i did just spend a wonderful weekend in Germany with Pia (our exchange student that stayed with us about 6 years ago) and her family! i took the 6h01 train on Friday morning from Paris to Cologne -- note to self, too early!!! i slept the whole way (what a surprise) and woke up to find myself in Cologne and with Pia waiting for my right outside the train!
Cologne was pretty empty upon my arrival -- kind of eerie, but we started walking around, so of in search of something to eat. There was really on this one chain of cafes open, so we got some tea and coffee and these chocolate croissants that were pretty disappointing (there was no chocolate inside!). After that, we wandered through the Dom where they were having their Good Friday service, and then went and found the little trolley that makes a tour around the city! it was a little cheesy, but we took it to the chocolate museum! Which was probably the highlight of the day....They had lots of info about how chocolate is made, and then they had a whole area that was about how Lindt manufactures its chocolate. We saw a woman wrapping the gold foil on a huge chocolate bunny! And then probably the coolest part was where we got to design our own chocolate bar. We each filled out a sheet saying what we wanted, and then dropped it off, and about 40 minutes later, it was ready to pick up (and more importantly, ready to eat)!
The Dom
Wrapping a chocolate bunny!
From there, we walked along the river down to the cable car station where we took a cable back across the river towards the city to get a great view of everything -- it was very cool, despite it being just a little scary...
View of Cologne from the cable car
THEN, we decided to make the climb up the tower of the dom! 544 steps up (i think) -- and the funny thing is, that they have two way traffic on this itty bitty spiral staircase....doesn't exactly seem too safe...like a game of dominos waiting to happen. But the view was pretty spectacular, and we definitely felt like we got our exercise for the day....
View up the Dom!
That basically concluded our day in Cologne. We drove the hour and a half back to Munster, where Pia and her family live. Her mom made this delicious salmon dish with noodles -- so good.
Saturday, we woke up on the earlier side to get going on our drive to Hamburg. Very beautiful city!! And Pia's favorite in Germany! The only slight problem is that it was SO COLD -- and it actually was snowing a bit....made me feel like i was in Rochester again! But we had a lovely day wandering around -- took a long walk on the harbour with all the tourists, met one of her friends for coffee in the late afternoon, and mostly just strolled through the streets which was fun!
The Hamburg Rathaus
Sunday was Easter! And we woke up to lovely baskets of delicious chocolate on the table, and a huge array of food for breakfast! Wonderful cheeses and meats and rolls, etc. After breakfast, we hung out for a bit and i worked on some homework. Around 1, we had another incredible meal. We were joined by Pia's brother, Jonas, who's about my age and goes to university in Munster. Pia's mom made lamb and potatoes gratin and green beans and salad and then for dessert, she put peaches and raspberries in a big dish and covered it with whipped cream and brown sugar. Needless to say -- i didn't go hungry!
Later in the afternoon -- since the weather was finally cooperating -- Pia, Jonas, and i all went for a bike ride! They said it was the ride that they would do with their parents every Sunday afternoon -- and it ended at an ice cream shop! But we had a great time -- lots of people out biking, jogging, walking and enjoying the sunshine!
That night, some of Pia's friends came over, and then we all rode bikes over to the Easter fire -- which is a traditional German thing! it's mostly for socializing and such, but the fire was pretty impressive!
Yesterday, Pia and i started the day off with a little jog in the rain (to the bakery and back....) and had another nice breakfast with her parents. Then, we went into town and visited the Munster city museum which was quite interesting! And then wandered around -- unfortunately, again in the rain. But despite the rain and everything being closed, Munster is a very lovely place!!
Munster street
i think that about does it for my Germany weekend! Her mom had lunch waiting for us when we got home and so we ate before Pia drove me back to Cologne to catch my train. Here are some pictures of me, Pia, her parents, and their adorable, yet not too bright, dog, Eddie.
And i'm off to class -- a bientot!
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