COLOGNE, GERMANY

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MY CS HOST. Finn was his name -- it rhymed with Lynn, thus we were of course destined to get along. 😊 Finn's online humor was contagious and I was looking forward to meeting him. After an hour train ride south from Oberhausen and a hike up five exhausting flights of stairs we finally met. Finn got me acquainted with his pad - complete with a bar, however, not put to much use (what a shame). I settled in while Finn whipped up some pasta for lunch and we got acquainted over our swap of couchsurfing stories.

Finn shared his travels through Europe and the States, one in particular was his trip to or I should say through Spain. His travel was not by air, car, nor by train, but instead by foot. He embarked on the famous pilgramage known as Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Finn's mission: self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment, and just a break from the realities of the world. He successfully completed his trip in three months starting in Germany, walking all the way through France and the north part of Spain that overall covered about 2000 km (~1240 miles), with only a backpack and his walking stick as company. Each day ended with the hopes of finding a roof under his head with very few options. He roomed in cheap hotels or hostels, but some not always vacant, and even arriving in towns so small that they had no hotels. When this was the case, his only option was knocking on the door of local towns people asking to find the house of the local priests taking in pilgrams, but at times luck landing in his lap with the locals taking him in themselves. Amazing and adventurous to say the least. Hearing Finn's story reminds me of one of the things I love about my travels - meeting new people and hearing their great life stories. Finn is definitely no exception.

Anyway, after lunch, I was still on an endorphin high from the five flights of stairs climbed at Finns that he decided to keep my heartrate up by taking me into the city center for more, climbing 506 winding steps up the top of the Cologne Cathedral (Koln Dom). The exhausting climb was worth the panaromic views. Interstingly, the church is the only surviving building post-WWII with everything else in the city destroyed by bombs. They say it was salvaged not by luck, but instead because the air bombers used it as a target reference for the rest of the city.

Heading back to Finn's we stopped at Globetrotters, a noteworthy sporting good store for any backpacker coming through town or any sport/recreation enthusiast. Sports Chalet and REI have nothing on Globetrotters - with its ice and rain chambers, and pool to test equipment. I perused through their backpack section in search of a new one. I was desperate to dump my original backpack I was traveling with (thanks Finn). My mistake: buying it online, waiting until the day before I was leaving California to try it on, irritated to discover that the bag was way too big, and no time to get a new one. My poor backpack planning took its toll on my shoulders and back. After much thought, and spending more money that I wished, I had a new bag bought the right way - in the store, fitted properly, and far more functional. A worthwhile investment...

My visit in Cologne was short, but was not short of fun. The first night I enjoyed the company of Finn, his roommate Jan (Yan), Timo (Yan's brother), and Tobi finally putting Finn's neglected bar to use grooving to German reggae and drinking Kolsch - the local Colonge beer. Our topics of conversation fluctuated between silly subjects like politics, oil, and Obama, to more serious matters like beer and the art of beer making. I got a good dose of German beer education (courtesy of Mr. Tobi) learning brewery of beer the new vs. the old (ALT) way, and the differences in beer brewed in the North in areas like Cologne or Dusseldorf vs. the southern Bavarian beer.

My last night in Cologne was kicked off to a good start with my discovery of being able to walk around the streets of Germany with alcohol in your hand. I was like a kid in a candy store when Finn's friend Nichol suggested we grab a beer from the store and walk around to find a good bar to hang out at. I was all over it. Anyway - the rest night was spent in good company with the Finn, Timo, Nichol and more of Finn's University friends (Annette, Andrea, Victor, Inga, Abdula, and Latif) bar hopping and playing pool.

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More pics, click here ---> COLOGNE PICTURES
Where in the world is Lynn now? ----> LYNN'S TWITTER PAGE

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Photos

COLOGNE
View from the Dom

LYNN & FINN
When I drink gin, gin will win, my head will spin....okay, I'm a such dork...

BEER ON THE STREETS!!!
All that was missing were the bright lights and sound of slot machines

Comments

[melissa]

Hi
Hi Gracie..No Gracie episodes lately? lol After reading about Finn and Lynn's adventure, I kinda felt like I would have really liked Finn and his friends...weird. lol Glad you are still having an amazing time traveling and have been on safe couches, I was a little worried about the CSing thing! Could you go back to Italy and bring me home that guy on the dance floor in Jessica's picture? K thanks! lol

[Lynn Lynn]

Yeah you would Keyes
Laid back and a lot of fun. Come to Germany with me my next round through Europe. P.S. There isn't enough room for dance floor guy in my backpack, but he's being UPS'd overnight for you. There's a friend for Molly too. ;)

[tyler]

beer
I always say. Make time for beer. Even if you have to do it wilest walking around. Good work. Way to multi-task.