First Week - Cologne

Well I’ve been in Germany a week now and amassed a number of great pictures. I know I’ve only been able to pound out a few quick emails to most of you, so I hope this helps give you a better idea of what it’s been like here so far. I’ve split it up into 3 posts so they don’t run on too long.

I first arrived in Köln (Cologne) and spent the night in a hostel only a few feet from the train station. I took a taxi there from the airport, having picked out a nice looking old man from the line of taxi drivers waiting outside. He had me sit in the front and we listened to soft folk music as he zipped down the street in a designated “taxi” lane. He was very nice and was astounded that we even teach German in America. After that, he kept interjection “erstaunlich!”(amazing) and “unglaublich!” (unbelievable) the rest of the trip at random, also partly because he said I didn’t have an American accent when I spoke German.

The hostel was decent and I was happy I had a room to myself to rest after the 12 hour trip. Here’s what it looked like:

On Sunday I got up early so I would have time to see just a little of Köln before I left for the orientation at 3. I stopped into a deli/bakery and bought a cute and tasty looking sandwich along with a bottle of apple juice:

Both had their own surprises: the sandwich had an egg and cream cheese instead of mayonnaise, and the apple juice was carbonated. Carbonated apple juice (??). Both rather unexpected.

Anyway, on the way back from the deli, a somewhat stylishly dressed man in a blue pin-striped suit with a trim moustache stopped me and enthusiastically asked me something in what sounded like French (it was too fast to tell). I asked him “wie bitte?” (excuse me?) and he repeated it. Finally, he just asked in German: “..turkish?”. Yes, the man thought I was Turkish. I was surprised and just said “eh..no” and walked away. Strange.

Anyway, here’s the Köln train station where we later met to leave for Altenberg for the orientation:

And here’s the giant and impressive cathedral that was directly across from it:

I wish I’d had time to take the tour. Next: Altenberg