Pictures from Koln

A Pictoral Journey Through My Weekend in Koln:

Our Room, Andrew Writing a Letter

The Kitchen

The Living Room

The Back Garden

Kitche-The Dog

Abdalla and Albina (Andrew's Friends)

Sergey and Andrew

Ahh...The Cathedral

Part of the Old Quarter, bombed during WWII and left as such

Andrew and I

Valentina and Andrew at a Cafe

Albina, Sergey and Abdalla at the Cafe, I think Sergey almost smiled.....

The Bridge without a train, Valentina says this is quite rare....

More of the old Quarter

Dinner with Andrew's Host mom, her friend, me and Andrew

Andrew's host mom's friend, Abdalla and Andrew

Abdalla and I before his night departure

My visit with Andrew (2/6-2/8/09):

I write to you today from a somewhat unusual location from US standards, but a
Completely normal part of European life: the train. I am on my way back from Cologne, where I meet my long lost Cousin Andrew for a weekend of German fun. (Not exactly the stereotypical German beer, Vienershnitzle and Lederhosen-but exciting enough.) I was lucky enough to snag a second-class seat, and decided to attempt to catch up on my blog.

After boarding a train to Bassel, realizing that wasn’t correct and getting off, about 4 trains and 4 hours, I finally arrived in Köln. It is strange, although I live about 10 minutes form the German boarder, it is a completely different world. Andrew said it well “You expect to get lost when you are preparing to go to Europe from the U.S. It is a whole new continent. But here, it catches you by surprise, you think, “why should I get lost and disoriented when I’m traveling two hours away?”” It is entirely true; I all of a sudden realized how valuable being familiar with the language is. All of a sudden you can’t comprehend any of the announcements, read any of the signs, or understand any of the conversation going on around you.

I met Andrew on the platform, and he lead me to a regional train, to go into the suburbs of Köln. Andrew’s program was a little over a year long, and began with two months of language school, then the students would disperse into the world of work in Germany. He and his host mom had really hit it off, and her house has been a welcoming home for Andrew and his occasional guests.

We arrived around 8 o’clock and immediately greeted by the German “la bise”, which instead of a kiss on each cheek, is a sort of double-hug on each side from Andrew’s host mom. After that we were greeted excitedly by “kiche” the little white dog. Andrew’s host mom didn’t speak much English, but she was very sweet and accommodating. I was able to eat without a problem, and felt at home despite the language barrier. Andrew and I settled in while she finished dinner, and continued to catch up on about 10 years of our lives.

In a lot of ways he hasn’t changed a bit, I can still see that little kid who played the “smooshed apple game” with me when I was 7 or so. He reminds me a lot of my aunt Betsy (his mom), but I can also see some of his dad’s gregariousness in him.

We sat down to eat our frankfurters, potatoes and vegetables, but not without Spanish red wine. One of her sons is working in Spain as a doctor, and knowing her love of red wine sent her 30 bottles. Andrew warned me that at least one would be opened at dinner. The dinner itself was a mix of Andrew translating and some broken English, but it was delightful. After dinner, both of us were quite fatigued, so we turned in.

I slept wonderfully, the mattress was made of comfortable foam, and we arose leisurely. We had a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, German proscutto, and fruit. After breakfast, we went back to the commuter train into Köln to meet a few of Andrew’s friends.

After meeting the first few in the train station, and buying a few postcards, the first stop was the cathedral or “dome”. It was magnificent, and is an architectural wonder that Cologne is known for. We took some pictures outside, and walked around the inside, looking at the stained glass and interior architecture. Valentina, another friend of Andrews from the program, then joined us as we made our way down the city’s center.

Although everyone spoke at least a little English, the primary form of communication was German. It was humbling to see other students around my age fully master another (or more) foreign language. Many people I met were multi lingual, for example Andrew’s host mom speaks Polish, German and a little English, and Abdalla (one of Andrew’s friends) spoke Arabic, German and English. Being surrounded by multilingualism really makes you appreciate the value of communication. Many of us in the US really take for granted that we can communicate with someone a couple hundred miles away. Although it isn’t obligatory to learn a new language in the US, I think it is grossly undervalued and underemphasized.

We explored the busy downtown, and then headed to the old quarter. There are still remains of some of the buildings bombed during WWII, that are sectioned off. The rest of the area, which lies right along the Rhine, is picturesque and beautiful. After exploring the old quarter, the dreary weather was starting to chill us so we went to a little German coffee shop filled with hot drinks and sweets. Following Valentina’s recommendation, I had a hot lemon drink, quite sour but warm and refreshing. It was fun to warm up, and hear some of the stories and experiences of their time in Germany.

After drinks, the group split and Abdalla, Andrew, Sergey and I went to the “student quarter” to eat. We ate a late lunch at one of Andrew’s favorite Italian places (ironically enough). However, about 10 minutes into the meal, Sergey got up and abruptly left, leaving a 10 Euro bill for his tea he had ordered. Apparently he had an appointment with his host family, and just realized he was late. He was definitely a character, he is originally from Russia, but met the group in Germany. He speaks English well, but didn’t say too much the entire day. His expression was also pretty stoic, but Andrew and Abdalla assured me that this was perfectly normal and very “Sergey like”.

After lunch (which was mostly in English!) we decided to wander back to Andrew’s host mom’s house for dinner. Andrew and I had plans to meet his host mom and her best friend for wine and dinner. Since she misses her kids and loves having people in the house, Andrew invited Abdalla back with us. The dinner was lovely, consisting of fish, potatoes, vegetables, and her Spanish wine. After awhile the German (most likely due to the wine) sounded like soft gibberish and I was happily drifting in and out of my thoughts. Andrew would translate when there was a pause, and I would them chime in. The conversation went from politics to Wagner and back, and was sophisticated yet, pleasantly reserved.

After dinner, Andrew and I escorted Abdalla back to Cologne, had a drink, then parted ways. Andrew and I sleepily made our way back to the suburb, had some more wine, and chatted with his host mom. She was watching TV, which can be quite entertaining on a good amount of wine and not knowing German. She then offered me a shot of some licorice liquor, and seeing Andrew shake his head, I declined and had water. She turns to me and asks, “Do you vant to read English book?” before I could groggily answer, she reached for a book off of her shelf which she had purchased during a trip to Alaska, titled “Alaska”. She said she bought it in hopes of improving her English, and being able to read it.

We both again slept soundly, and awoke slowly. A nice breakfast, coffee, and a warm shower were nice ways to wake up to Sunday. After breakfast, Andrew used his height to help his host mom put up new curtains. We then, said goodbye and headed into Köln, to meet Valentina. As usual, Valentina was running late. Since it was Sunday, nothing was open, so Andrew and I sat on a bench and talked.

I learned that he ideally would live, work and raise a family in Germany. He much prefers the lifestyle; he has a 35-hour contract, instead of having to slave a 70-hour week that some high-powered jobs in the US require. He said, “That’s not living.” He also appreciates the benefits-the healthcare, the school system, etc. “They just seem to take care of you better here, I don’t know exactly what it is.”

Valentina eventually met up with us, and we walked to the one café that was open in our general proximity. Andrew indulged in a few German pastries; I had some tea and Valentina some espresso. We chatted about their internship program, and the differences of the German working world.

After our Sunday morning coffee, Andrew and I went to the train station, where helped me purchase my ticket back to Strasbourg. Valentina is a little bit forgetful, and since she forgot a book in which he needed. This book was the book of all German employers, and since Andrew works for GM of Germany, (and they are cutting instead of hiring) he has deemed it a high priority to intensify his search if he wants to stay in Germany after his internship ends. We said goodbye in the train station, and I wandered around a bit to kill some time before my departure.

Four trains, and five hours later, I arrived back in Strasbourg. It had been another complete and exciting weekend of new European experiences and adventures.

Baden-Baden and the Friedrichsbad (2/22/09):

I had been dreaming and scheming all week. I was getting over a nasty cold, and some rejuvenation was long overdue. I had heard that there was famous hot springs in Baden-Baden, just a little over an hours train ride from Strasbourg. When I saw that they were open on Sunday that clinched it. Since nothing else is open on Sunday, it not only gave me something to do, but also gave me Friday and Saturday to catch up on work. I convinced three other music students, Jill, Sarah, and Julia to come with me. It also happened to be Jill’s birthday so what’s a better way to celebrate?

I met everyone at the Strasbourg train station at about 10:15 am to catch our 10:53 train. We had to change trains in Appenwier, which is the funniest most convoluted train station I have ever seen. Luckily I had been to this station when I went to visit Andrew, but it is easy to find yourself confused. There is no main station and the platforms jump from 1-5 then 9. I don’t know where 4-9 are hidden, but the fact that they are missing doesn’t seem to bother the Germans. We arrived at platform 3, and then had to walk down a path, under an overpass, over a bridge and finally there was platform 9. We arrived in Baden-Baden, and went to the ticket/information counter to buy our bus tickets to the center of town. The agent was very helpful, communicating very clearly even though he spoke only “a little English”. We got off the bus at “Leopoldplatz” and began to walk towards the spas.

Baden-Baden is a very pretty little city. It is quite wealthy, and mostly retired people live there. So consequently, the shops are designer and quite pricey, but the buildings are ornate and beautiful. We came to the spas and saw that we could either go to the Caracalla Spa or the Friedrichsbad. I had done a little research and saw that the Friedrischsbad was a 3 hour 17 step process of different pools, saunas etc. Mark Twain was quoted saying “In 10 minutes you loose track of time, in 20 you loose track of the world.” Because of all this, the cool German sounding name, and the pretty pictures online we decided to check this one out.

As we were standing in line waiting to buy our tickets, Julia asked, “Sarah, is it a stupid question to ask if we are allowed to wear swimsuits here?” Sarah answered, “Yes Julia, that definitely falls under the stupid question category. They have swimsuits all over the brochures. Its just an option, and quite common here in Europe to go without clothing.” We paid our 21 Euro entry fee and excitedly made our way to the locker room.

Sure enough however, as we emerged from the changing stalls and started putting our stuff in the lockers, a spa worker approached Jill and I and said something in German. We gave her the “deer in the headlights” look, and she then informed us in English that clothing wasn’t allowed. “No, Naked” she said. She repeated the same thing when Sarah and Julia came out and was slightly amused at our dropped jaws and looks of utter confusion. She imitated us trying to cover ourselves up and then pointed us towards the entrance. Sarah tried to explain why we were confused saying, “We had no idea, this isn’t normal where we come from.” As she walked away, we looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and Jill commented “Well, were going to get REAL comfortable with each other, and REALLY get to know each other.” Apparently we had looked at the wrong brochure, to top it off, we had come on the only day of the week in which the entire bathing process was mixed.

We were quite the amusing sight, walking to the entrance of the baths hunched over with our sheets tightly wrapped around ourselves. We were also the recipients of quizzical looks from locals who were casually walking around completely nude with their sheet under their arms. The first station was the shower. We were given flip-flops and then told to put our sheets on the shelves. We took a deep breath, counted to three and ran towards the huge kohler-like luxury showers like we were horses with blinders on. Being music students, none of us had ever experienced the public showering phenomena that is common in sports teams. Public nudity (at least physically) is not a normal occurrence in orchestra rehearsals.

However, after getting over the initial shell shock, it was really quite a pleasant experience. The same worker who informed us of the norm in the locker room always seemed to be around the next corner pointing us in the right direction and explaining what to do. The showers were the first station, and they were divine. It felt like a warm cascading waterfall. The next two stations were two saunas, (the second one quite a bit hotter). The rooms were filled with wooden chairs and wooden “beach” recliners, and the walls were covered with beautiful mosaic tile. The next station was a steam room, warmed naturally by the hot springs and smelling of beautiful essential oils. After that began the succession of pools. I felt like I was in ancient Rome. The ceilings were high, and beautifully painted or covered in tiles. The first pool was lukewarm, but comfortable. You could feel the water gently brush over you like a soft piece of liquid silk. The non-chlorinated water made your skin feel enriched not bleached. The next pool was slightly colder, and was three feet deep with jets coming out of the side. The next pool was probably the most picturesque, with a beautiful high dome, with maroon red and blue tiles, but was a bit chilly, so we couldn’t stay in for too long. Two more cold pools were to follow, the last being a cold plunge into lake superior. We repeated this sequence again, but selecting our favorites-the saunas, steam room and the lukewarm pool before going to the drying stations. We were wrapped in towels and sat on the bench for a few minutes, just utterly relaxed. After that they took our towels again, and pointed us to the lotion station, where we were instructed to rub beautifully smelling lotion all over our skin. Then was the nap station. The room was large, calm, dark, and filled with little beds. We were wrapped like cocoons in warm sheets and blankets on the most comfortable, slightly heated mattresses. After relaxing for a few minutes, we headed out to the last station, which was a “relaxing” room, to drink water, and sit in the lounge chairs. We decided to skip this station however, due to the time, and headed back into the locker room to change.

The rest of our time in Baden-Baden was filled with jokes and cultural reflections. None of us had expected to spend most of the day in a sort of obligatory nudist colony, but we nonetheless loved our new European bath experience. It was rejuvenating, and quite eye-opening. If this would have happened in the United States, we would have been more on guard. However, no one thought twice about it in Europe, it was not a house for sketchy characters, but normal people-mostly couples or single travelers purely interested in rejuvenation. No one glanced twice at you, and it was interesting to experience it as a normal part of European life. Perhaps a more lackadaisical attitude would help Americans have a healthier body image overall. Besides, who wouldn’t want to bathe naked with strangers?

A Weekend in Zurich

A major perk about this study abroad program is the fact that there are no classes scheduled on Fridays. This makes for an opportunistic schedule for traveling, so when a group of students informed me that they were planning a trip to Zurich, I immediately jumped on board. The 36 Euro bus faire was not bad either.

The entire weekend was one adventure after another. After finding out that our bus was scheduled to leave at 5 am, my host father was kind enough to help me call and schedule a taxi. The trams don’t start running until 5:30 am, and since the bus station was kind of remote, and I am prone to getting lost, this seemed like a reasonable option. My friend Megan, also directionally challenged, slept over (or napped over) so that we could wake up and make our way together. The 3:45 hour came quite quietly, and I sleepily got up, dressed and poured two bowls of cereal. The Mercedes taxi came at 4:20, so we could get to the bus stop at 4:30.

However, this early departure did not deem necessary. Somewhere along the route, the bus driver fell an hour behind. It was quite a chilly morning, and a bit disheartening to see one euro lines bus after another arrive and depart for various locations. We thought briefly about boarding one of these other busses-until we saw the magical vehicle that would take us to Switzerland. The driver however, wasn’t very magically humored, and didn’t appreciate the load, obnoxious cheers of a few of my friends who had been standing in the cold for over 2 hours. After deeming that a couple of our backpacks were “too beeeg” to take onto the bus, I pretended to load it underneath and snuck it on anyway-under no circumstances was I going to be parted from my tangerine and Gluten free peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. I found a seat and promptly went into dreamland.

We arrived in Zurich, and stepped off the bus like baby giraffes taking their first wobbly steps. As we looked across the street a Starbucks immerged out of the mirage of our fatigue. Although it is not exactly unique to Zurich, our craving for caffeine needed to be satisfied. After sipping our hot beverages, we were able to think more clearly and made a game plan for the day.



Our next stop was the main train station, destination ATM machine. The stubborn, neutral Swiss have refused to switch their currency to the euro. Although their banking system is one of the most stable worldwide, it was annoying to have to convert everything through USD, euros, then Swiss Francs. Oh well. C’est la vie.

After being armed with stable currency, we made our way to a famous museum (I can't remember what it's called so that will be the name for now.) They had a special exhibition on Roman gold found throughout Switzerland, along with some photography and general Swiss history. It was incredible to see some of the intricate jewelry dated from about AD 300, and how these people had the foresight to burry their valuables when invaders were near.
Oui! Wooly Mammoths habitent a Switzerland...

Jolin smiling on the bridge from one side of the museum to the other.
The "famous" Zurich Museum




After the museum, deciding we were hungry, we walked downtown to find food. We ended up eating at a grocery store/cafeteria, since it was less expensive and fit everyone’s needs. I was able to get soy yogurt, lunchmeat and fruit. It was glorious. When we were sufficiently filled and warmed, we headed back out into the cold blustery day to do some more exploration. The financial district of Europe is located in Zurich, which looks much like the financial district of any city, but a bit “Swissitized.” The buildings weren’t skyscrapers, but instead sleek, clean and less overwhelming. What is interesting about many European cities, including Zurich, is that there are modern buildings dispersed within older looking buildings. The Swiss buildings were unique in the fact that they were very clean looking. For example, instead of some of the more ornate French iron railings, the Swiss ones were straight and simple. Right along the “walk of gold” we came across the other thing famous to Switzerland-chocolate. The shop was ornate, beautiful and smelled heavenly. It was populated with locals and tourists alike, and each truffle looked almost too pretty to be edible. Some of the group indulged in some Swiss decadence, before heading back out into the city.



One of my favorite parts of Zurich was the park at the top of a hill. The park contained everything in which a park normally has, including swings, a pathway and a small open field. However this park, like much of Switzerland was picturesque and beautiful. There were a couple of large chessboards, complete with a group of contemplative men in sitting around it, concentrating on the next move. A little stonewall surrounded the park, and behind it was a view of the entire city. We took some pictures, then descended back down into the center of town.

The Giant Chess Board-not quite Harry Potter size....

Descending back down into town...

Jolin, the amateur photographer.

Our group, Voila Zurich!

A view from the top.

Immages of Roaming Around Zurich.

Megan posing at the Steinway shop.

The Steinway shop!

Some Swiss decadence

Our hostel was a little out of the way, as many are. On one of the busses, we met a guy about our age that walked us to our hostel. Kristin asked him of a recommendation close by to eat, and he gave us seemingly straightforward directions, and then added, “It’s a bit alternative”.

We checked into our hostel, four of us were in one room and two in another. Jolin and I headed up to our room, and discovered that one of the “free” beds was actually occupied, or at the sheets seemed in use. Jolin went to the front desk to inquire about new sheets, and they just gave her a new room. Not wanting to be alone, I decided to stay in a free bed in her new room, which was right next door to the other 4 girls. Oh silly hostels.



After some wine and snacks, we decided to check out this “alternative” restaurant. It was a bit more ambiguous to find than it originally seemed. We eventually found this building with a red florescent florecent sign. The lacey white curtains were closed and behind them the windows were lit up with a bright pink light. After further investigation, and spotting a sign that read something like “Hot! Sexy! German word. German word.” We decided that this type of “alternative” wasn’t really our style, and headed back towards another restaurant.

A European Car?

The next day after breakfast at the hostel, we headed to the train station to take a train up into the Alps. We road up the mountain in a beautiful old train car, we saw little taverns along the way, and one with horses tied to them. We got off at the top and hiked up a snowy path complete with random statues of reindeer.






The view at the top was spectacular. You could see mountains in all directions, and the cold air was crisp and clean. We climbed up onto the lookout tower and the combination of the wind, the snow covered mountains and the pure height, made you feel like you were a bird about to soar over this breathtaking landscape. We asked someone to take a picture of our group, and immediately he struck up a conversation with us. It turns out he climbs up the mountain and this tower every Sunday, and travels the world to scuba dive.








On the train descent down the mountain, we decided to get off and look around the tavern with the horses. As we approached we noticed that a group of people were sitting outside next to the horses, in the snow, and being served alcohol. This site was just too funny to let pass, so I tried to subtly take a picture. This gesture did not go unnoticed and they immediately laughed and said something to us in German. Kristin answered back, “We don’t speak German”. They then said “Oh you speak uh English?! Ha ha ha.” These people were obviously enjoying their drinks. We asked them about their horses, then one guy took the reigns of one and handed them to Kristin saying, “You’ve won Lotto Six” and laughing. Kristin, who luckily rides and shows horses regularly started asking him questions and making small talk about the horses. As we were talking, another guy with a riding helmet on walked out of the bar and to our table, giving us a puzzled expression. The table erupted with laughter and the guy who handed Kristin the reigns said something in German. It was apparently his horse. He helped us all take turns and mount the horse, who was very sweet and calm. We thanked them, and laughing, boarded our train down the mountain.





The rest of the day was calm. Not much is open on a Sunday, so we decided to utilize the remainder of our tram passes and ride around town. After a little more walking, riding and exploring, we went back to the main train station, loaded up on food for the bus ride, then went to the stop. We saw the same bus driver, who was a lot more cheerful this time, and warmly welcomed us back onto his bus not noticing the size of our bags. We slept most of the way again, and arrived back in Strasbourg around 11 pm, and made our way sleepily, but happily back to our host families.