More Photos

Here are some more miscellaneous photos that don't follow any specific order or story:

Müllheim Bridge

Rhine

Köln-Mülheim

Building damaged in WWII

Sunset over the Rhine

Back to School

Sometime last week, in the blink of an eye, it became autumn in Cologne. It seems like one day it was in the 90s and the next it was windy, rainy, and 50. It’s not too bad though. I much prefer bundling up in scarves rather than sweating, especially with the lack of air conditioning here. I don’t know if this cooler weather is here to stay or if it will get warmer one more time before fall/winter.

This cooler weather also means…….BACK TO SCHOOL! Remember this post where I was rejoicing being done with school after 21+ years? That joy (and all that boring free time I was so excited about) lasted about three months. As part of the immigration process, I was enrolled in an “Integration Course” which is a six-month intensive language and culture class for immigrants. The course is sponsored by the government, but offered at many different schools, public and private. The goal of the class is to help newly arrived immigrants reach a conversational language level so that they can more easily live and work in Germany.

My class meets Monday through Friday for four hours per day in downtown Cologne. I am the only American and one of two native English speakers.  It will certainly be interesting to lernen Deutsch together!

Back to school!

Cold weather calls for warm soup.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

When I was writing the post on our trip to Düsseldorf, I was reminded that I wanted to write a post on public transportation in Cologne. I am a huge fan and avid rider of public transportation. I took the bus to work nearly everyday in Pittsburgh and quite often to other places as well. Let someone else do the driving while I relax!

As elsewhere in Europe, public transportation is very widespread in Germany and I don’t think there are many places where it can’t get you. I have a monthly pass for Cologne, which allows me to take unlimited, rides on the buses, trams (like Pittsburgh’s “T”), and local trains (real trains…choo choo). I can take a guest for free after 7pm on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays. If we’re planning to go farther out, an additional €3.50 ticket extends my pass to include the surrounding region to some of the smaller, countryside towns. There are also long-distance and high-speed trains that connect Cologne to just about every other major city in Europe. We’ve taken these trains to Paris, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg.

One of the most interesting aspects of public transportation in Germany is that a lot of the ticketing is done on the honor system. When riding the local buses, trams, and trains there is no one that checks your ticket or pass before you get on. There are no turnstiles or scanning machines prior to entering the vehicle.  There are ticket-checkers who go through regularly, but I have never been checked on the local system.  Although it would be very easy to get away with illegally riding public transportation, I don’t think that many people do—a mix of good conscience and a fear of being fined, I suppose.  

Afternoon in Düsseldorf

Last weekend we took the train to Düsseldorf, which is about a half hour north of Cologne. Düsseldorf is like Cologne’s younger, trendier sister while Cologne clings to its “old world” charm. The two cities have a bit of a rivalry that I think is akin to Pittsburgh and Cleveland. One of the main sources of this rivalry is their beer: kölsch in Cologne versus alt in Düsseldorf. Kölsch is a lighter beer that served in tiny 0.2 liter glasses (think juice glass size).  Alt was a darker beer that was served in a slightly bigger glass, maybe 0.3 or 0.4 liters. I’m not much of a beer connoisseur, but I preferred kölsch, but maybe I’m just biased.

After lunch and trying some alt, we walked along the Rhine and went to the top of an observation tower. We seem to be making a habit of going to the top of tall buildings when we go to a new city.

Rhine River

Observation Tower

Don't look down!

Düsseldorf

Can you see Cologne in the distance?

Düsseldorf

Kölner Lichter

The weekend that Emily was visiting was also the weekend of one of Cologne’s biggest summer events, Kölner Lichter (Cologne Lights). Kölner Lichter is a huge fireworks display put on along the Rhine. Spectators pack the banks of the river and ride up and down on cruise boats to get the best views. Some of Will’s coworkers invited us to go with them, which turned out to be a good thing, as I don’t think we would have been successful at trying to navigate the event ourselves.

From what I’ve seen in three short months, the Kölsch are up for any reason to celebrate. I tried to ask what the occasion was for such a big event, and the main answer I got was “because it’s summer.” We were confused about why Will’s coworkers wanted to meet at 8pm when the fireworks weren’t starting until 11pm (the sun sets very late here) but when we got to the park, there were already huge crowds of people, some with tables and other tailgating equipment set up. We found seats on the riverbank, right beside the river, with nothing impeding our view. For three hours we chatted, snacked, and stood up whenever waves came too close. Finally the fireworks and music started around 11 and it was well worth the wait--a great new summer tradition.

Our seats along the Rhine

Drielandenpunt and Nederland

After we got back from Paris, Will’s friend from high school, Emily, came to visit. We mostly stayed around Cologne, but one day we ventured out to Aachen to go to the Lindt chocolate outlet.  Aachen is only about 15 minutes away from the Netherlands and Belgium border, so we decided to check out the Drielandenpunt (three land point).  The Drielandenpunt was just outside of the city Vaals and was located in a national (although I guess it would really be international) park.  The park also contained the highest point in the Netherlands. We went to the top of a lookout tower, but the only way to really know which country we were in was to look at our cell phones for roaming as we walked through the park.

This past weekend we went back to the Netherlands with some of our German friends. They took us to a town called Venlo to visit a grocery store that carries some more American products than the stores in Germany. We found Dr. Pepper and real cheddar cheese!

Highest point in the Netherlands

I don't speak Dutch, so I don't know what this sign says!

Afternoon frites

Paris Part III: Food

I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive about French food and I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for escargot and frog legs. But the French are world-renowned for their culinary skills, so I tried to reassure myself that I would be in good hands.

Hands down, the best part, culinary-wise, were the pastries and desserts. Oh my goodness. Can we just talk about the pastries? I think you could probably buy a three-day-old croissant at a dirty gas station and it would be the best thing you’ve ever eaten. My favorite are the pain au chocolat and I think I had one every morning for breakfast. I can’t believe that I didn’t take any photos of the sweets…but it’s probably because I ate them before I could get a picture. I was able to snatch up this cookbook, so hopefully I will be on my way to making my own croissants.

Croissant Cookbook

The one dessert that I was able to get a photo of was my box of macarons from the Biscuiterie de Montmartre. They were as delicious as they were beautiful.

Macarons

Most days for lunch, we went with a cheap, easy, and oh-so-French option: some variety on bread, cheese, and salad. A few times I chose a “cheese plate,” one of with came with a fuzzy piece of fromage!

Fuzzy Cheese

My favorite meal was at a restaurant called Ferdi, which is known for their comfort food including burgers and macaroni and cheese. (Yes, we went to a restaurant in Paris to have burgers and macaroni and cheese.) We haven’t really found any good burger places in Cologne, so we made up for it in Paris. Will and I both had the house cheeseburger and Andy decided to be adventurous and go with the salmon, which turned out to be a little more... rare than he had anticipated.

Ferdi Burger and Frites

Salmon

We had burgers a second time on the night that Germany was playing in the World Cup finale. Ever since I studied abroad in Québec, French Canada has held a special place in my heart. Many times when I go to a new city, I search online and see if there are any restaurants that serve poutine. A quick search led us to The Moose, a Canadian-themed restaurant in Paris. We ended up being the only Germany fans in a crowd of Argentina fans, but the burgers and poutine were very tasty.

Poutine in Paris

Germany wins!

Since we were staying in the artsy neighborhood of Montmartre, we wanted to try to find some non-touristy restaurants off of the beaten path. One night we ended up at Pizza Babalou, which was a mix between an Italian restaurant and your grandmother’s house. The owner was Brazilian and took great care of us since we were one of few tables, eating well before the normal French dinnertime.

Ricotta Pizza

Tiramisu and Limoncello Gelato

All in all, I enjoyed just about everything we had to eat in Paris. Hopefully I can start baking up some of my own Parisian croissants!