Cologne with the Carnivalists

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Most of us went to the Hafenfest last night. There was a lot of loud American music and plenty of loud drunk people. The three of us who were staying with families in the city of Telgte had a terrific barbecue dinner with one of our host families before joining the others in Münster.

My host brother came home for the weekend yesterday afternoon from the university in Maastricht (Netherlands). As promised, he kept me out until after 5 a.m. This reminds me: nightfall is not until around 10:15 in Germany, and daybreak is around 5. Anyway, we went to a party with lots of college students and had a great time. Much to my surprise, I was quite popular. Everyone was really nice, and they all spoke good English.

I got a few hours of sleep in time to leave with the group for Cologne. This was a lively day. On the way there, we were on a bus with Martin's brother, Rainer, and his Karneval buddies. Now Karneval is serious business in the Rhineland. En route, we were treated to a concoction of lemonade and vodka from an enormous ladle. I recommend checking out their website in German and their YouTube video .

In Cologne, we visited the cathedral, stopped to have a few glasses of wine at a festival, and had a delicious dinner at a very old restaurant. We saw at least half a dozen bachelor/bachelorette parties while we were in Cologne. We took the train back to Münster.

Patrick

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Comments

[laura whitney]

Good Lord what a gorgeous church.