Adventures in the Arts

Kölner Philharmonie

A few weeks ago, we were sitting at home and Will started browsing through the upcoming concerts at the Kölner Philharmonie. As he was scrolling down, a familiar face popped up. Manfred Honeck, the conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, was going to be guest-conducting the WDR Orchestra in Cologne. Manfred is originally from Austria, so he is even a real-live, native German speaker! We booked our tickets immediately and the concert was great. It was also nice to see a familiar face!

Metropolis Cinema

I also recently discovered a movie theater that shows new, recently released US movies in English as well was movies from other countries. I went to see Selma last night (fantastic). It was shown in English with German subtitles, but I think most of the audience was German. There was, however, a group of American-sounding English speakers waiting in line to see Into the Woods. Maybe this is a good place to hang out to find other expats. 

The Metropolis was also a great find because I had previously thought we would have to wait for new movies to be dubbed into German, possibly a year or longer, before we could see them. It was also only 5€, which seemed like a bargain compared to US ticket prices!

Kölner Haie and FC Köln

Hello again, Friends. I know that it’s been a long time—I don’t know how this much time got away from me. I have been so busy preparing for the end of my German class (more on that later, I promise) as well as keeping up with our busy social calendar. The last time I posted, the weather was on the fritz, but has settled down into a pretty consistent routine of 35-40 degrees, drizzle, and grey skies. The amount of daylight has significantly increased and it’s now light until about 6pm. What a welcome change from a 3pm dusk…although I’m not quite sure I’m ready for the 11pm sunset in the summer.

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve been to two Cologne sporting events: a Kölner Haie hockey game and an FC Köln soccer game.  What stood out the most at both of these events was the sheer enthusiasm of the crowd. Both games were regular season games and nearly sold out (18,000+ at the hockey game and 43,000+ at the soccer game). The energy felt like a Stanley Cup playoff game and the Super Bowl rolled into one.  At both arenas, the section directly behind the nets are standing room only and reserved for fans who cheer/sing/dance the entire game. Before the game, the entire stadium sings the team’s anthem by heart.

Unfortunately, all of the team spirit didn’t help. The Haie lost to their rival, Düsseldorf and the soccer game ended in a 1-1 tie. It was still a great time, though!

Kölner Haie vs. Düsseldorf EG

"We breath Hockey since 1972."

FC Köln vs. Hannover

The entire FC Köln anthem can be heard here. The song is sung in the traditional Kölsch dialect, so I really have no idea what they're saying, but they have spirit!