Blogs from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe - page 68

Full of retirees, retirement homes, pollen, and not much of anything else. There's really not much to report; being a booooring town begets boring blog entries. I ate a couple of falafels (2.50 and 2.60 euros each), had a few kinder buenos (almost my favorite candy bar), and I spent two hours today walking to and returning from the grocery store. I made myself lunch with the food that I hauled home, and then I read up on German grammar. And of course I can find things to complain about, even if-when a town is boring. I am getting rather annoyed at the over-friendly attempts of some of the folks here to acknowledge me, in what they believe to be 'my native language'. Wtf, several times now I have been walking around, getting into a store, ... read more

I'm in Germanz now, for less than a daz, and I am totallz shellshocked and traumatiyed bz the prices. If I thought I was going broke before when I was in Poland, I surelz will be broke when I leave Germanz! For example, the train ride in from the airport to the Cologne main trainstation was 2.20 Euros. That's like 10 polish zlotys. Zea, this is what I am doing, converting to Polish zloty instead of USD, and then I think, for 10 zls, I can have bought a whole piyya! Or rode the bus 5 times! (btw, the y and the z kezs are switched on the Germanz kezboard lazout, so just bear with me. If something looks reallz misspelled, it's cuy I'm too layz to retzpe) I was so thirstz at the trainstation (and ... read more

Well my spring break trip has come to an end! After my fast-paced (on a bicycle) time in Rotterdam I was ready to take it easy. And when I think of relaxation, I think of Germany....ok maybe not, but that's where I was headed, so I made do. I got to Cologne in the afternoon and had to take an inner-city train to the hotel. However, there didn't seem to be any place to buy tickets, so I just kinda hopped on the train. In fact, I never actually paid to use any public transport in Cologne. I don't know how they make money around here. The hotel was fine, in that old, faded glory and Monet prints above the bed kind of way. I was able to get some money, finally, that didn't require me ... read more

I made one rule for myself for my ski trip to Germany: don't try anything stupid. But much like bones, rules are meant to be broken. Fortunately, my one foray into snoboard hotdogging ended without any serious injury and much like Lindsey Jacobellis' silver medal boardcross run: humiliating, but surmountable with enough BS and the whole "yeah, well I don't see you trying it" factor. There was a split second of a "My knee hurts and I want my mommy" moment when I thought I tore something, but after a few minutes of Peter Griffin pain management, I was able to finish the run and make it down to the bottom of the mountain. It's now late on Tuesday and the limp's almost gone. Whew. Otherwise, the trip was awesome. I got to see some amazing ... read more

Woke up the next morning feeling a little worse for wear but made myself get out of bed and made my way to the train station. I got on a train to Cologne which is a two hour journey north. The trains in Germany are brilliant, they are really efficient and always run on time. For the most part of the trip the train travelled alongside the Rhine river which is really beautiful and well worth it. We passed several small towns each with their own church and nestled into the valley. They all looked exactly the same and as we rounded each bend sure enough another town, another church! We passed maybe fifteen of these small towns and occasionally seeing the remains of castles perched atop the hill. The river is pretty busy with many ... read more