Tag Archives: Cologne

Cologne

Posted on by
Reply

Did you know that Pope Johannes Paul II was buried in Cologne? Because I didn’t. That’s why you go to church! (And go to the basement)

I dedicated my only day in Cologne to the past. First stop was the cathedral. Besides being bigger (actually a lot bigger) than the other churches I have visited on this trip, it was nothing more than a church. It’s a big like taking the ferry north along the Norwegian coast – rocky coastal line and mountains have a certain “wow”-effect for a limited time. It is what it is. Rocks.

Sorry.. back on track. Next stop – Walraf-Richartz Museum to see the exhibition “1912” about the modernists of that time. I can describe this exhibition with one word: Manifique! (Pardon my French) ;) No, but seriously. The exhibition is actually a remake/tribute to the exhibition in 1912 and the stories, anecdotes and explanations, they have written on the walls in every room (the exhibition consists of 8 rooms) are really informative and help you get the full picture of the era. They have paintings by Munch, Cézanne, Gauguin, Picasso and last but certainly not least – van Gogh. Bonus fact: In the museum’s collection of old pictures, they have a more than 750 year old painting (actually it’s an icon) – pretty impressive, huh?

Back at the hostel I met up with the other guys. Sam was taking it easy, but the three Chinese were scribbling one postcard after the other. I am not lying when I say that they probably had at least 50, if not 60.

The next morning, I was up early and had more than enough time to get to the pick-up point of my ride to Munich. Not having felt great the last days, I did not want to stand at the roadside in potentially crappy weather looking for a ride, so I had fixed that through Mitfahrgelegenheit (a German carpooling site). But of course the trains had a problem and I was stranded at two different stations for some time, which led to me being 5-10 minutes late. Stupid as I was (and still am!), I did not have the driver’s number, so I could only hope that they would wait for me… They did. Soon the two German girls and I were on our way to Munich. About one hour into the trip, the girl on the passenger seat opens the glove compartment and takes out a CD. This is not just any CD – it’s David friggin’ Hasselhoff!! My immediate reaction was laughter and the following sentence “You DON’T hassle the Hoff.” Unfortunately, I had to sit through track after track of half American half German schlager constantly thinking about where the hell I put my earplugs. I even tried to locate my multitool as I actually wanted to cut my ears out. Damn that guy is bad! Fortunately, I survived the drive to Munich and I was dropped off a bit out of town quite close to a big forest/park. As I had arrived one day before the others, I did not have a place to stay, I decided to go ancestral and camp in the forest.

It did not take long before I had found a suitable place in the forest and had started building my shelter. I had bought some plastic bags as a backup (something I greatly appreciated later that evening!). At about 19:30-20:00 I was in my sleeping bag under my shelter listening to the rain. Of course it had started raining. Why wouldn’t it?

At about 23:00, my back was cold and sore as I did not have a mat to lie on and my make-shift bedding of moss did not provide enough insulation. Not sure if my slanting health was due to bad eating and sleeping habits of the days prior or because of all the David Hasselhoff “music”, I decided to pack up start walking towards town. I did not know how far from the city centre I was, but after about 1,5 hours walk (with my backpack) I was in a Burger King getting some coffee and power on my phone. At 01:30 they closed and I had to continue. The partying people dressed in traditional Oktoberfest clothes I had seen, when entering the Burger King, had left and the area was now totally deserted. At about 02:30, I reached the city centre and entered another Burger King situated in the train station. People were having the time of their life and I was having coffee. Time passed and the sun eventually rose as I left the train station and headed for a new place to sit. Starbucks had opened and it was now only a matter of hours before I was meeting up with Giannis from the summer school in Helsinki.

Brussels

Posted on by
Reply

Woke up in Brussels and had whole day of exploring a completely new city (and country) ahead of me.

I barely knew anything about Brussels, so I just jumped into head first. After a quick visit to the Saint Michael’s Cathedral, I found myself in the very centre (and most touristy part) of Brussels. It’s just north of the Grand Place/Grote Markt and consists of several small streets and alleys. It is full of restaurants and cafés with waiters trying to persuade you to come inside. Very very touristy. However, I did find one small dead-end alley that led to Delirium Café but I’ll come back to that. I just walked around the city taking in all the impressions. This is actually what I mainly do on this trip. Walk around and look. It’s interesting and free. :)

I was amazed by the ornamentation of the facades. It’s just such a big difference to what I am used to back in Denmark. Feeling like taking a break, I found a coffee place that look like they knew what they were talking about. And they sure did. I had a BIG cup of single estate unwashed coffee. Yuuuum – so fruity! Without really noticing, I had spent more than 3 hours at that place and it was time to move on. The day was spent on seeing the tourist sights; Manneken Pis, the Beurs, different buildings, the Grand Place etc. Sightseeing really takes its toll on you, so I was in need of a magic elixir. Went back to Delirium Café and ordered a glass of the magic potion: Delirium Nocturnum. Wow – what a beer!

Although hostels can be very nice places to stay and to meet new people, I really enjoy staying with locals. Until now, I had only stayed with people I knew, but this evening I had been invited to stay at my friend’s big sister’s place. You really experience life of that city or country, when you stay with locals and I can strongly recommend it. I have tried to contact people on Couchsurfing.org but as I decide where and when to go on more or less a day to day basis, it is quite difficult to get a place to stay through this service. The next day I felt it was time to move on. A couple of sights, a Belgian waffle and some fries later, I set course for the highway out of Brussels towards Cologne (Köln). This showed to be harder than I had thought. It is not easy to find a suitable spot to hitch a ride from Brussels, but luckily a friendly woman gave me a ride to the on-ramp. Soon I had a ride from Brussels to a place just outside Liège. From here I got a ride with a guy that didn’t speak English, but a bit of sign language, German and French later I was in Eupen. It was getting really chilly and windy now. It seemed as if I was in the middle of nowhere (which I actually was!) and nobody stopped. I was standing by the on-ramp towards Aachen (30 km from where I was) with a sign that said “Aachen”, yet nobody stopped. Just as I was convincing myself to take down my sign and put on my jacket a young guy stopped. Saved! A short ride later, I was a Aachen train station boarding the train to Cologne.

In Cologne, I found a hostel in the city centre and as I entered, I heard yelling and loud speaking. I thought somebody was drunk and/or having a party/fight, but the guy in the reception informed me that they were recording a scene for a film. Interesting. I checked in, bought some groceries and made new friends in the kitchen. Amir (from Pakistan), who has a great passion and vision: A cultural change among the youth in Pakistan. He wants to liberate them. It was amazing to listen to this guy speak about his history, experiences and vision for the future. Then I met Sam (from England), who flew to Pakistan with his bike and cycled to Europe via China, Uzbekistan, other -stans, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey etc. Yet another fascinating story! Last, but not least, I met Stephanie, Stephanie and Aaron (from China) who all quit their jobs to travel around Europe. Although this can be quite common in Europe and the US, it is quite rare in China.

Next up: A day in Cologne, carpooling to Münich with two German girls and a David Hasselhoff cd, and camping in the woods!