Her and I spent our last weekend together as flatmates in Köln. First hitting up a Marit Larsen concert on Friday night. Afterwards, we wandered in the direction of the Altstadt with the hopes of dancing ourselves silly. That didn't happen. But we got a refreshing mix of bars to choose from. The first being the Bier Museum. From the name and principle alone I assumed it would be a winner as they had a huge selection of beers from the world over (unusual to find in Germany). But we were bombarded with an overly packed room of 40 year old men singing, no, belting out German folk music, David Hasselhoff, and..... well, we didn't stick around to find out what else.
Just two doors down we found an equally as crowded bar featuring a rockin' jazz band. From the moment we walked through those doors our evening just kept improving. The bar was also heavy on older men leering at us, but the music and few people there just to have fun made up for the awkwardness. As we got ready to look for somewhere to dance two Americans ended up talking with me and joined us for the rest of the evening. Something I was briefly worried about as Anne really hates speaking English. Before Friday I had heard maybe five sentences come from her mouth. But it all turned out to be beyond enjoyable. It was also nice to not be the one stumbling for words for a moment. :)
The next day was set aside for pure enjoyment. My heart never tires of the sight of the cathedral in Cologne. It's the most impressive piece of Gothic architecture I have yet seen. This time around I took the time to climb the south tower and it was absolutely worth it. Graced as we were with sun and sporadic clouds, we could see for miles. In the distance, mountains (the term being used here ever so loosely) which are missing from my everyday view. Inside we were lucky enough to witness a service of some sort. Aside from it being refreshing to see the place as more than a tourist trap, it was a beautiful experience to hear chanting and singing, the earthy scent of incense hanging in the air. The atmosphere commanded more calmness than I usually experience when there.
Though it's best known for it's Cathedral and partying, that's not all Cologne is about. Anne and I did our share of Stadtbummeln (bumming through the city) on Saturday. It was more aimless wandering than anything, but it was nice to have a beautiful spring-like day to celebrate and a fabulous friend to share it with. Delicious food, a small amount of shopping, and a good deal of time dedicated to strolling and resting along the Rhine were all on the agenda. I don't feel I got any real kind of feel of the pulse of the city, but the little pockets of energy felt were different than that of my little Münster and were therefore very welcome. Köln, I would come see you again.
Liebe Anne.... ich danke dir ganz Herzlich für deine Freundschaft und Unterstützung. Das Leben in Deutschland werde bestimmt schwererer sein wenn du nicht dabei wurdest. Das Wochenende war einen wunderschönen Abendteuer und ich bin so froh das ich mit dir alleine feiern könnte.
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