Cologne for a Weekend

I just got back on Sunday from a beautiful, sunny weekend in Cologne (Köln). Cologne is located in North Rhine-Westphalia (the most heavily-populated German region) and is one of the oldest towns in Germany. It is home to 12 Romanesque churches and the famous Gothic cathedral! I know you have seen a picture of the cathedral before- it's enormous and gorgeous and looks like something you would find in a fairy-tale. 

As soon as my friends and I arrived in Cologne on Saturday morning, we first headed to our hostel to drop off our overnight bags. When I say that we stayed in the smallest hostel in all of Germany, I'm not kidding. Our taxi driver almost sped past it:

Here it is! Hostel 404. As you can infer, it's creepy looking on the outside. My friend Jeff kept asking Fiona (who booked this hostel) if he would be leaving with both kidneys.

HOWEVER, once we found the back door (yes, the back door) and knocked for five minutes until someone answered (after unlocking maybe 6 different locks and chains), we discovered that our room was AWESOME. And CLEAN. It was incredible. Never judge a book by it's cover, I guess!

                                            Our bathroom was so fancy!

After having some lunch at at Argentinian steakhouse, we made our way to the Kölner Dom (the Cologne Cathedral). It was stunning. I had my travel guide book with me, so I was able to learn all about the history of this magnificent cathedral.

 

You know what, my pictures don't do it justice. Here is the ENTIRE cathedral:

Now can you believe this construction began in 1248?! It was built gradually until 1520- it's amazing how earlier centuries were able to construct such masterpieces without all of the technology we have today.

Of course we went inside and got to see the beautiful stained glass windows, the high altar, and even the crypts of past bishops. The stained glass windows have been around since the 1300s! The cathedral also houses the Shrine of the Three Kings, which holds the relics of the Magi.

 

 

 We were fortunate to have the opportunity to go to the top of the cathedral in the highest tower. The view from up there was breathtaking. And it wasn't because we had to climb over 500 stairs and then some to get all the way up there! All of the noise from down below had turned to silence at the very top. It was peaceful and quiet, and the Rhine sparkled in the sunlight.

Here were the stairs of doom we had to climb back down:

Now imagine climbing them when people were going in two different directions! I swear I thought I was going to fall and hurt myself, also because my right flat kept falling off my foot. I guess if I were to tumble to my death, it would be good to at least be in a cathedral when it happened. No worries tough, the trip to the top and back was definitely worth it and a wonderful life experience!

What could be better after that workout then to go to a Chocolate Museum?! That's exactly what we did. We took the metro system underground and walked all the way to the Schokoladenmuseum, home to one of the famous Lindt chocolate factories! I was in HEAVEN. The museum was right on the water too, which was pretty:

This giant GOLDEN chocolate fountain could be seen from the window when we were still pretty far away from the museum. The man gave us free samples too when we got there!

I love the chocolate Lindt Easter bunny! This was just too cute...It's a giant bunny made of the smaller chocolate ones :)

We  were tired after this. And hungry (surprisingly) for food that wasn't highly concentrated in cocoa and sugar. We decided to go to a restaurant called the Saxenhaus, which has traditional German food. It was a great experience because for once we were all able to speak German the entire time! I think Fiona, Jeff, Katie, and I were the only "tourists" in there too, at least we were the only ones not originally from Germany. It was great. I had delicious salmon with cheese, potatoes, and vegetables, along with a giant beer.

Walking around at night was fun but it did get a little creepy. A drunken man wearing a zombie costume freaked us out at one point when he walked past us. We went back to the hostel and hung out for a bit, organizing our bags and making up our beds. Fiona and Katie were pretty tired, so Jeff and I went to the pub across the street and tried some of the house drinks. The bartender was incredibly kind and only charged us for half of what we really owed. He also taught me some new German words and I taught him some French. Overall it was a great day, but I was exhausted!! I went to bed not long after I first got there.

We were sad to go the next day, but before we left we went to Museum Ludwig. This museum has some of Europe's best collections of modern art. I had left my phone in my bag in the locker outside, so I couldn't take any pictures :( In addition to Warhol, etc., I got to see lots of Picasso paintings, as well as works done by other German Expressionists. Fiona had her camera phone with her, so I made her take photos of the exhibits I found interesting...

        Who knew Brillo boxes could be so artistic? I guess Warhol did.

It was really such a nice trip. I wish I had time to explore the other famous museums around. It would have been nice to see some of the other famous churches too, but it was a fun weekend vacation! I can't wait to go back and get more chocolate one day <3

Excursion to Berlin!

I honestly did and saw so much in Berlin, that I had to take out my excursion program to remember all that happened this past weekend. First of all, the weather was stunning. It was warm and sunny, and the autumn leaves looked beautiful against the tall buildings. My excursion group and I arrived around lunch time on Thursday and walked around West Berlin a bit to find food before beginning the bus tour. I was able to admire some of the scenery by the Berlin ZOB Zoo:

 

Next up was the bus tour. Though interesting, it went through the main sites quite quickly so I didn't get to see and admire as much as I would have liked (at least not through a bus window). What I did catch, however, was really quite interesting and I consulted by Berlin travel guide for more information:

This is the Olympiastadion, built for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. I was happy because we were able to get off the bus and take pictures in front of the massive structure. This stadium was designed in the Nazi architectural style and contains architectural components that were influenced by that of ancient Rome. Inside, giant grandstands surround the field and everything comes together as an enormous amphitheater.

Don't the fall leaves look so pretty? I was surprised by how many parks there were in such a large city. It was interesting how they intermingled so perfectly among the buildings. Beneath the tree picture is the Siegessӓule, or Triumphal Column. I apologize that you cannot see the whole thing because I took it quickly from a moving bus!! Anyway, the Column was built to commemorate the victory in the Prusso-Danish war in 1864. A gold figure representing "Victory" was added to the top and she points to France reminding the country that Germany won that war. Here is how it actually looks thanks to Google images:

 

We also drove past the Bundesrat! The Bundesrat is responsible for federal policy, defends the federal states' interests, and serves as a link between the Federal Government and the Federal states. Almost 50 percent of all the laws passed in Germany require the Bundesrat's approval.

Next up, we were able to get off the bus and visit the Holocaust Memorial. It is more formally known as the "Monument to the Murdered Jews in Europe." I gave my presentation here on the topic, so I know lots about this. The architect for this memorial was not German, but rather American! His name was Peter Eisenmann and the project was completed in 2005. Eisenmann received both praise and criticism for his design. The memorial is made up of 2,711 five-sided slabs of stone of different sizes and shapes. They bear no markings, dates, or names. The slabs undulate in a wave-like pattern, as do the paths shaped between the slabs. This is representative of the groundlessness, instability, and disorientation of the Holocaust. One can walk in any direction and find themselves getting lost among the dips in the paths and dark shadows cast by the slabs.

 

After visiting the memorial, we drove (very quickly!! too quickly!!) past Brandenburg Gate. This is all I caught until I went back two days later to take pictures with friends (which have not been uploaded just yet!). Here is the side view :)

At night it is absolutely stunning- it is all lit up with red and green lights!

After the bus tour was over, we arrived at our meeting place to listen to Carsten Sieling give a talk on German political processes, as well as hold a Q and A. Mr. Sieling is a member of the Social Democratic Party and has been a member of Parliament for the Bremen constituency since 2009.  Before, from 2004 to 2006, he served as the state chairman for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Bremen. It was very nice meeting him and listening to him speak, especially because he represents Bremen (home to Jacobs Uni!). I wish I knew and understood more politics, because I struggled coming up with a decent question to ask him. Mr. Sieling was a very kind man though and certainly passionate about what he does! This was me in the main square before going in to meet with him:

WELL, by this point we were all quite hungry so my friends and I went to a restaurant called "Neumanns." It was SO GOOD. And I got to have my first Berliner Weisse!

 

I was content after that. But despite being exhausted and very full, there was still more to do. A group of my friends and I headed to East Berlin that night to check out some of the bars. We came across one called The Lounge which had drinks with very interesting names. Mine was called the Flying Kangaroo....?

 

Safe to say I slept very well that night.

I can't believe how much I have already written about the first several hours. At 8:30 the next morning we all got back on the bus and headed to the Hohenschonhausen. This is the Stasi Communist prison created after the Soviets occupied East Berlin.

It was a prison for essentially anyone who opposed (or was suspected of opposing) the GDR and its Communist policies. The Stasi (police) arrested thousands of people and interrogated them asking for names of fellow opposers among other things. People were imprisoned here and were forbidden from having contact with their families. In some cases, some of the prisoners' children were even given up for adoption. Other times, the psychological abuse such as being put in isolation or being locked in a cell with 12 other people (including decomposing corpses) led entirely innocent people to confess to actions of which they took no part. It was absolutely horrible. The prison finally closed after the fall of the Berlin wall.

 

I think we all deserved a break after listening to our tour guide tell us so much of that information. We went to Alexander-Platz right after and my friend Maia and I did some much needed clothing and jewelry shopping!! I will spare the details on that though ;)

Around 4pm we headed to the Reichstag Building for a tour. This building is very important in Berlin. It is home to the Bundestag, which was newly elected upon German reunification in 1990. It is a meeting place for the German parliament, particularly important figures such as the Federal President (Joachim Gauck) and Federal Chancellor (Angela Merkel).

My favorite part was going up into the dome (representing the German people as the highest influence in the Welfare State) and looking out onto the Berlin skyline at night.

My friends and I then headed over to Haus Der 100 Bier! It's a famous pub located on the Ku'damm. We had more incredible food and a great, great time together!! Until the check came :)

 

I (fortunately) was able to sleep in on Saturday morning. Around 10:15, I went to the Neues Museum, which is home to Ancient Egyptian art and artifacts, including the famous Bust of Nefertiti! The museum was BEAUTIFUL. I could have spent all day in there reading every panel, taking my time with the audio tour, and admiring every ancient artifact within the museum walls.

 

                                The body's insides were put in these jars before mummification

After my museum trip, it was almost time to go. Our bus was on its way to Potsdamer Platz, the famous shopping center and home to the Sony Tower, but it made some important (still quick) stops along the way.

In order, here we go:

Checkpoint Charlie:

The Berlin Wall:

Finally, we arrived in the beautiful Potsdamer Platz where I had an incredible chicken curry wrap and some yummy German chocolate pastries.

We then went back to Bremen! I fell asleep instantly.

If I learned one thing on the trip, it's that all of Berlin can't be done in just two and a half days. Oh, and the red Berliner Weisse flavor is much better than the green flavor. Prost!