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Published: August 5th 2008
After saying goodbye to my parents in Oslo, I took a few a few trains, busses, and a flight, and arrived in Köln, Germany late on Thursday evening. I had decided to spend my last week in Germany. Luckily, Chaz was able to find the time and money to join me. His flight wouldn’t arrive until the morning, but his roommate from last year, Marvin, is from Köln, and was nice enough to offer us a place to stay for a few nights. Marvin picked me up, showed me the Rhine River, and treated me to a beer in one of the pubs.
Friday morning, Marvin and I drove to Frankfurt to pick up Chaz. I had my first experience with the German Autobahn, and found it very similar to the freeways we have in the U.S. Contrary to popular belief, most sections along the Autobahn actually have a speed limit. However, there are a few sections that are marked with the popular “drive as fast as you want” sign. Most people tend to drive at a reasonable speed limit, but there are a few extreme speeders. We arrived at the airport and anxiously awaited Chaz’s arrival. After he finally
made it through customs, we headed back to Köln. Back in the city, with Marvin as our guide, we saw the gothic cathedral and walked through the city. The weather was sunny and beautiful. For dinner, we met a few of Marvin’s friends for Schnitzel. Chaz and I split a huge Jager (Mushroom) Schnitzel. The food was delicious. After dinner we headed to Shiva Bar to play some foosball. We headed back to Marvin’s around midnight exhausted from the day.
On Saturday, we slept in a bit. We again stopped at the Gothic Cathedral, but this time we decided to climb to the top. Hundreds of winding stairs and sweaty people later we finally reached the bell tower which held Peter Bell, the largest working bell in the world. We didn’t hear it chime, but we heard a few of the other bells. We continued our stuffy walk to the top. The views were amazing from the top. You could see the whole city. Next we hydrated by drinking a few beers by the Rhine River. I’m not the biggest beer fan, but its growing on me. We planned on attending a football (soccer) match later that evening. While
Marvin went to buy the tickets Chaz and I toured the chocolate museum. We met up with Marvin and headed to the game. The game was not all that exciting and no one scored, but it was nice to see the packed stadium and avid fans. We had a Kebab for dinner and played pool later that night.
Sunday the three of us took an hour cruise along the Rhine River. The weather was a bit warm, but still enjoyable. It was nice to see the city from the water. On our way back through the city we walked through a flea market and then headed back to Marvin’s. Marvin and his brother made Samala’ with Polenta, a typical Romanian dish. Yes Romanian food in Germany! Samala’ is ground beef mixed with rice and spices and wrapped in a grape leaf. It is cooked in a sauce. I was a bit skeptical about eating meat wrapped in a leaf, but it tasted wonderful. After dinner Marvin drove Chaz and I to the train station so we could catch our train to Munich.
Allison
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