Bahn - Köln - Bahn

The train ride from Frankfurt to Köln was quite interesting. First off it was a good 35 degrees Celsius so we were all lethargic and feeling too hot to move and the second reason was that there was a party going on on the train… It seems a group of youthful men were celebrating something and were getting in the spirit by drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

A highlight was when we were all sitting in the stuffy lower cabin and one of the young men came up to us with a thong stretched over his shorts and up to his shoulders. He was a ridiculous sight in and of himself but what made it really funny was that Forest was asleep like he so often is in the chair and the guy was facing straight at him and a few of the girls, so I tapped him and he woke, saw what was in front of him, started and then had a look of mingled horror and disillusionment. It was great!

So the train slowly wound on through the landscape, Kimberly and I talked for a good portion of the journey under the scorching sun while people shouted and hooted on the floor above us. Then as we neared Köln a voice came on over the loudspeakers in the train car to tell us that there was a fire on the tracks up ahead so we would have to take a different set of tracks and delay the trip about half an hour.

As the sun started sinking behind the mountains and buildings the day cooled off and we arrived in Köln in very pleasant weather conditions. We went with the girls to their hostel where we checked to see if there was any openings. There was none so Forest and I were hobos left to wander where we might… or find a place to stay. We checked around at several hostels but many seemed filled so we tried the Marriott hotel. They had openings… however, we decided not to take a room as the cost was 168 Euros per night ha ha ha.

Eventually we found a room to stay at; the station on the other side of the train station from the girls and behind the rolex building was a fine place… that is until we looked at the bathrooms which were how should I say… less than par. But we set up our stuff used out Pac-Safe TM and locked up our stuff, then met the girls for dinner.

We went to a nice little Turkish styled restaurant where I ordered two sandwiches, one filled with falafel and veggies and one with feta and veggies. They were tasty and only cost 7.60 Euro. Then we set off to look at the cathedral and sights of the city. The cathedral was amazing and intricate nearly to a fault. Amanda wanted to go a karaoke bar she had been to last time she was in Köln and she directed us to an area in the southeast portion of town. We wandered that way following the layout of a shopping district.

Well, we had no luck finding any bars in that area so we turned around and headed back towards the center of town and the cathedral and Rhine river. Turns out that is exactly where we should have gone in the first place because the area was littered with restaurants and pubs and bars. We sat down at one and looked at their drink menu which was minimal, then decided as the waiter was taking a long time and the drink menu was minimalist (a strange thing for Germany) we turned around and sat at the table behind us that was another restaurant’s. We ordered a drink or two and relaxed there talking and enjoying the atmosphere taking pictures.

Poor Forest has been hung up on whiskey sours and no where has them so when the waitress asked him what he wanted and he responded with a whiskey sour, she said that she could bring him whiskey on the rocks which he agreed to. When it came in its little glass with ice he looked forlornly at it. Again hilarious, I feel bad for laughing at his pain but just seeing him with this little glass of ice and brown liquid was classic.

After the restaurant bar, we went to a kiosk and got beer as it is so so much cheaper then wandered towards the bridge. On the bridge we stood and looked out over the flowing river and its pitch black depths as cars passed their headlights illuminating the world intermittently. It was truly a beautiful moment.

Then we wandered over to the green swarth near the river bank and sat and relaxed. Amanda and Sarah wandered off in search of a kiosk, 45 minutes later with their lack of return we began to be concerned and Kimberly and I went to look for them trough the streets of pub area, while Forest (who had previously fallen asleep in on the retaining wall where we were sitting) and Sam stayed and chatted. After an unsuccessful search we returned to Forest and Sam and just as we returned Amanda and Sarah showed up giddy with alcohol and their bubbly personalities.

We all walked back towards the cathedral which was resplendent in beautifully illuminated golden tones flowering in the night sky. We found a hopping club, the irony being that it was located right next to the train station and cathedral, but decided not to go in it as we were tired. We said goodbye and Forest and I tricked a little on the way back to the hostel then I took a shower and fell asleep.

The next day we checked out carried our bags to a McDonald’s where we met up with the girls, then I and Forest got falafels across the street at a small store and then walked with the girls to the cathedral where we took some pictures and went inside. There was a service as it was Sunday and the acoustics in the cathedral were just amazing. The light and the Latin and the German of the service created an ethereal realm. As I came to the center of the back of the church I froze and just stood there listening to the singing and the service not wanting to break the spell that I had fallen under.

As the rest of my party finished their examination of the building and filed out I returned to a conscious control of my body and followed after them leaving the exceptional experience behind as no more than a memory and written words here recorded.

After the cathedral and a little shopping by Amanda, Sam, and Sarah, we walked to the EL-DE-Haus. The EL-DE-Haus was an SS holding and interrogation prison, famous for its cruelty, inhuman conditions, imprisoning of foreign nationals, and unsanitary conditions. Today it stands as a memorial to these things and the other atrocities committed by the SS and people within the Nazi party.

In the walls of the prison cells are carved many poems, last words, impressions of the place, and defiant remarks made by its prisoners. There were some truly horrible stories that we all were exposed to and it touches a deep chord within the human spirit that some people suffered so much.

After the EL-DE-Haus museum Kimberly, Forest, and I took the tram and walked to a large park in Köln while Sam, Sarah, and Amanda went shopping. Unfortunately, Kimberly had to leave only a few minutes after we reached the park because she had dropped her ticket for the train and would not be able to utilize it to get back (good news though she found it on her way back so at least she didn’t have to buy a new one.)

At the park it was amazing to see so many people out sitting enjoying the weather and relaxing in the sun, playing games, meeting friends. And it wasn’t just college aged people either; people of all ages from children with their parents an large groups of families cooking food for dozens of people, and college aged people meeting friends and talking as they walked their bikes to spots in the sun and especially nice to see were hundreds of old people walking or biking or walking with canes or arm braces but getting out and see the world that exists around them.

When it was time to go we wandered a little through the park, I climbed a tree that hung over a small lake and we found a beautiful little waterfall flowing beside a cave under a path. Then Forest and I took our leave of the park and started walking back orienting ourselves on the cathedral spires. We walked through small residential neighborhoods finding gems in the landscapes and passing interesting persons engaged in their various activities. We stopped once at a grocery store and bought some supplies for our train trip later that night.

After a long and pleasant walk we arrived at the cathedral and train station. We looked for a train to München and chilled at the train station. We were going to get on one but it was already packed so we jumped off and waited for the next one. During the waiting I found a grocery within the train station and bought a few things for the trip and Forest a Banane Milch. As you can imagine he was thrilled when I brought it to him as he had been searching for one and was unable to find them. We got on the train to München around 7 pm and sat on the floor or stood for at least two-thirds of the trip. We arrived in München and walked off the platform giddy with who-knows-what; we sang Lady GaGa and walked into the heart of München as rain fell from the heavens.