My dear friend, Mae, had studied in Cologne for a year in high school and had also conveniently found herself back there that weekend on an impromptu euro-trip among her travels in the Middle East.
Mae and I had only mentioned meeting up in Germany and given our limited Internet access, I was praying she would truly be in Cologne to pick me up. I called her Romanian cell phone from my Spanish one and was greeted by a shrill and shocked voice that didn’t even know I was coming because she hadn't read my email. Before I knew it, I was being grabbed from behind by a crazy girl who had dressed up her pjs with a blazer. We held hands all the way back to her friend Sarah's apartment, laughing in unbelief that we (who usually hang out in boring FC) had rendezvoused in Cologne, Germany!
Meanwhile, I was clamoring my suitcase over countless pairs of sandled feet without knowing the German equivalent for "excuse me" or "sorry"…I would later find out that this was actually very German anyways. I was just trying to blend in ;)
Back in Sarah’s apartment, I had interrupted a strange breakfast with three random German guys they’d met the night before. We overloaded on Mae’s Jello pancakes with sprinkles and pastries topped with a sugary frosting that looked just a little too similar to scrambled eggs. And then became diabetic.
Mae and I left to help take out the trash and our three-minute trip soon turned into three hours at a nearby café over white wine and coffee. Embarrassed, we returned bearing apology offerings a couple bottles of wine for Sarah and Greg before heading out to dinner (another agreement from the anonymous German men we still didn’t know the names of).
Dinner was lovely, beginning with wine on the balcony. They served stewed beef, carrots, and mushrooms, and of course a baguette. Yes, a guy really made this.
Later on in the evening, we left to visit a bar for a friend’s last night of work. I’m so thankful so many people speak English here because smiling and pointing proves difficult for making friends. Back “home,” Mae and I fell asleep pretzel style on the white skinny couch. There aren’t many people I’d let stick their feet in my face for hours on end, but this is how much I love her.
Friday morning, we woke up to sweet Sarah bringing in breakfast: a dark chocolate version of nutella on fresh rolls, German yogurt, juice, and coffee. When our lazy butts finally decided to greet the day and breath in some fresh air, Mae and I decided to be productive and buy cameras. How ridiculous is it that all three of us had either lost or broken our cameras?!
Once in MediaMart, we were immediately overwhelmed. Mae started to convince herself she was actually a professional photographer who needed to buy a 2,000 euro camera with money she didn’t have. Finally, we opted for little black sonys about a 20th of the cost because the German salesman said they were “soop-air!” ...I probably would have bought any camera that man told me to.
We didn’t make it one block before we stopped at a cute outdoor café for my first (of many, I hope) currywurst and french-fries --smothered in a generous glob of mayo.
Next stop was H&M to buy Mae a shirt since doing laundry is obviously more difficult. Two hours later we immerged with big bags of clothes we didn't need. Major blackout. Note: if you bring in 37 items to the dressing room, the employees will hate you and mysteriously “lose” the rest of your clothing pieces after trip #4. Probably for the best.
We finally left, feeling stressed, upset, and exhausted. We zigzagged into a coffee shop and then into the most incredible gummy bear store (Bearen-something) for sustenance. They had gummy bears in every shape and flavor. The sweet gummy Frau in the store gave us lots of free samples, which resulted in us buying 2 big bags “for the other Sarah.” What can I say? She’s a good businesswoman.
Feeling the need for a real meal and maybe a vegetable or two, we enjoyed a salad and quieche surrounded by ivied-brick and tiny purple flowers overflowing from large terracotta pots. I sipped my Kolsch (typical beer of Cologne) and had one of those all-too-familiar, “this is my life” moments.
Since we had eaten salad, we were of course allowed to get gelato. Every other shop was a bakery or gelato and it was just about driving us nuts. Good thing I don’t live in Cologne. Getting two cones for less than the price of one on account of us "being so cute" made the treat that much sweeter :) I tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to be a young female in Europe.
I honestly hate that this is another food story, but it’s definitely note-worthy, so bear with me. Doner Kebap is all over Spain (and apparently Germany too) and I’m praying that America will catch on in the near future. It’s much like a gyro, but more incredible. Anyways, Mae and I had a plan to eat a doner each day we were together and we nearly succeeded. Each place has their own unique spin on doner and this place made their's particularly dry. Mae was getting sick of my fussing and finally told me to go in with my half-eaten sandwich and ask for more white sauce. Without hesitation, I marched back into the joint and asked for more white sauce on my half-eaten sandwich like any shameless homeless person would do. My rationale? I’m foreign and this isn’t real life.
On Saturday, we finally decided to be productive and do something touristy since two days later and we still hadn’t been to the ONE main attraction in Cologne. The Dome is a huge cathedral and we stupidly decided to scale the top for a view of the city --I’m just glad I didn’t realize how high it was before we started. I say they just install an elevator and then we can all do without the profuse sweating and panic attack.
Skipping down to the bottom, we crossed over to the train station and ventured to Bonn, where Mae had lived with (and subsequently ran away from her host family) as a 15-year-old. I reveled in that risk factor that we could run into her host family at any time.
It was an extremely nostalgic experience for her and I loved being there to see her old stomping grounds. This is when I forced Mae to take a tour of Beethoven’s house, being that it's really the only tourist attraction in Bonn, which ended up being disappointing and mildly depressing. For such a small, seemingly insignificant town, it’s pretty hard to believe it used to be the nation’s capital.
To reward ourselves for doing so much walking, we stopped at an Eis Café (ice cream café)….another thing America is seriously lacking. They serve ice cream sundaes and nothing else…the entire menu is chock-full of impressive combinations from chocolate mocha to berry blast.
All too soon, we had to hit the train back to Cologne, and then on to Hamburg for me. (By the way, Germans don’t find it necessary to check metro or train tickets??)
All in all, we were amazingly lucky to see and do all that we did for being extremely stupid most of the time –no planning, just doing, which seemed to work out in our favor. The most exercise I got was bringing a fork to my mouth and laughing, but that’s part of why I love my sweet Mae so much!
All in all, we were amazingly lucky to see and do all that we did for being extremely stupid most of the time –no planning, just doing, which seemed to work out in our favor. The most exercise I got was bringing a fork to my mouth and laughing, but that’s part of why I love my sweet Mae so much!
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