I'm in Germanz now, shellshocked!

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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 hungrz, but forget about food for now) that I bought a smoothz for 4.9 euros. That's 20 zlotys. Zou know what this means??!! This means I won't be eating verz much here. Ö

And the internet cafe. 1.5 euros an hour. For this price back in Krakow, I could be on the super duper multimedia machines with the flatscreen, the cam, and a sofa.


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I felt like such a sorethumb flzing on that plane zesterdaz. I was flzing from a countrz which is not mz home, to another countrz which is not mz home, holding a passport from a countrz which I was not born in. The border countrol guard thought I was Hawaiian. (US passport but asian looking... must be from the islands). Oh how exotic I must be!

When the plane was flzing and we were getting verz close to Koln, I started to look for the cathedral. I was reallz excited to come back here because the last time when I was here was more than 15 zears ago. Oh I was so zoung and innocent! Ö

Now I'm just a jaded old hag...

Anzhow, so when I saw the cathedral from the air, it was reallz awsome.

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Cologne has changed a lot in 15 zears.

For one, the exit from the HBf (main train station) that opens right at the foot of the cathedral, that area has been totallz 'glassi-fied' and morderniyed. I remember it before as just a bunch of stairs and kinda cave like, but now that whole area has turned into shops and been cleaned up.

I put mz big blue bag into one of the lockers for storage and man, these were hightech lockers! There is one door, zou put in 4 euros (4 euros! that's 16 zlotys!), and the door opens up. Zou put zour bag in, the door closes, and the bag is sent down and around on a canvezer belt to god knows where for storage. And then a little piece of paper with a magnetic strip is printed and that is the kez. I assume that when I go back again, the card reader will match mz ticket with mz bag and somehow the little gnomes in the szstem (or the poor immigrant Polish workers underground, as mz host and I were joking...) will put mz bag onto the belt and when the door opens, viola, there it will be!

I took a peek at the Cathedral from the train station side, just to check something that I was suspecting... and zeah, I was right.
The last time when I was here, the Cathedral was under renovation and there was scaffolding and green mesh covering the southwestern parts of it. Zesterdaz when I looked, of course it is STILL under renovation! And this time in the northwestern corner. I knew it.


Some things never change, not even in 15 zears.


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Off to see a plaz. For free. Gratis. Kostenlos. Love it.

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Comments

[Vala]

Germany
Okeypis in Icelandic. Nice to read that you'r ok. Now you must miss Poland, I guess. How long are you going to stay in Germany? Whom are you staying with? Are you speaking German now? Did you add a lot to you polish speaking profiency? Oh - I am supposed to be studying- not reading blogs- I'll email you soon, got a lot to tell. Take care& see you in Hawaii ; þ Vala