Köln, or Ich Liebe Ümlauts

Köln war viel spaß. My first couchsurfing host graciously waited for me at the hauptbahnhof for about 2 hours since my first train was canceled and my second train was late! Her name is Louisa and she actually grew up in Canada until she was 8, so her English ist fast Perfekt! We went out for drinks with her friend Alejandro, a really friendly engineer who is currently out of work....just like 12 % of Germany. He was a little older, i think around 30, but he was really friendly, and because German ist nicht ihren Muttersprache, he spoke more slowly and so it was easier for me to understand. We went to a biergarten and drank a couple of Kölsch, the ubiquitously present beer aus Köln, then went to a bar that had 2 for 1 cocktails and we split 2 mojitos and 2 swimmingpools (like a pina colada but with BRIGHT blue food coloring, not as gross as it sounds) between the four of us; and then, then I had currywurst. MMMMMM, I do love me some currywurst. Also, Köln is rather cheap! The bar we were at was relatively chic, but the cocktails, at a 1am happy hour on a Saturday night, were about €4.50 each! And meine Currywurst war nür €2!
The next day, I explored Köln on my own. I went to the cathedral, that is truly massive, and wandered around inside for about an hour, paying the simple €1 fee to see the 10th century book covers and reliquaries they have in their treasury! Cool (for me anyway). I wandered around the fancy shopping district for a while, but everything was closed. I stopped by this cafe that my host had recommended called something like the Cafe Washing Machine auf Deutsch. The decor was really cool; all of the lamp shades were made from old, old washing machines. I emphasize the decor in part because it was awesome, and in part because the services was complete shit. I sat there for like 15 minutes by myself without being served, and watched as other people came in, sat down, and were served immediately. Maybe it was something about me that advertised I was only in the market for a coffee and maybe a croissant during the lunch rush, but I was rather taken aback. So after 15-20 minutes, I left without ordering anything. This ended up being in my favor actually. I stopped by what I THOUGHT was a place called Marx´s Winebar. Cool huh? So I sat down at a table outside but under their awning (it was sprinkling lightly, the first and only rain Ive seen during daylight hours this whole trip!), and a waitress came by within 45 seconds to aske me what I wanted. I ordered a glass of 2005 Bordeaux (probably the best vintage from Bordeaux in the last century, no joke), but the waitress informed me that the kitchen was closed, and they only had brunch, I spoke my halting half German to explain that I didn´t have a ton of money, so if the kitchen was closed, ein Glas Rotwein und vielleicht später ein Kaffee would be enough. However, she came back about 10 minutes later to say she had asked the chef if he would make something and he had said yes! I ordered a simple snack of schwarzbröt und käse, Gouda. The snack and wine were delicious, and I had a nice relaxing time reading and writing at.....nope, not Marx´s Winebar. Again in broken German, I asked the waitress why the owner had chosen that name, and she laughed to say that Marx´s Winebar´s sign was for the place next door that was closed on Sunday, and I was at the Lichtenberg---the Light Mountain. Sure enough, inside, it was plain as day. They had the MASSIVE chandeliers (sp?) that were made of all kinds of random glass, ashtrays, wineglasses, old vases, everything! It was awesome. And the whole wonderful experience, fantastic wine, cheese, bread, atmosphere, service and all, cost me something on the order of €6.50!
After my wonderfully satisfying snack, I went back towards the Dom, passed it, decided I didn´t want to pay €15 for a museum, and wandered around the Altstadt on the Rhein! I stumbled upon a pub called the Bier Muzeum, mit 18 Bier vom Fass! Es war ganz toll. Ich hätte eine Leffe und habe die erste halb des UEFA U19 Championships angeschaut. It was England vs. Ukraine, and Ukraine was up 1-o when I left.
Finally, I met up with my host and her friend Mara to go out for a drink again. This time we got Kölsch at the Früh Kölsch Brauhaus, und dann ein Caparinha (again, sp?). Slowly but surely, my German is improving. We chatted over drinks, and when it came time to go, I asked my host if it was still OK if I stayed a third night. She got a bit antsy because she had a lot of work to do, but then her friend Mara offered to host me since she wasn´t going to her bf´s place in Bonn that night!
The next day, Mara took me to her workplace to get a map of Köln. This place is called the Globetrotter, and it makes Dick´s Sporting Goods look like Footlocker. Seriously. It´s supposedly the biggest outdoor sporting shop in all of Europe, they have a cold room where you can try on jackets, and even a pool for kayaks and canoes. Sweet. Then we went for another bier at the Bier Muzeum (ein Eisbock this time), and finally back to her place for dinner and cocktails. She invited a couple of friends over and we made Caparinhas and played German singstar! I knew like 3 of the German songs, so I sang those and then we switched to the American one. One of Mara´s friends actually did a HS exchange program in Edina when she was younger! Ganz cool.
Und Jetzt bin ich ins Hamburg! At somepoint, however, I have to stop writing and get out and start doing at least a LITTLE bit in this city, so I will have to wait until tomorrow oder ins Berlin to update about Hamburg. Bis dann!