This right here is a donut. A german donut. I purchased 5 of these beauties at the Munich haupbanhof before boarding my train for Koln. Without a doubt, one of the best decisions of my life. These things were amazing, some of the greatest things I have had the pleasure of tasting. I miss them everyday, and wake up in the middle of the night crying about them.
But enough about donuts. The train ride from Munich to Koln was one of the longer legs of the trip, at least 5 hours, but it was also one of the most scenic rides, as we traveled through smaller German cities like Stuttgart and the German countryside. Riding through Stuttgart, we passed another football stadium. This time it was the Mercedes-Benz arena, home of Vfb Stuttgart, a less famous Bundesliga club.
A large portion of the trip was along this wide river. It was a gorgeous day, and with the sun shining down, the hills and small towns along river looked incredibly beautiful. Pictures do better explaining than I. See for yourself.
After a long journey, I was eager to drop of my things at my airbnb and rest for a bit. My airbnb host was away for the day, So he asked that I pick up the keys to his place at his friend Stefan's. Using the directions I was given I managed to find Stefan's place very easily. When I rang the doorbell, an old German woman answered and buzzed me in. When i arrived at the door, she informed me that Stefan was not home but would be in a few minutes. She didn't speak any English but invited me to wait in her living room. I sat awkwardly while an older german woman watched whatever was playing on german television. After a few minutes, Stefan arrived. He was large man with a burly mustache and ponytail, who I found out also speaks very limited English. So this would be interesting. Stefan showed me to the apartment that was just a short walk away. The trip there was exciting. I can't imagine what passerby's though seeing me accompany this man decked out in blue overalls, rolling his bike down the street and shouting at random people, who I think were friends of his, but I can't be certain.
We arrived at the apartment, which I had only seen a picture of from the profile. In comparison to my previous experiences with Airbnb, this place was something else. The bed was fine, it had Fifa world cup sheets which was awesome:
The rest of house, well, made me feel like I was transported back in time to the early 90's a time when technology like this existed:
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| What even is this? |
I also went through an ordeal trying to figure out how to access the wi-fi. Stefan didn't know how, and when he tried my host, he didn't pick up. So I had to wait for a while, before he eventually messaged me the information. Without a data plan, Wi-fi is a precious commodity and the whole experience had me a little nervy. Also, when we arrived another woman showed up with clothes and it was all just a very strange experience. I was relieved to just get out and see Koln that night.
After stopping to watch the end of the United-Chelsea match, which didn't go the way I would have liked, and getting a bite to eat, I got to explore a bit of the Koln night scene. I was in an are known as the Belgian quarter, where there were tons of people out on the sidewalks and the streets socializing and what not. This was not a planned event, there was no festival or anything, the people were just out in the street drinking. The drink of a choice is a local variety of beer known as Kolsch. To receive the Kolsch title, the beer has to be brewed within a certain proximity of Koln. It's a lighter beer that seemed like a mix of a wheat beer and a pils. I sampled a few varieties, and I will say it was not bad. I enjoyed it, but then again, still doesn't compare to the Belgians.
I also came across this castle which looked pretty cool.
I had my return train to Brussels booked for 4:40 the next afternoon, so I had essentially an entire day to explore as much of Cologne as I could. I started by visiting the center attraction of the city, which dominates it's skyline, the Kolner Dom. A massive gothic church that is the literal center of the city. It's so massive you can't even fit the entire thing in a picture.
Well, I mean technically, I guess you can:
The inside was not much different from the numerous other churches I have encountered in Europe, but again I must reiterate just how massive this one was:
I coughed up the 2 euro that allowed me to climb the steps up to the cathedral's main tower. It was a lot of steps, but being the athletic young man that I am, I made ease of it, and was at the top in no time. You can't climb to the very top but you can kind of see it from where you end up:
The cathedral provided a wonderful panoramic view of Koln, which looked lovely on yet again another gorgeous day of my travels.
The cathedral is a work of art, and I can't begin to comprehend the manpower that went into its construction. On my descent, i found a compelling insignia along the stair walls that I think summed up my experience pretty well:
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| Yes I have! |
The central attraction of the exhibit was the former floor of a roman building that had been restored and reassembled in its original inhabitance:
The museum also featured a more modern exhibit that focused on the remains of the city from the war period, when much of Koln was destroyed, lit on fire, and just generally ravaged. This included the smallest bathtub in Koln:
Sadly, it also featured these bottles of beer that were destroyed during a fire from air raid. Poor some out for your next beer's fallen brethren.
After having my fill of archaeological remains, I had time to do one more museum, so I went to check out a former SS prison, that has remained relatively untouched since its use during the Third Reich. The tour included a glimpse into the cells, where prisoners had left behind a large amount of scribblings and drawings on the wall. The messages have been analyzed and they say a lot about the abysmal conditions that most were subject to in the prison.
The tour also included a look into the prison's bunker, where the guards would hide during Allied air raids while prisoners were left to fiend for themselves in their cells.
The place was only recently rediscovered in the 1970's and turned into a museum a few years later. The upstairs featured a rotating exhibit that offered a detailed look into the building and layout of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. It included detailed schematics of the camps many buildings including the barracks, gas chambers, medical experiments lab, and crematoriums.
Following this visit, I went to pick up my bags and head to the train station. I enjoyed a final bratwurst for lunch and said goodbye to Germany as I boarded my train back to Brussels. The train ride was no longer than an hour and half. I had actually bought a first class ticket for the journey because it was weirdly cheaper than second class when I booked it. So i helped myself to a complimentary beverage, snack and free wi-fi for the first time, which was nice.
As I returned to my home in Brussels, reality started to sink in rather quickly. I had two papers due that Tuesday, and had to get started on those, so I didn't have much time to let the trip sink in. Looking back a few weeks later, I'm truly grateful for the entire experience. I had wanted to explore Germany, and the opportunity to do so alone was pretty inspiring. I enjoyed the experience of being a constant traveler, although I don't think could do so for a much larger period of time. I was impressed with all the cities I visited and especially with the country of Germany. It's a rather friendly place with plenty to do, and of course plenty of history to explore. I would highly recommend visiting Berlin or Munich to anyone. And no, you don't have to visit as many museums as I did.
This would be it for my personal travels during the trip. The following weekend, I would be partaking in a trip to Alsace with the rest of the CIEE program, which had plenty of its own stories. Until next time, Cheers.
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