The next morning we woke up decently early and headed for the train station. After a long and stuffy bus ride we decided it was time to take a train. To our delight it was an ICE train or bullet train. We were so excited to ride in something that could get up 200+ mph. We got on the 2nd class cabin. It was incredibly nice, we thought we were in first class. We got a table, tons of leg room, and seats all to ourselves. We arrived in Cologne in a quick two hours later. Getting off the train we could see that Cologne was going to be an amazing city although very few people spoke English. After setting up shop in our hostel, which was much nicer than our hostel in Amsterdam, we took the tram back to the city. We had no idea where to go or what to do. We were told we must go to one of Cologne's famous Bruhaus with their wold renowned "Kolsch." (Cologne's own beer) We ended up finding the most famous one....and we found out why. As soon as you enter the place their are hundreds of people all sitting at these little wooden tables drinking these tiny narrow glasses of beer. Finally we found a tiny a table in the very back. Literally as soon as we sat down a waiter brought us two glasses of beer and wrote two little marks on our coaster. We had no idea what was going on. We learned that the waiters just go around the restaruant with a trays filled with the beer glasses and as soon as they see someone with an empty glass that drop one down at the table and make a mark on their coaster. SOOO COOL! After a few Kolsch (they don't call it beer) we had to have some true German sausage...it was heavenly. Then after a few more Kolsch we ordered a meat plate to share filled with schinitzel, saurkraut, sausage, roast beef, black pudding, and mashed potatoes. After 10 beers between us (which only about 2 pints each) we decided we had better go see the city. Cologne was spectacular at night. All the churches were lit up, all the bars were filled with people, and their were street performers everywhere. Finally we decided we wanted to end the night and go watch the A&M game at the American sports bar. Too none of our surprise we found every American that was in Cologne at that time. It was amazing to meet so many people from all over the U.S. and hear why they were in Cologne. Included in this group was a pilot from FedEx, a pro bastketball player playing in France, and two bankers here on business.
The next morning we checked out one of the coolest places Alex and I had ever seen, The Kolner Dom. A massive cathedral that was hundreds of years old. It was incredible, an architectural masterpiece. We then found a cool brasserie that was well-known for schnitzel and their own kolsch. Alex and I agreed anymore time here and we'd be incredibly fat. So we hopped on the train and headed to Aachen, a midevil city that Charlemagne called home. It was amazing to see how old some of the buildings were, many being over a thousand year old. After a stroll around the city, seeing the sights, and learning the history we decided we must have a true german Oktoberfest style beer. It was fantastic and sooo good with "blood sausage" (look it up). After that we got back on the train (once again a bullet train) and made it back to Brussels. The week was a success.
I'm so excited for next week though too. Paris, then Normandy, and finally Lille/Roubaix. It's going to be sweet! Amazing french cuisine, wine, and some of the most amazing sights in the world.
Delirium Cafe (over 1500 different beers!!)
Kolner Dom
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