from Cologne to Amsterdam and back again

Hey Everyone, first pictures from Germany HERE

Well, I apologize about the extremely long period without writing. Been traveling with company and have not had enough time to sit down and think about the last week. I flew out of Prague a week ago Tuesday and arrived in Cologne to cloudy weather. I had about 6 hours to kill while I waited for Christopher to get in, what I didn't know is that wouldn't happen until the following afternoon. Turns out he missed the plane due to some miscommunication in France and ended up sleeping on an airport floor and then hopping a train from Paris to here. I called his friends whom we were staying with and they were kind enough to fill me in on the details and pick me up after I started to worry that I was going to have no place to stay in a foreign country. But that didn't happen.

I'm still feeling out this city. I think I like the Germans though, life seems a bit more worth celebrating here than it did in Prague even though the latter city wins in terms of sheer beauty. Everyone I've come into contact with has been precisely helpful. The precision and orderly thing seems to be pretty true here. I mean, there is not doubt they enjoy life, but it seems seldom like there is a moment without a plan. Christopher and I on the other hand have been traveling for a bit now and have honestly enjoyed just taking a break and relaxing to some degree. We did briefly go into the "Dome" or the main cathedral here in town that announces itself from every angle when coming into the city and is amazing. I stopped in briefly during my 6 hours of independent exploration on Tuesday but decided to leave the long part of the tour for when Christopher arrived and we could do it together. When I went, The Pope had just passed and there was a procession of people coming up and paying their respects which I observed from afar.

Speaking of the recent event, Germans I've met (and I think a large part of Europe) are mixed about the importance of the church. The Cathedral steps where in the middle of a large amount of repairs, and I think this included some taxpayer money as it is the top visited landmark in the country, all in preparation for a visit from the Pope. Many Catholics here, like Catholics in the rest of the world (at least Europe and middle-class Americans), are really Easter Catholics. Meaning that they usually show up at church only a couple times a year, namely Easter and Christmas. I can understand to a degree some of the skepticism to an institution that seems at times archaic and in recent years has scarred itself horribly. But then for me, who never was a Catholic but admired it from afar because it seemed like such an anachronism in this modern world, here they are, working on getting food to developing nations, sometimes the only peace brokers in corrupt countries, all these things that I admire along with providing hope to millions of people. In comparison, although admittedly Catholics often choose to not participate in difficult questions of faith (at least with me), I seldom ever feel judged the way I have from protestants or more precisely, American evangelicals. So yes, I disagree with Vatican laws that forbid marriage in the clergy, having female bishops and cardinals (are priests allowed?), and its refusal to reinterpret views towards homosexuality and worst of all, their continued obstinance toward condom use, but overall, I don't think this church is the religion of the Spanish Inquisition. Pope John Paul I think did lot to encourage positive and constructive uses of the church, and for this, I respect the man. May he rest in peace and his successor be someone who can further modernize the institution.

But, enough about that. Back to Cologne. We're staying with old friends of Christopher. A couple he met 7 years ago when Jasmine was doing a study abroad in Austin. I've actually met her and her (now) husband, Andre, during that time as well but only briefly. I do have memories of admiring her accent and her waking up on our living room couch/bed way back at that house in Austin near... What was the name of that pub on... near Upper Crust Bakery.... shit, I can't remember. It has been, well, 7 years, an age pounding fact that is not lost on me. Yes, it was a long time ago. Anyway, their back home now, starting their life and about to start their family in another 5 months and were kind enough to put us up and show us around. They both work so in some regards we're on our own, but their always ready with suggestions. And well, we haven't done much. We've looked in some of the shops, gone cafe exploring and have yet to make it to a museum or a second visit to the Dome, which both should be resolved by our departure on Tuesday.

Andre did manage to get us out on a whirlwind tour of the Cologne nightlife last Friday. We started by visiting a historic Kirsch bar that seemed to grow as you entered through the doors. Well lit, with lots of wood brass and glasses clinking, people of every drinking age imaginable sat in every available space, sipping down the local variety of beer that is usually brewed in house, served in small straight glasses, and chomped down on local fare. The Beer (kirsch) is good, I think, but I'm not much of a beer drinker and further from an expert. I was more intrigued by what appeared to be raw ground beef served on hearty bread with onions being eaten by the table immediately to my left. We had eaten a lot earlier and Christopher, a recovering vegetarian, wasn't much up for it. But, if I get the chance before I leave, I'll get back to everyone with that experience.

From the traditional bar we moved onto a low-key lounge where the energy and age levels settled into a vicinity that we had a bit more in common with. It was a small bar, warm low lights, low seats with a lounge feel encouraged by the music. We had another Kirsch, I was forced to order in memorized two words of German and moved on once more. For a city its size (1.8 Mil), this city really has a lot to offer. I guess that shouldn't be too much of a surprise as much as I rave about Austin with it's mere 650K habitants and it's offerings. Then again, we don't have this monumental feature that cuts through the skyline like a knife like the Dome here. Regardless, this city has a lot going on of which, well, of which I've seen about 1%.

After the lounge, we went to a rock club called "Underground". It was basically Emo's mixed with a bit of Elisium except people were drinking Kirsch and dancing to music that had no business being danced to. I mean, New Wave and all that has it's dancing place, but these guys in one room were dj'ing like Marilyn Manson style stuff to a dance floor. Even the locals seemed unsure of how to react to it and I'm sure a lot of them are there every weekend. Waiting out in the courtyard though, with the sound in the background like a loud show I'm taking a break from, I felt like I was back in Austin. I felt like I was definitely going to run into someone I knew. Had I not been so tired from getting up early, it very likely could have happened, who knows. But, as the case was, I was tired so we went home a bit early and crawled into bed around 2.

And we wanted to get home early, because the following day we were going to Amsterdam. And Amsterdam is where we went, but I'll have to write that tomorrow because I'm too tired at the moment.