Köln Time

Work was very productive Friday (24 Aug) as we only have a handful of days left of work, so I was feeling the pressure to get my last project done so I can start on a presentation I have to give to upper management about what I've been working on these past few months in Germany. But with a little miracle, I was able to finish my project in time for me to catch the train to the central station so I could head off into the sunset to Köln to spend the weekend with Marijn & Lukas. I know we just hung out in the Netherlands, but let me just say, I love these guys. There is so much love and sillyness between us, and they always take care of me, so I never have to worry about a thing.

Anyways. I got to Köln a little late due to the train...plus, I wasn't able to do any work as I was planning, because when I had my computer out on the train, my mind was blank. So i just listened to my iPod till I got there. As soon as I got off the train, my first thought was "dang, we didn't decided where we were going to meet", so I started walking and luckily I looked down the stairs and saw them immediately. YAY! It took us a while to get out because somebody was having problems figuring out where the exit was and ignoring where the crowd was going. lolz.

Lukas, me, and Marijn. How can you not love them with faces like these?

Marijn got to Köln earlier that day but we all me up so Lukas could take us home. He had prepared dinner for us, but kicked me & Marijn out of the kitchen to finish cooking so it would be a surprise. It was! It was soooo good. He made yummy food, and even though it wasn't a bake, it was great :) We cleaned up, and i must say, Lukas has a sweet flat. it's very nicely decorate. They decided to tell me that Marijn didn't want to do anything super touristy on Saturday since he's already been to Köln, so they decided we should go to the zoo. I love the zoo. and I love the fact that Lukas found a theme song for our  trip to the zoo!

So we relaxed for a bit before going out for the night. It was so fun to be able to speak in Spanglish again. (spanglish is my favorite language!)There were a couple of places to go and when they asked where i wanted to go, my response was "ME-XI-COOOO!!!!" So we went to a Mexican place as it started to lightly drizzle. We sat under a tree only to decide to move under the patio, which was a brilliant idea. Because shortly after, it started to POUR and become super windy. It was there that I learned "Sour Makes Funny" as Germans say. because I had a very bitter lime drink. after all the rain subsided, we went to a Russian place, where I got a nice nonalcoholic cocktail called...THE COMMUNIST YOUTH!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! As much as I'm not a big fan of communism, the name is wicked brilliant! We stayed out until I started to get super ridiculous from being so tired and almost falling asleep.

So this is a sign at the zoo. Is it just me,
or do you see this and think that a big bird
is going to steal  baby?

Saturday morning started off beautifully to a impromptu dance party thanks to a forever classic S Club 7 song I always had stuck in my head back in Spain, Bring it All Back. It was awesome! Lukas made us a yummy late breakfast and we went off for the day. We went up the KölnTriangle Observation deck for a beautiful 360-degree view of the city, without having to climb tons of stairs. (elevators are a blessing). We then walked across Hohenzollernbrücke railway bridge, where people put locks on the bridge as symbols of love. It's a beautiful site :) And we even found that someone put one up for me and lukas. and marijn found out that his girlfriend has cheated on him twice ;) lolz. We then headed to the zoo and loved seeing all the animals and i loved that they have a raccoon in the Köln Zoo. A RACCOON! Brilliant! Also, we found out that an hour and a half before we got to the zoo, a tiger had killed a zoo worker and had was shot during it's daring escape. What are the odds? We had a lovely day at the zoo and went to a brewery so we could try some raw meat. Mettbrötchen; it's a German thing where you eat raw meat on bread. It didn't kill me. YAY! Then we got Marijn fed with a kebab while we sat along the Rhine River, people watching and singing songs. Then we had to say goodbye. It was soooooo sad. Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before we get to hang out. I'm already trying promising him super cool things when he comes to visit in Texas, like BBQ! Yum Yum. As we said goodbye to him at the train station, Lukas and I stayed till it left and made funny signals through the windows. we waved handkerchiefs in farewell and the train pulled out and we declared our love for Marijn in the most dramatic way possible :) Then the real party began. JUST KIDDING! We went down the shopping street, and in one store the new Adidas type store, there was a cardigan and i was saying it was for girls and lukas thought it was for boys and we were arguing until a worker informed us it was for boys. i pity the boy that is seen in that cardigan. We went to a resturant next to St. Anton's church called...Stanton. haha. it's combined! get it? it was nice until I was so full I couldnt eat anymore. Lukas told me I had to finish all my plate or there would be bad weather the next day. I didn't believe in his superstition. (btw. it rained and was super windy the next day, aka, sunday). We went to a beach bar on top of the roof of a parking garage afterwards, where there was a gorgeous view of the city at night. I loved it. and the Cologne Cathedral looked wonderful. It was cold though, so we walked a bit before heading in for the night.

 Sunday morning was another great breakfast after sleeping in much later. I also got to look at the pictures to the book of the most random facts about Köln. It explained why there is a giant upside-down ice cream cone on the top of a random building, and explained about the statue of a man poo-ing on the side of a building 4 stories high. It was pretty epic. So we took of to do all the sightseeing we weren't allowed to do with Marijn. We had a jolly-good day as we were singing throughout the day and enjoying ourselves. One thing I discovered was people are just very chatty with Lukas. We would be at a site, and just randomly start talking to Lukas. Por ejemplo, at the Tünnes and Schäl statues, we were taking a pic and then some random couple started talking to us and led us to a Carnival memorial. Then we were looking at a flood memorial and some guy started telling us about how Neil Armstrong died. Sad. Except Lukas is so clever, he found out this morning. We went to the Köln Cathedral, but there was a service going on then and throughout the afternoon.
We went to a great pastry place for a snack and it was sooo pretty! And the guy behind the counter spoke spanish, so I could understand him and chat with him. There was a point during our pastry time that he asked me in Spanish if everything was alright and I responded in german. haha. then i realized what i did and responded in Spanish. We then wandered to see the Circus in the Park, but i guess because of the weather, it was cancelled. it was pretty windy. So we played on the bench swing for a bit and then went on a walk in the park where there was a tall stump that had been cut. Lukas joked that I should climb in and then made me do it! I had to literally climb on his shoulders. I was so scared I would be blown off and it only got worse as Lukas climbed up too. So we were about 8 feet in the air on a tree stump with about a 1-foot diameter. I don't know how we fit. I thought I was going to fall off. Lukas helped me down, and i'm pretty sure it took about 5 minutes after for my heart rate to get back to normal. We walked to the Kölner Seilbahn (Cable Car for Cologne), which is the safest mode of transportation in Köln. And went over the Rhine River and down to the Rheinpark to see the pacifier tree, where people put a baby's pacifier on there when the child is done with it. It was kinda awesome. Our time was coming to a close, and we went to get my luggage and Lukas and Lukas lost it as we were eating. It was good we weren't in an airport where my left luggage would have been destroyed. Luckily, it was all good. Some guy at the train station thought we were lost and offered to help until he realized that Lukas was German. Lolz. The cars of the train were confuzzled, so I was nervous I wouldn't find my spot, but I sat down and looked out the window to see Lukas acting super sad over my leaving and dramatically saying goodbye. I love my friends. I think the saddest part was when Lukas told me,  "I'm going to miss having someone to sing with" ich auch, lukas. ich auch.  

The train ride back was pretty uneventful. I read one of the books I bought at the Stansted Aiport in London on sale. #win. It is a murder mystery. the first one i've ever read. I don't think i'm made for murder mysteries. i'm pretty sure i already know who did it, and so all the little details are what i need to know, but it takes forever! i guess the story isn't moving quickly enough, but i'm trying not to finish it so i can have an english book to read on the plane back to america on thursday.