Stick Shifts & Safety Belts

Hello All!

Life has taken it's twists & turns recently, but somehow I safely made it to Köln in one piece! Well, I'm actually staying with this amazing guy, David, right outside of Cologne in a prompt town called Hürth. Just a 15 minute tram ride to the heart of Cologne, which makes it perfect for me to progress in my new novel, ''Twilight.''

I finished studying in Berlin and explored everything from art museums to concentration camps to the animal park. I was fortunate enough to meet with 2 ladies from Parliament and a German author. All very intriguing people with different views on the world. Alongside learning much about Germany, I learned more about the U.S. and all the cruel things Pres. Bush is/has done. Ironically, environmental issues seem to arise, yet Berlin is the filthiest town I have ever visited. Much of it is still being rebuilt post-war. The new U.S. embassy opened on July 5th and you could hear/see the fireworks clear across town. I didn't attend the celebration as sleep was more of a necessity. But, I said good-bye to my classmates only yesterday to depart to western Germany. I had a bit of a scare whilst packing. I somehow managed to lose my check card yet again! I did not find it until I arrived in Köln. And here I thought I was going to have to live off of 120 € for the rest of my trip! I pulled an all-nighter and ended up staying up for over 36 hours (despite a 1/2 hour nap on the bus from Frankfurt to Köln). My plane left Berlin earlier than I had expected, so I had to leave my hostel at 5 am. While I sat in the tram station, I literally feared for my life. I did all that I could not to draw attention from the drunken hoodlums merely 20 feet away. They decided to harass some girls sitting right behind me, asking for some weed. I thought I would be robbed for all I was worth. That scenerio lasted for the longest 8 minutes of my life. But, all-in-all, Berlin was a great learning experience and I was glad to have shared it with the people I did.

The Rheintal is full of gorgeous countryside! There are big rolling hills with small villages in their valleys. I didn't realize how serene this place could be! This city is full of religion. I visited the Cologne Cathedral (i do believe it's the biggest & oldest in the world) with my host and his friend. We trekked up over 500 dizzying/winding stairs to the very top. What a wonderful view of the city that provided! Once we caught our breath, we were relieved at how easy the climb down was. Afterwards, we went to a pub/brewery where the automatically serve you a cold one (they're known for their Früh Kölsch) without even asking. Here, I tried Jellied Pig Head (sounds as disgusting as it looked!) which was quite the experience. I even ordered in German and once the waitor knew I wasn't from around here, he thought my host was playing a trick on me. But we straightened everything out and I ate the masterpiece. Not exactly something I licked my plate clean on, but the fried potatoes were to die for!

I also visited the Museum Ludwig in Cologne (if you haven't figured out by now, Köln = Cologne). This was an art museum in a category of its own! I spent about 3 hours there in awe. Such contemporary art, some of which looked as though I could have done. Others, were marvels. I hope to make it to the Chocolate Museum and Rheingarten tomorrow. I was invited to stick around another day, so I may oblige to do so. I may or may not meet up with some Canadians I met in Berlin.

Other than that, I am soon off to Heidelberg, then Baden-Baden, and nearly to Ireland!

Tschüs!

Ashley

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