yesterday, we went to köln once more, this time to "take in" the city. see, we've been there several times, but once was just to see the dom, once was for the carnival parade, and once was on our train station before amsterdam. SO, we finally got to explore the city!
for part of the day, we went to the dom-treasure exhibit. quite magnificent! so much gold! we saw relicarys containing bones, busts of cardinals, chalices, rings, and vestments made of gold. one weighing 60kg! it was so impressive.
OH, and on the way TO to the treasury, we got to experience part of a mass (one being done specifically for japan) and i FINALLY got to hear the organ played! in one of the most famous cathedrals in the world! this, for me, would be like someone hearing their favorite musician play in the coolest arenas possible. (so, a pretty big deal) Dear Xian, if you still read my blog, i'll have to send you the photos of all the organs in so many cathedrals. you'd have enjoyed it, so much!
then we went to a part of town that had walls from over 2000 years ago. can you possibly imagine?! (ok, i'm sure some of you can, but let indulge me in my childlike wonder)
shortly after that, we met up with miriam at elisabeth's office, and went to the bridge over the Rhine. there is a tradition, in which two people lock a, well, lock, on the fence of this bridge, sealing their love. then, the key is tossed into the rhine, and it's fun times. (i'm sure to some, this is cheesy, but, it was also pretty nifty seeing all of these locks. thousands and thousands of them.)
we made our way through part of the inner circle of the city, and saw where when a few years ago they tried to build a judaica museum, they unearthed centuries old houses. some of which where from prominent jewish leaders, themselves! so, we got to see an excavation of sorts. hard to believe all of these houses were under the street we were walking upon!
after that, a bit more walking through the inner city, stopped in a department store, then again in an apotheke for scott, and took the train back to leverkusen. it was a bit sad on the train, though, when i realized this would be the last time on the DE-Bahn, aside from our train ride to DUS on thursday when we leave. i've grown very fond of having such easy access to public transit, in particular, public transit that makes sense.
i also got bummed out when i realized i had only a short time left here in deutschland, itself! it took SO long for this trip to get here. months and months of waiting.. and then, it just FLEW by! while i am happy to go home and see my friends/family, dogs, and bike... i really love this country. i can't really find the correct words to explain how it feels, but it feels right. unlike anywhere else i've ever visited. which, of course you realize, means that i must eventually make DE my home, right? ^_^ it just must be! (even if it's only for a year or ten.)
Showing posts with label DE-bahn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DE-bahn. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
nederland, a few days late.
oy, what an exhausting trip it was to amsterdam! **warning, super long post ahead. enter at your own risk**
for starters, i was sick the entire weekend (and still have a bit of a sore throat) which made it much less exciting.
the trip on the ICE train from Köln to Amsterdam Centraal was nice. though, surprise! i was "randomly" chosen to have my passport screened. nobody else in the entire wagon, but me. i'm starting to see a pattern here.
got to Centraal (which i will here on forth refer to as AC) and had to figure out their train system in about five minutes. (this didn't pose too much of a problem, because it was very clearly marked, unlike the DE-Bahn...) so I figure out which platform i need, and go to the ticket kiosk. it differs a bit from the debahn, in that you choose your destination, and, well.. it's rather hard to explain. it felt more user friendly. SO, i go to make a payment, and wouldn't you know it, but the paying with notes (bills) section is X'd out. they only took EC cards, Visa/MC, and coin. as i only had about 4€ in coin, and the trip for both of us from AC to Zaandam was 9,2€ i had to pay with my visa. which they then proceeded to charge a 1€ transaction fee. whatever, i was tired and my throat hurt, i wasn't going to try to find another kiosk, wait, and then risk missing my train which was to arrive in 4minutes.
we rush to our platform, and the train was already there. so, two stops, about twelve minutes, and we're in Zaandam. hooray! even better, we could see the hotel from the train station! big hooray! however, they are completely redesinging the area, so we had to figure out how to get INTO our hotel. LOL it took going in and out and up and down, and we finally found it. checked in, the receptionist's english was impeccable, which always makes me feel very guilty, and i took a nice warm shower to shake off some of the "sore throat funk."
that evening we spent slumming around Zaandam, which is a pretty cool little town. the thing that surprised me, though, was how early everything closed. generally, if it was past 20.00, things were closed. which is fine, because i was exhausted, and feel asleep shortly after 21.00 anyhow. (i know, i'm ridiculous) plus, i wanted to feel better for my trek around amsterdam the next day.
so, saturday, we wake up early so we can take Amsterdam head on! we head to the station, find our train we need, and go with excitement in our eyes!
we had intentions of seeing four museums. 1) the torture museum 2) the sex museum 3) the erotica museum 4) the tea and coffee museum
museum 1 was *fairly* far south on the list, so we decided to hit that one first. plus, it was the one that sounded the most fascinating to me. and it definitely was. seeing the devices used in the middle ages to torture, and humiliate people, was awful. however, it made me start thinking about some of the things we do to people now. (Elisabeth and i had a conversation about this last night, too) we really aren't *that* much better than back when they made people sit on spikes to rid the devil. i think the only change is that we don't do it for witchcraft or heresy now. and now we have electricity.
after museum 1, we were getting kind of worn out. and the city was CRAMMED with people. it was almost impossible to walk anywhere without molesting some perfect stranger. so, we spent a few more hours taking in the sights, stopping in an awesome Nepalese market, conversing with the very nice nepalese owner of the market, and decided to make our way back to Zaandam w/o seeing 2, 3, or 4.
when we got back to Zaandam, i was a bit disheartened. i had all of these very romantic ideas of Amsterdam (rather, of the Nord-Holland area) and they had very much faded. but, i remembered seeing something about an open air museum north of the city, so i did a bit o' research and found the name of the place. found a train that would take us there, and we headed off!
HERE was where i fell in love. i am, sometimes, SUCH a midwesterner. i got to see all sorts of brightly coloured houses, bridges, and then, the windmills. oh, the windmills of fairy tales. the windmills one pictures, when one pictures the netherlands. it was, obviously, much less crowded here, so i could act as much like a tourist as i felt. and i did. i very nearly skipped along the pathway while taking in the sights. okay, it wasn't that bad...
anyhow. after i nerded out for several hours in Zaanstadt, we headed back to Zaandam, and wandered around the town some more.
sunday (yesterday) we gave Amsterdam another shot before our train left. it was much less crowded because it was colder than saturday. so, we wandered around, and made our way to museum 2, the Sex museum. very cool. a little cheesy at times, but totally worth 4€ if ever your in the city. there were some very very old sexually related artworks, and some more modern as well.
last thing for today- we were on the ICE back from AC->Köln, and guess who was "randomly" chosen to present his passport this time? Yours truly. LOL. the ride back was much nicer, though, we were in a separate car with a chatty woman from Moscow, and a sleeping dutch woman. (oh, aside- every time i've traveled so far, i have been asked to help someone with his or her luggage. it appeased the inner boyscout. LOL)
kudos, if you read this in its entirety. especially if you made it without falling asleep. LOL
for starters, i was sick the entire weekend (and still have a bit of a sore throat) which made it much less exciting.
the trip on the ICE train from Köln to Amsterdam Centraal was nice. though, surprise! i was "randomly" chosen to have my passport screened. nobody else in the entire wagon, but me. i'm starting to see a pattern here.
got to Centraal (which i will here on forth refer to as AC) and had to figure out their train system in about five minutes. (this didn't pose too much of a problem, because it was very clearly marked, unlike the DE-Bahn...) so I figure out which platform i need, and go to the ticket kiosk. it differs a bit from the debahn, in that you choose your destination, and, well.. it's rather hard to explain. it felt more user friendly. SO, i go to make a payment, and wouldn't you know it, but the paying with notes (bills) section is X'd out. they only took EC cards, Visa/MC, and coin. as i only had about 4€ in coin, and the trip for both of us from AC to Zaandam was 9,2€ i had to pay with my visa. which they then proceeded to charge a 1€ transaction fee. whatever, i was tired and my throat hurt, i wasn't going to try to find another kiosk, wait, and then risk missing my train which was to arrive in 4minutes.
we rush to our platform, and the train was already there. so, two stops, about twelve minutes, and we're in Zaandam. hooray! even better, we could see the hotel from the train station! big hooray! however, they are completely redesinging the area, so we had to figure out how to get INTO our hotel. LOL it took going in and out and up and down, and we finally found it. checked in, the receptionist's english was impeccable, which always makes me feel very guilty, and i took a nice warm shower to shake off some of the "sore throat funk."
that evening we spent slumming around Zaandam, which is a pretty cool little town. the thing that surprised me, though, was how early everything closed. generally, if it was past 20.00, things were closed. which is fine, because i was exhausted, and feel asleep shortly after 21.00 anyhow. (i know, i'm ridiculous) plus, i wanted to feel better for my trek around amsterdam the next day.
so, saturday, we wake up early so we can take Amsterdam head on! we head to the station, find our train we need, and go with excitement in our eyes!
we had intentions of seeing four museums. 1) the torture museum 2) the sex museum 3) the erotica museum 4) the tea and coffee museum
museum 1 was *fairly* far south on the list, so we decided to hit that one first. plus, it was the one that sounded the most fascinating to me. and it definitely was. seeing the devices used in the middle ages to torture, and humiliate people, was awful. however, it made me start thinking about some of the things we do to people now. (Elisabeth and i had a conversation about this last night, too) we really aren't *that* much better than back when they made people sit on spikes to rid the devil. i think the only change is that we don't do it for witchcraft or heresy now. and now we have electricity.
after museum 1, we were getting kind of worn out. and the city was CRAMMED with people. it was almost impossible to walk anywhere without molesting some perfect stranger. so, we spent a few more hours taking in the sights, stopping in an awesome Nepalese market, conversing with the very nice nepalese owner of the market, and decided to make our way back to Zaandam w/o seeing 2, 3, or 4.
when we got back to Zaandam, i was a bit disheartened. i had all of these very romantic ideas of Amsterdam (rather, of the Nord-Holland area) and they had very much faded. but, i remembered seeing something about an open air museum north of the city, so i did a bit o' research and found the name of the place. found a train that would take us there, and we headed off!
HERE was where i fell in love. i am, sometimes, SUCH a midwesterner. i got to see all sorts of brightly coloured houses, bridges, and then, the windmills. oh, the windmills of fairy tales. the windmills one pictures, when one pictures the netherlands. it was, obviously, much less crowded here, so i could act as much like a tourist as i felt. and i did. i very nearly skipped along the pathway while taking in the sights. okay, it wasn't that bad...
anyhow. after i nerded out for several hours in Zaanstadt, we headed back to Zaandam, and wandered around the town some more.
sunday (yesterday) we gave Amsterdam another shot before our train left. it was much less crowded because it was colder than saturday. so, we wandered around, and made our way to museum 2, the Sex museum. very cool. a little cheesy at times, but totally worth 4€ if ever your in the city. there were some very very old sexually related artworks, and some more modern as well.
last thing for today- we were on the ICE back from AC->Köln, and guess who was "randomly" chosen to present his passport this time? Yours truly. LOL. the ride back was much nicer, though, we were in a separate car with a chatty woman from Moscow, and a sleeping dutch woman. (oh, aside- every time i've traveled so far, i have been asked to help someone with his or her luggage. it appeased the inner boyscout. LOL)
kudos, if you read this in its entirety. especially if you made it without falling asleep. LOL
Friday, March 11, 2011
Sorry folks
No blog for last night, and not much today. Have a very sore throat, am tired, and sore.
Yesterday we went to Aachen to visit a cathedral from 813. Very impressive! Gorgeous, and so many stories associated with it. It is unlike most of the cathedrals in that it is octagonal, and not in the form of a cross. Beautiful.
I saw the throne of Charlemagne, which is a pretty big deal. It's interesting hearing about the history in school, and now finally seeing some of it for myself.
We also walked around the city, which was, not surprisingly, beautiful as well. It is a very old city, with lots of roman influence. The Rathaus (town hall) was fascinating. It also happens to be a very big, and important, university town. Very young population
Got to meet Miriam's eldest sibling, Jeremiahs. Like the rest of the family, very genial guy, and like the rest, very smart indeed. He showed us a lot of the university buildings, and the hospital, looks like a space ship. Amazing!
This morning, woke up super early to catch the train to köln, and then the train to amsterdam. Will update more on the Amsterdam trip Sunday, most likely. I dont have the keyboard for the iPad, and ive gotten too used to typing with it.
For now, hot tea, and maybe read a little before falling asleep. And maybe I'll feel better for my tour of Amsterdam tomorrow!
Yesterday we went to Aachen to visit a cathedral from 813. Very impressive! Gorgeous, and so many stories associated with it. It is unlike most of the cathedrals in that it is octagonal, and not in the form of a cross. Beautiful.
I saw the throne of Charlemagne, which is a pretty big deal. It's interesting hearing about the history in school, and now finally seeing some of it for myself.
We also walked around the city, which was, not surprisingly, beautiful as well. It is a very old city, with lots of roman influence. The Rathaus (town hall) was fascinating. It also happens to be a very big, and important, university town. Very young population
Got to meet Miriam's eldest sibling, Jeremiahs. Like the rest of the family, very genial guy, and like the rest, very smart indeed. He showed us a lot of the university buildings, and the hospital, looks like a space ship. Amazing!
This morning, woke up super early to catch the train to köln, and then the train to amsterdam. Will update more on the Amsterdam trip Sunday, most likely. I dont have the keyboard for the iPad, and ive gotten too used to typing with it.
For now, hot tea, and maybe read a little before falling asleep. And maybe I'll feel better for my tour of Amsterdam tomorrow!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
düsseldorf!
i apologize for the lack of post yesterday. we didn't get back from düsseldorf until a bit late in the evening.
onto the post!
as i mentioned, we went to düsseldorf yesterday, with Samuel. he is a MUCH different style of tour guide than Miriam and Elisabeth! (but, this is not a bad thing, because it's interesting to see the cities in different points of view!)
we took the bus to Leverkusen Mitte, and our bus unloaded AS the train to DUS was pulling away from the station! curses! considering we still needed to purchase a ticket, that's ok. when we attempted to purchase the ticket from the kiosk, we were met with errors three times. SO, we went into the depot to purchase one. (this was lucky we weren't at the Opladen station, where there isn't a ticket counter, which i have learned can be very troublesome)
the DE-Bahn guy was SO incredibly slow! there was a fellow in front of us, that we waited behind for a good 5 or 6 minutes. THEN, when it came our time, it took another 3 minutes! the guy was typing on his keyboard with TWO fingers. *sigh*
(i tell you these inane details to explain WHY it is so incredibly irritating when they go on strike. which by the way, they have decided to do today)
anyhow, about 20mins later, we were in Düsseldorf! i've had two previous experiences with the city so far this trip, but there were incredibly brief. so, getting to delve into the city was quite fantastic! it was an awful lot like chicago, if chicago were clean. and friendly.
we spent a good amount of time in the Kö district, which is ridiculously posh. so many boutiques and shops that even walking in to the store you have to earn 7 figures per year LOL! to be serious, these were places that a sweater costs more than my monthly rent. (and in some cases, more than twice the monthly rent) BUT, it was very cool seeing something very out of the ordinary for me.
after a while, we walked into Alt Stadt (the old city) with the most fantastic architecture! so many interesting sights, and then so many little bakeries and cafes! (i think my favorite part of germany is being able to smell all of these foods! i'm such a food-a-holic!)
we mad our way down to the Rhine. we watched several boats (HUGE boats) going up and down the river. and then walked along for a while, making our way towards the "tower." i'm not entirely sure of the name of said tower, i'll have to look that up.
went inside the tower, took the elevator to ~168meters up, and entered the observatory. even though it was pretty cloudy yesterday, you could see SO far. apparently, on a clear day, you can see Leverkusen from up there! after a bit, we walked up to the TOP of the tower, which is a revolving restaurant. very cool, but very pricey. we considered getting a beer, but Samuel decided much better to grab one elsewhere. took a trip down to the level just below the observatory, which is actually "outside" the building. it was very, very windy! we did not spend much time out there.
made our way back into Alt Stadt, and stopped at the "golden kessel" for an alt bier (the Düsseldorf drink of choice, and reason for animosity between Düsseldorf and Köln) which was very good. (we had "schumacher alt")
and then started towards the Hbf (train station). our train was PACKED! we were crammed in, and barely had room to breath! LOL! there is a stop between DUS and LEV mitte, so it did empty out a bit. and then we got to LEV-mitte, said goodbye to Samuel who was headed home to Aachen, and ran to catch our bus which was getting ready to depart as we showed up.
once back to the house, we had some very good rose hip tea, and then some homemade chocolate liquor. quite fantastic!
now, we are going to eat brunch, perhaps take the bus to LEV, and in the evening a trip to aachen! tschuss!
onto the post!
as i mentioned, we went to düsseldorf yesterday, with Samuel. he is a MUCH different style of tour guide than Miriam and Elisabeth! (but, this is not a bad thing, because it's interesting to see the cities in different points of view!)
we took the bus to Leverkusen Mitte, and our bus unloaded AS the train to DUS was pulling away from the station! curses! considering we still needed to purchase a ticket, that's ok. when we attempted to purchase the ticket from the kiosk, we were met with errors three times. SO, we went into the depot to purchase one. (this was lucky we weren't at the Opladen station, where there isn't a ticket counter, which i have learned can be very troublesome)
the DE-Bahn guy was SO incredibly slow! there was a fellow in front of us, that we waited behind for a good 5 or 6 minutes. THEN, when it came our time, it took another 3 minutes! the guy was typing on his keyboard with TWO fingers. *sigh*
(i tell you these inane details to explain WHY it is so incredibly irritating when they go on strike. which by the way, they have decided to do today)
anyhow, about 20mins later, we were in Düsseldorf! i've had two previous experiences with the city so far this trip, but there were incredibly brief. so, getting to delve into the city was quite fantastic! it was an awful lot like chicago, if chicago were clean. and friendly.
we spent a good amount of time in the Kö district, which is ridiculously posh. so many boutiques and shops that even walking in to the store you have to earn 7 figures per year LOL! to be serious, these were places that a sweater costs more than my monthly rent. (and in some cases, more than twice the monthly rent) BUT, it was very cool seeing something very out of the ordinary for me.
after a while, we walked into Alt Stadt (the old city) with the most fantastic architecture! so many interesting sights, and then so many little bakeries and cafes! (i think my favorite part of germany is being able to smell all of these foods! i'm such a food-a-holic!)
we mad our way down to the Rhine. we watched several boats (HUGE boats) going up and down the river. and then walked along for a while, making our way towards the "tower." i'm not entirely sure of the name of said tower, i'll have to look that up.
went inside the tower, took the elevator to ~168meters up, and entered the observatory. even though it was pretty cloudy yesterday, you could see SO far. apparently, on a clear day, you can see Leverkusen from up there! after a bit, we walked up to the TOP of the tower, which is a revolving restaurant. very cool, but very pricey. we considered getting a beer, but Samuel decided much better to grab one elsewhere. took a trip down to the level just below the observatory, which is actually "outside" the building. it was very, very windy! we did not spend much time out there.
made our way back into Alt Stadt, and stopped at the "golden kessel" for an alt bier (the Düsseldorf drink of choice, and reason for animosity between Düsseldorf and Köln) which was very good. (we had "schumacher alt")
and then started towards the Hbf (train station). our train was PACKED! we were crammed in, and barely had room to breath! LOL! there is a stop between DUS and LEV mitte, so it did empty out a bit. and then we got to LEV-mitte, said goodbye to Samuel who was headed home to Aachen, and ran to catch our bus which was getting ready to depart as we showed up.
once back to the house, we had some very good rose hip tea, and then some homemade chocolate liquor. quite fantastic!
now, we are going to eat brunch, perhaps take the bus to LEV, and in the evening a trip to aachen! tschuss!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
yes! industrie!
well, to start off, last night i stepped on the scale in the bathroom, it said 69kg. doing the math today, i came to find out that i've lost ~2.3kg (or, about 5lbs)! this is good news for me, because i've put on quite a bit of weight, and i was hoping i'd do enough walking in DE to lose some of it. i also noticed that my pants are fitting better than ever!
that was until around 7pm today, when i ate a huge dinner. and now feel that i am going to waddle all day tomorrow.
now, on to the meat and potatoes of the post.
today we went to oberhausen. it is a city about 60km north of leverkusen (again, where we are staying) oberhausen was, for a very long time, a HEAVY industrial city. it revolved mostly around the production of iron ore into steel. while there, we toured the museum that explained all about the industrial revolution, and about the production of steel. it was incredibly fascinating!
for example, i learned that the men working in the steel factory would end up with black gums because of all the soot, smoke, and shavings that went into the air. i also got to see a hammer for making train wheels that was as big as a house.
after the museum, we went to an industrial park. which was ACTUALLY a park! you got to go inside of the machinery that was, until around 15 years ago, a functioning steel factory. we climbed several flights of stairs, and went on a LOT of really scary pathways. unfortunately, i started chickening out around 55m up, and had to stand on the middle level because i simply could not go any further. it was one thing in the Kölner Dom going up 98 meters, with a wall around me. but going up past 55meters was just impossible for me, because i hate being able to see the ground below me when i'm that high up.
interestingly, while we were on that middle level around 55m up, we could see very far past the city. on the horizon, i spotted two nuclear energy plants. this is INCREDIBLY fascinating to me, because i am a HUGE proponet of nuclear energy. it's very cool being in a country that actually USES this type of energy! as well, they use a lot of solar, and wind energy.
finally, the weather today. it was 15C, and it felt absolutely fantastic! when Miriam and I went to the post office, we didn't even need jackets! unfortunately, we are not going to be having such weather tomorrow. my weather site says ~8C, cloudy, and then possible rain in the evening.
for tomorrow, we are going to Düsseldorf with Samuel, on the DE-bahn. that is, if the strike hasn't made the trip impossible. (i honestly can't remember if i mentioned this, but the DE-Bahn workers voted to strike, again (they did last week) starting tomorrow. So much for a certain co-worker's rich praises, and chastising of riding in a car. (that didn't make much sense, i apologize)
now, i am going to drink some tea, and read a bit from david sedaris. Tschuss!
that was until around 7pm today, when i ate a huge dinner. and now feel that i am going to waddle all day tomorrow.
now, on to the meat and potatoes of the post.
today we went to oberhausen. it is a city about 60km north of leverkusen (again, where we are staying) oberhausen was, for a very long time, a HEAVY industrial city. it revolved mostly around the production of iron ore into steel. while there, we toured the museum that explained all about the industrial revolution, and about the production of steel. it was incredibly fascinating!
for example, i learned that the men working in the steel factory would end up with black gums because of all the soot, smoke, and shavings that went into the air. i also got to see a hammer for making train wheels that was as big as a house.
after the museum, we went to an industrial park. which was ACTUALLY a park! you got to go inside of the machinery that was, until around 15 years ago, a functioning steel factory. we climbed several flights of stairs, and went on a LOT of really scary pathways. unfortunately, i started chickening out around 55m up, and had to stand on the middle level because i simply could not go any further. it was one thing in the Kölner Dom going up 98 meters, with a wall around me. but going up past 55meters was just impossible for me, because i hate being able to see the ground below me when i'm that high up.
interestingly, while we were on that middle level around 55m up, we could see very far past the city. on the horizon, i spotted two nuclear energy plants. this is INCREDIBLY fascinating to me, because i am a HUGE proponet of nuclear energy. it's very cool being in a country that actually USES this type of energy! as well, they use a lot of solar, and wind energy.
finally, the weather today. it was 15C, and it felt absolutely fantastic! when Miriam and I went to the post office, we didn't even need jackets! unfortunately, we are not going to be having such weather tomorrow. my weather site says ~8C, cloudy, and then possible rain in the evening.
for tomorrow, we are going to Düsseldorf with Samuel, on the DE-bahn. that is, if the strike hasn't made the trip impossible. (i honestly can't remember if i mentioned this, but the DE-Bahn workers voted to strike, again (they did last week) starting tomorrow. So much for a certain co-worker's rich praises, and chastising of riding in a car. (that didn't make much sense, i apologize)
now, i am going to drink some tea, and read a bit from david sedaris. Tschuss!
Monday, March 7, 2011
i am not (such) a tourist.
today we were put out in the world by ourselves. dropped off in the main city of Leverkusen, and given a bus schedule! it's not as bad as it sounds, we were pretty much told exactly which bus station, and exactly which busses would lead us back to miriam's house. (which interestingly i learned is in Opladen, not in Leverkusen, but the address is listed as Leverkusen.)
we wandered around their mall (which is apparently VERY new, and a very new concept to germany) for about 45min but it was warm, and very crowded, because today is Rosenmontag. (a holiday. google it.)
so, we decided to wander around in the city itself. we went up and down several streets, admiring the architecture, and the ultra-pedestrian friendliness of it all. it was also nice to be out in the air, as today was one of the nicest days so far. it was warm, and the wind wasn't so
strong, either. it was perfect.
after a while, though, my back started hurting (again). the same place that hurt when i threw it out shoveling my neighbor's sidewalk. i've decided that once we get back to the states, i need to have the doctor look at it.
but i digress. we went back to the mall with the intention of sitting down for a while. we, however, found a watch shop and decided to look around for a bit. i found a watch for ~75€ but costs ~120€ back in the states (even on amazon!) and that doesn't include shipping for the states! so, i splurged. and i REALLY shouldn't have, but my watch back in the states is in need of repair, and i've already taken it to the fossil store TWICE to be repaired.
after being extravagant, we decided to head back home. waited for the bus, and had a lovely bus ride back to miriam's house. (the public transit here is SO impressively clean, quick, and dependable*)
*aside- the DE-Bahn is apparently striking ALL the time. and we learnt that tomorrow, when Rachel has to go back to Trier, she might have problems, because the workers voted by 97% to strike tomorrow. this is apparently very common, and a VERY much a headache to the folks here in DE.
we had a very nice dinner of antepasta and foccacia bread that Rachel baked herself. -- it's amazing, there is so much good food, so very readily available, and i eat much less, because i feel full so much faster. ALSO, i have had so very little soda (maybe 1/4 litre) since i've been here, and i really haven't had (much) of a problem without it!
for now, it's about 22.25, and i'm getting sleepy, so i'll leave it off here. tomorrow, we go to Oberhausen to see the steam/train museum.
tschuss!
we wandered around their mall (which is apparently VERY new, and a very new concept to germany) for about 45min but it was warm, and very crowded, because today is Rosenmontag. (a holiday. google it.)
so, we decided to wander around in the city itself. we went up and down several streets, admiring the architecture, and the ultra-pedestrian friendliness of it all. it was also nice to be out in the air, as today was one of the nicest days so far. it was warm, and the wind wasn't so
strong, either. it was perfect.
after a while, though, my back started hurting (again). the same place that hurt when i threw it out shoveling my neighbor's sidewalk. i've decided that once we get back to the states, i need to have the doctor look at it.
but i digress. we went back to the mall with the intention of sitting down for a while. we, however, found a watch shop and decided to look around for a bit. i found a watch for ~75€ but costs ~120€ back in the states (even on amazon!) and that doesn't include shipping for the states! so, i splurged. and i REALLY shouldn't have, but my watch back in the states is in need of repair, and i've already taken it to the fossil store TWICE to be repaired.
after being extravagant, we decided to head back home. waited for the bus, and had a lovely bus ride back to miriam's house. (the public transit here is SO impressively clean, quick, and dependable*)
*aside- the DE-Bahn is apparently striking ALL the time. and we learnt that tomorrow, when Rachel has to go back to Trier, she might have problems, because the workers voted by 97% to strike tomorrow. this is apparently very common, and a VERY much a headache to the folks here in DE.
we had a very nice dinner of antepasta and foccacia bread that Rachel baked herself. -- it's amazing, there is so much good food, so very readily available, and i eat much less, because i feel full so much faster. ALSO, i have had so very little soda (maybe 1/4 litre) since i've been here, and i really haven't had (much) of a problem without it!
for now, it's about 22.25, and i'm getting sleepy, so i'll leave it off here. tomorrow, we go to Oberhausen to see the steam/train museum.
tschuss!
Carnival parade
Sorry, I didn't get a chance to update last night. Yesterday was a kind of long day. This update will be very short, as well.
Yesterday we went back into Köln for the carnival parade. The train was PACKED! So many people that we had to squish in all together. But apparently today is an even bigger parade, and it would be even more packed on the train.
When we got to köln, it was swarming with people. We had to stay very close not to get lost from one another. We found a relatively empty space near the end of the parade route, and then stood. We waited there for about two hours for the parade to get there, but the time was fun, anyhow.
1st because there were all sorts of people in costume going up and down the street. They were all acting goofy and it was lots of fun.
2nd because there were a group of five polezei near us. They were all VERY attractive, and because little kids kept coming up to them and putting paper streamers on them. It was very cute!
Then it got SO busy as the time grew closer for the parade to come by. So busy, in fact, that eventually, we were unable to keep taking photos. Just crammed with people.
Eventually, the sun went behind a building, and the wind picked up significantly so we decided after standing there about five hours it was time to head home.
Got home, had a very good dinner (part of it was a cooked red cabbage dish with currants, amazing), and then spent the evening talking.
Ok, it's time to put iPad away and join everyone for breakfast.
Yesterday we went back into Köln for the carnival parade. The train was PACKED! So many people that we had to squish in all together. But apparently today is an even bigger parade, and it would be even more packed on the train.
When we got to köln, it was swarming with people. We had to stay very close not to get lost from one another. We found a relatively empty space near the end of the parade route, and then stood. We waited there for about two hours for the parade to get there, but the time was fun, anyhow.
1st because there were all sorts of people in costume going up and down the street. They were all acting goofy and it was lots of fun.
2nd because there were a group of five polezei near us. They were all VERY attractive, and because little kids kept coming up to them and putting paper streamers on them. It was very cute!
Then it got SO busy as the time grew closer for the parade to come by. So busy, in fact, that eventually, we were unable to keep taking photos. Just crammed with people.
Eventually, the sun went behind a building, and the wind picked up significantly so we decided after standing there about five hours it was time to head home.
Got home, had a very good dinner (part of it was a cooked red cabbage dish with currants, amazing), and then spent the evening talking.
Ok, it's time to put iPad away and join everyone for breakfast.
Friday, March 4, 2011
köln dom und deutsche-bahn.
today was spent partly in köln. this city was incredibly busy because of fasching right now. oh my gosh, there were people EVERYWHERE! it was kind of exciting to see so many people around! there were so many people in costumes and there were carts everywhere. miriam and her mother tell me this is not what the city normally looks like. they were like "please, don't think our city is this messy!" LOL
they also board up a lot of the shop windows because this weekend, there will be over 1 million people added to the city, and it gets so packed, that they worry the glass might break. we will be going back on sunday, so please pray for me LOL!
it was also our first day on the detusche-bahn. this was a lot of fun, and only slightly confusing. we bought the ticket, a 4 ticket. one for each of us, each ride back and forth. THEN, we had to stamp the ticket on this OTHER machine, twice. once for me, and once for scott. because the DE-bahn workers are on strike right now, miriam made me wait to stamp the ticket, in case the train didn't show up. (slightly confusing)
by the way, for any of you that are going to germany, please come to me when you have questions, because the info i'd been given, made everything more confusing. no offense to those that told me info, but it could have been explained so much easier.
anyhow, we also toured the köln dom. it was ABSOLUTELY amazing! we went up into one of the towers. OH MY GOSH! it was so tall! 98 meters (about 322 feet) that we went up! so many stairs, and such a skinny space. we looked out over the city, and that was terrifying, even with all of the safe guards.
yikes.
tonight, samuel (miriam's brother) made me a requested dish (that was SO not something i would normally eat) He made curry-wurst. this is a big deal, because it is made from pork, and im not eating pork regularly. big deal! had a glass of very nice bubbly white wine, and now i'm ready to fall asleep. UNFORTUNATELY, with the aid of my sleeping pill, because all of a sudden, i feel not tired (even though, after the 535 steps, i was incredibly tired.)
tomorrow, i think düsseldorf? or maybe back to köln? n8i meinen freunden.
they also board up a lot of the shop windows because this weekend, there will be over 1 million people added to the city, and it gets so packed, that they worry the glass might break. we will be going back on sunday, so please pray for me LOL!
it was also our first day on the detusche-bahn. this was a lot of fun, and only slightly confusing. we bought the ticket, a 4 ticket. one for each of us, each ride back and forth. THEN, we had to stamp the ticket on this OTHER machine, twice. once for me, and once for scott. because the DE-bahn workers are on strike right now, miriam made me wait to stamp the ticket, in case the train didn't show up. (slightly confusing)
by the way, for any of you that are going to germany, please come to me when you have questions, because the info i'd been given, made everything more confusing. no offense to those that told me info, but it could have been explained so much easier.
anyhow, we also toured the köln dom. it was ABSOLUTELY amazing! we went up into one of the towers. OH MY GOSH! it was so tall! 98 meters (about 322 feet) that we went up! so many stairs, and such a skinny space. we looked out over the city, and that was terrifying, even with all of the safe guards.
yikes.
tonight, samuel (miriam's brother) made me a requested dish (that was SO not something i would normally eat) He made curry-wurst. this is a big deal, because it is made from pork, and im not eating pork regularly. big deal! had a glass of very nice bubbly white wine, and now i'm ready to fall asleep. UNFORTUNATELY, with the aid of my sleeping pill, because all of a sudden, i feel not tired (even though, after the 535 steps, i was incredibly tired.)
tomorrow, i think düsseldorf? or maybe back to köln? n8i meinen freunden.
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