Day in Cologne

Yesterday I decided to take a day trip to Germany. At first I thought I would go to Bonn. We had a basketball game there last year and stayed overnight outside the town and I wanted to explore it a little. But after looking at it I decided that Cologne was just a little closer and possibly a bit more historic so that's where I set off to. I mappy'ed the directions and left around 8:30 AM-knowing it would take 2 hours to get there. I followed the general directions and then signs to "Koln zentrum" and just parked in the first lot I came to. I HATE driving and parking in the city- any city. I didn't have a map or any idea where the public transport was so I just followed some people- hoping the would be heading toward the center too. Sure enough they led me to a metro stop. So I took the metro to the regional train hub- figuring that there would be a tourist info somewhere nearby. See how smart I am becoming in my old age:) Sure enough- as soon as I came out of the metro- there was the wonderful "i" for information! I bought a 20 cent map. Before I went anywhere I checked out the goregous cathedral that was in the main square. Here's a picture of the outside. Just a little history- it is a gothic style cathedral that was built from 1248-1880, yes that means ittook over 600 years to complete. And it was the world's tallest structure until the Washington monument was built- pretty amazing!

Then I wandered off to see what I could find in this city that was founded in the year 38 BC. And wouldn't you know that I found that oldest of all shop- STARBUCK'S- so of course I had to get my frapp since we can't in Belgium.

Then I walked over to the Rhine. When I traveled to Europe back in 99 me and my friends Pam took a boat tour down the Rhine to see some of the amazing castles along there. This time I just took it in from land.

Then I began to walk to some things labeled on my 2o cent map. It said there were some medievil parts of a wall. The map, however, was slightly decieving and I had to walk quite a ways to get there. But it was worth here. He is one of the old city gates. Pretty cool- just sitting there in the middle of a shopping area.

Here is me and the guy i affectionately call "statue man." He was guarding one of the ruins-I think he was kind of a slacker though cuz he looks like he's sleeping!

Here's another gate in another part of the city.

Oh and wouldn't you know- that they make cologne in Cologne. I am sorry but NO I did not buy any- I will have to save that for another trip.

For dinner I went to the Hard Rock- I know -I am a sucker for corporate America but free refills on soda and a real hamburger- REALLY!! It was great- I had brought one of the books I have to read for my class this month so I just relaxed, drank my refills of soda, read, and enjoyed the music!

Towards the end of the day I was a bit hot and my feet were tired so I sat in a park and there was this crazy guy singing. Thought you might enjoy him:)

After all of the exploring I headed back to the Starbucks to use the restroom. I thought I would just head home but then I saw these comfy chairs upstairs and this lovely Jazz music was playing and there were window views of the square. . . so I sat for about 45 minutes and again pulled out my book to read and began to wonder why Brussels has no chill coffee shops where one can just go and listen to jazz and read. Maybe that will be YL's next adventure here- a coffee shop!:) and I don't even drink coffee!!!

Terrace and more exploring

Ok so in one of my last blogs i mentioned that I had some friends over a few weeks back and we sat on my terrace until pretty late at night. While we were out there they mentioned that I need to get some lights for when it gets dark. Well I do not have any outlets out there so i was trying to figure something out. Well then I went to a friends house last Monday and she gave me a bunch of free stuff(they were moving back to the states). So as i was going through her stuff i saw christmas light-PERFECT I thought!! So I got some nails and hung those lights. But then I needed some cushioning for the chairs- cuz they're a little hard. So i found some and some fun little battery lanterns. So here is the final product. First with the flash.

Then what it really looks like at night- looking back toward my apartment.

Then looking out toward the view.

I must say that last night I spent some time out there reading by my little oil lantern- it is great!
I also said in my last blog that I am trying to explore Brussels and get to know it a little better. Yesterday I did another couple of hours of walking around the city. This time I started in a familiar area- by the Merode metro stop but went in a new direction. I ended up finding this great park not too far from Cinquentanaire. Brussels has so many cute little parks tucked away everywhere.

From there I just kind of headed downhill- not really knowing where that would lead. I ended up walking through this great park of town- a little seedy but it had great little groceries-anything from turkish to carribean to african. So now I know where to go when I want something special. I also found my new favorite window- I mean who wouldn't want to live here!

Eventually after some more exploring I ended up at the beach that they bring into Brussels every summer. Down by the water-not that you would ever go in the water(too nasty)- they bring in truck loads of sand and set up all kinds of food stalls and things for people to do. Here is the "boat" that you can walk through to get in.

And in case you didn't know- Newcomb crosses international boundries- they were playing it here!

So I was pretty tired and hot so I decided to sit by the "beach" and water and grab something to eat at one of the stalls. I got some thai food- a huge take away container full for only 5 euro!! and sat and ate. I have to say the view was a little sad- about every 5 minutes a barge with coal would come down the river. Pretty cool though- they all had a car on the top- which means that people live on them! But it was nice to just be outside in the hazy sunshine:)
So after walking for about 5 hours I headed back home pretty tired but again glad that I spent some time exploring.