Eau de Cologne

Finally getting settled, we've ventured out on a road trip to Cologne (or Koln, as it is known here) over the long President's Day weekend. Koln is really easy to visit: not only is it a quick trip up the autobahn from here (about 90 minutes), but several of the main sites are all clustered in the neighborhood on the banks of the Rhine, right around the Dom, which is really spectacular. It is the largest cathedral in Germany and was built in the Gothic style...Notre Dame in Paris would be a good comparison, style-wise. It's really beautiful especially at night, when it is lit with bluish floodlights and the spires seem to go on for ever as they stretch up into the sky. In the interior, the shrine of the Magi is located behind the main altar and is said to hold the remains of the Three Kings. It was very beautiful with big, fat snowflakes coming down all weekend, but again, verrrry cold, especially inside the cathedral! We decided to warm up a bit and hit the Ludwig Museum, a 5 minute walk from the Dom, which has a really great collection of mid-century and pop art, including many Warhol pieces that you would probably recognize, like the Campbell's Soup paintings. There was a Picasso exhibit on display, too, which M. really liked. There were also some more, um, experimental pieces, which neither of us felt qualified to interpret (Scrabble tiles? Glued to a wall? Well, okay....). Later that night, we found a Mexican restaurant. I know, I know: this sounds like a recipe for disaster...but it was just what we needed after walking around in the cold all day. That evening, we found an Irish pub that, probably not surprisingly, is frequented by lots of expats. We had an English-speakers' bonding moment when M. ordered our drinks in German, and we quickly discovered that our waitress was British: not that we don't like trying to use the ol' German skills out and about, but it was fun to be able to chat with most of the people around us without much trouble. I think both M. and I agreed that our favorite stop was the Romisch-Germanische Museum, which is also right downtown. Its focus is Koln's origins as a Roman settlement, which I didn't know really much about at all until our trip...the museum was really easy to get something out of, and pretty interesting. Plus, one of the main features of the museum is the giant Dionysius mosaic, which has been installed in a main part of the building: really cool. We took our time leaving town and stopped at the Fruh am Dom, a huge beer hall downtown, for lunch before heading home. Lucky for us, the people of Koln were gearing up for the football match later in the day. So, we were surrounded by hundreds of locals and, fueled by plenty of Kolsch (the type of beer local to Cologne) there was no shortage of random singing and general mayhem to go around! It was really fun, but alas, it was finally time to come home. I would highly recommend Cologne, and I can't wait to go back when the weather's a little nicer! Hey, by the way, I've got waaaaaaay more snow than I need over here. I hope that what they say about March coming in like a lion is true...we're ready for spring! Have a good Wednesday!