to clear your mind and relax after a long day. When I got back to our hostel, I worked on some homework and writing before heading out with a few of the guys to check out the university district where we visited a few establishments and met some pretty cool Germans. The one waiter knew immediately that we were Americans, but asked if he should speak in English or German. After a united response of “auf Deutsch, bitte!” he continued to endure our speaking in German for the duration of our stay. He was very helpful in clearing up how to say “beer on tap” in German! One simply says, “Bier vom Fass.”

Friday, March 26^th

Well this catches us up to today. Again… weather = brilliant. They ensure us this is HARDLY EVER the typical weather in Cologne. Typically it is rainy and cloudy. I am not sure how we lucked out this week (good prayers from home I think!), but I’m not complaining. Class today was shortened, because in Germany, schools end an hour earlier on Fridays. At 11:30am, we walked downtown with our instructor for a scavenger hunt of sorts. We were given a map with location points and questions. It was our job to answer the questions pertaining to each location point by asking Germans in the area. This was a little intimidating, but we were able to fudge our German enough to tap into the very friendly nature of the locals.

This wasn’t always the case though. We learned to stay away from waiters at bars. One of them flat out told us to leave and one ignored us after failing to understand what we wanted. It was pretty comical in hindsight, but at the time, it was slightly confusing and embarrassing! Do not interrupt the bar tender if you want anything but a beer! We wrapped up the hunt at around 2pm and I went with a small group to get a cheese pizza. Es schmeckt mir sehr gut! We ate on the boardwalk by the Rhine and proceeded to walk back to the hostel afterwards. There, I did some typing before taking a nice one hour nap.

Here I now sit finishing up this entry. I’m not really sure what this weekend will bring. I am still debating on what I would like to do. I could head to Düsseldorf or Bonn for a day, or I could stay in Cologne and do some more exploring. The options are many, but I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop on what goes down!

My First Days in Cologne

It is Wednesday and I have now entered my fourth day in the city of Cologne, Germany. A lot has happened in just three days, and I think I have finally gained more of a bearing on what is all happening around me! From my past international experiences, finding the rhythm of a different culture is an incredible experience. So far, Germany has proven this again. I would like to highlight some interesting points and finds from the past couple days here.

Getting Around – German Trains

This one had me puzzled from day one. Obviously, Germans are much more of a public transportation / pedestrian / cycling society. Fewer own cars and MANY people crowd the subways and train stations every day. Bicycles line fences and racks at every public place. I have nearly been run down by a bicycle several times because not only do they have sidewalks in Cologne, but bike paths next to nearly every sidewalk. These are separated only by the style of bricks used on the pathway. The trains themselves come in three main varieties (from my observation so far). These are the local trains, the regional trains, and the high-speed trains. All of the trains are operated by DeutscheBahn. When we first arrived in Frankfurt, we quickly mixed up the three systems! The local trains (the s-bahn and the u-bahn) operate within a tight radius of the central station in a German city. For various rates and passes, one can travel on these trains. The farther out one travels, the greater the cost. The regional trains travel between cities and across German states. These cost more and typically consist of many various stops along the countryside. When we traveled from Frankfurt to Cologne, we used the regional train system. The views were beautiful as we traveled near the river. It is easy to understand why many would use this train system, as the stops included many smaller cities along the way. The final train system is the high-speed or “Inter-City” train system. The IC and ICE (Inter City Express) are trains which travel without many stops between major cities. They travel at high speeds, take the most direct routes, maker fewer stops, and cost the most.

Food

The food here is pretty incredible. Point one made.

Cost: Eating out is more expensive, but purchasing food from a store such as Aldi’s is muchmore affordable.

Quality: My first observation was that many German foods are made with fresher ingredients.There are many bakeries and most sandwich shops use only fresh bread. Cold cuts, meats, and wurst are also all fresh.

Breakfast: Fortunately for me, the breakfasts are especially great (I am a morning person…and also a breakfast person). They serve heated cold-cuts on heavy wheat and rye bread (the slices are thin, but the bread dense). In addition to Musli (cereal), fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs, and yogurt, they serve drinks such as tea, coffee, juice, and milk. The coffee is especially great. Thankfully, this meal is included in the youth hostel price.

Portion Size: In general, I have noticed that German meals are typically small in portion size than those in the US. This is a fortunate change. Instead of the 32 oz. “gulp” drink with a value meal, one is given a much smaller cup. This change is welcome. Even bottled drinks come in smaller portions. Since we are in Europe, the unit system becomes much simpler. Forget ounces! …I would like a half-liter please! I will say that portions CAN be large though. I went to the Brauhausfrühstück on Wednesday evening and ordered Hämchen (pig’s knees). That sounds a little gross, but it was delicious! That was a large portion size.

Restaurants: In general, most German restaurants (at least in Cologne) are smaller and usually contain some form of outside patio or beer garden. Food is served as it is prepared (one person could get their food 10 minutes before another person at the same table). As stated earlier, the cost is a little more than in America. I should probably also mention that beer gardens and fresh bakeries are EVERYWHERE… oh, I think I did mention that… well, it’s true.

Perhaps this is different in smaller towns? I think Cologne is very tourist-centered, so I will hold my final conclusions on this thought until I see more of the country. I think smaller German towns will bear the most truth once visited.

Ice Cream: Okay… this is simply better here. Creamy. Rich. And CHEAP. Sorry USA, you simply do not compare. Okay… maybe I’ll give St. Henry Dairy Dream a shout-out since it has The Best rocky road EVER.

Water: It has bubbles. Mineral water!

Shopping

Phones: On Monday afternoon, we walked to a Saturn electronics store to purchase German cell phones. Obviously we cannot easily use our American cell phones over here (unless we have an international plan… or enjoy racking up very large cell phone bills at home). I purchased a simple Nokia model (which I believe is still more up-do-date than the Razor I had just a year ago at home) and a simple pre-paid minute plan from a local Aldi Süd. Three cents per minute for all Aldi to Aldi phone calls! Not too bad, considering the only contacts I have over here so far are my fellow Cincinnati engineers who share the plan. It was fun programming and registering the phones in German language. We were all sitting in our rooms scratching our heads for a decent amount of time until we finally solved the puzzle. It seems that the main networks over here are Telekom, T-Mobile, O2, and Vodafone. The one I purchase was Medion Mobile by E-Plus.

Movies/Books: While in the electronics store, it was funny to see where the film culture was focused. We learned this from Herr Rademann, but when I actually saw it, I had to laugh. Most movies, and even music to a great extend, were American! Many were the same titles and big-name releases we know at home. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and even Batman were all on display in this Best Buy style electronics store. On Tuesday, I was able to explore the Nuemarkt with four of the guys from the group. Here we visited a bookstore, where again I noticed the influence of American culture. Although somewhat less than the Hollywood influence, it was still relatively strong… especially in the young adults section.

Shopping Centers: In the United States, we have malls with many stores and lots of food. In Germany (I really am speaking through Cologne’s representation here), they have pedestrian zones with shopping EVERYWHERE. The order of operations is this… Bakery, Beer Garden, Store, Bakery, Beer Garden, Store… repeat. Germans in Cologne seems to be very on top of fashion sense as there are many jewelry and clothing stores. They also seem to be very into their outdoors and sporting goods. I counted at least three different major sporting goods stores within a one-block radius. They all compared to a Dick’s Sporting Goods, but were BETTER. The one actually had a pool in the lower level so that customers could test out canoes! WHAT??? The name is Jack Wolfskin. Check it out! I will be back for sure.

You can see again Harry Potter appears as a popular title. Note the difference in illustrations and author name notation. I think later I will buy a simple book in German to read and help sharpen my vocabulary a little. Perhaps that will wait until I move to Munich though. Classes with the Cologne language program are keeping me pretty busy at the moment. The new surroundings, people, language, and sites are not one bit distracting (insert a little sarcasm here). In general, I loved the shopping atmosphere here a lot more than anywhere I have ever been before. I felt as if I was in Epcot Disney world. Being outside in the nice weather with cyclists on the intricate brick sidewalks… seeing trains cross through the plaza… watching street musicians play Cannon in D on a street corner as evening fell… all of this kind of beats walking in a giant air-conditioned building.

La Carte: One begins to love the fact that everything is charged for in Germany. Want to use the internet? 5 Euros per hour, please! What to use the restroom? 1 Euro, please! What to use the stairs? …okay, that one is free.

Elevators: Small. They are all like the elevator in Carew Tower of Cincinnati.

Specialty Shops: Germans must be very big into Gummibären because these small shops are everywhere. Flea markets (Flohmarkts), bike shops, and kiosks (with drinks, newspapers, and snacks) are on many street corners as well. You can also find random shops selling only watches or handbags. I suppose one could find these in the USA too.

Beer

General Culture: Well, most of what you heard is true. I will verify that it is very liberating walking down a public walkway, a river boardwalk, or even a public train with an open bottle of beer. On streets downtown, one sees cigarettes and bottle caps. I have yet to see one “drunk” person though. From what I can tell, people respect casual drinking and most would advocate a beer at lunch. In Cologne, beer in restaurants actually comes only in a tall, narrow 0.2 liter glass. This is hardly the large pint size glass we can purchase in the states. I would say this in NOT consistent across Germany though. To my knowledge, each Germany city has its own special way of serving local beer. Here, the 0.2 liter tall glass is the way it’s done.

Restaurant Etiquette: First of all, if you walk into a beer house, seat yourself. We walked into our first one on Wednesday and asked the waiter if there were any tables. He asked how many tables we needed. Later we laughed at how dumb we must have sounded with our American accents. The funny part was that we had six people and accidently told them we needed six tables! Whoops! Anyways, once a person is seated and clearly states that a beer is in order, the waiter will arrive with a little carousel of beer. Do not take the carousel! We tried this. No good. Simply take the beer glass and place it upon your fashionable coaster. Each beer house serves a specialty beer, and typically the coaster reflects this. When you finish the beer, the waiter will sometimes bring out another round without even asking if you want another. I assume this is a part of that no-nonsense German culture. I love it! Of course we want another! Why not drink an entire 0.4 liters of beer in one sitting! The important part is that once you are done, you should place your coaster on top of your beer glass to indicate that the party is satisfied… the whistles have been wetted… and the time has been properly spent in good measure. The best part was that at one brewery we visited, you could order drinks in the house (for about 1.55 Euros per 0.2 liter) but you could also order bottles to go (for about 0.85 Euros per 0.5 liter). Again, you can see my earlier point about how food “to go” is cheaper than dining food.

Cologne Beer: So, I’ve already explained the types of glasses Germans from Cologne drink out of. The type of beer is Kölsch. The different brews of this Cologne beer are what separate beer gardens and breweries. So far I have sampled three. See below:

• Reissdorf Kölsch
• Malzmühlen Kölsch
• Früh Kölscch

So in general, one can see that even in a short period of time, this has been educational. What will happen over the extended stay? Who knows! Our first duty is to pass the German language and culture courses offered at the Carl Duisberg Centren. These are focused on sharpening our language skills before heading into a professional workplace. This is a requirement by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Herr Mainka is our instructor and he is a riot. I believe any good German instructor should have crazy hair, incorporate charisma into every small action (including placing sheets on an overhead projector), and use large amounts of satire and sarcasm. It has been engaging to say the least! I look forward to the next several days in this city. On Thursday we will be touring the city a little more formally and seeing more the Cathedral (Dom) downtown. Our weekend is free, so I expect there to be some adventure then as well.

Bis bald!

First Day

Our connecting flight left Philadelphia at 4:30pm and was a brief seven hour stint before it finally landed in Germany. It was right around 5:30am (11:30pm Ohio time) that

we landed! Basically, I stayed up all night because I can’t sleep on planes or buses. A few movies later, the long flight was over and we were able to unload at Frankfurt’s international airport! This was my first time see or touching European soil. It felt good to finally be in Europe. Getting th

at far was only half the battle though.

We waited on a couple more US flights to come in before taking a shot at grabbing a train up to Cologne. By the time 7:00am rolled around, w

e began waiting in line for train tickets for about an hour… and FINALLY, we were able to load a train going in the direction we wanted by 8:37am!

The trains were a whole different beast than the planes. We went with the cheap, scenic, frequently stopping train with occasional switches at stations. The added trip length was certainly worth it though. The beauty of the Rhine V

alley was overwhelming. May old and staccato/Tudor style houses lined a wide and serine river. In the hillsides along each river’s bank are large steps and fields of grape vines. Gorgeous!

SO… we finally did reach our youth hostel by around 1:30pm today. Wiped out. Those are the only words I have. 22 hours of straight travel takes a lot of energy. I am seriously having a hard time just focusing on writing this blog! That last sentence took several tries to perfect, so I apologize for any incoherency.

After arriving in the afternoon, we all decided that we’d go back down town to graph some lunch and see a few sites. I will have to elaborate on these throughout the week, as I’m sure will seeing them again throughout the next two weeks. The main thing is that I had my first meal and beer. I believe the beer is a rather common and popular one among the locals. Reissdorf Koelsch was the name of the beer.

I also had German ice cream for the first time (on recommendation by multiple friends). It was as amazing as they all said it would be!

Well, I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open, so I need to sign out. OH… and one final note… free or consistently available wireless internet does not exist in Germany. If I seem to be in less frequent contact than originally planned, that is a good reason why. Once I’m in Munich, I’m hoping that becomes more of a non-issue.

**POSTED A DAY LATE DUE TO INTERNET AVAILABILITY**