One week in Cologne

I was lucky enough to study abroad in the UK during my junior year of college. I was also lucky enough to do some travelling around Europe with friends. As spoiled as it sounds, Germany wasn't high on my list of places to visit (Paris! Rome! Greece!). Luckily my friends were smarter than I was, and I got to visit Munich and Berlin as a result. Both trips were awesome, and I can't believe I almost missed out because Germany didn't seem "exciting" enough (I was 20, in my defense). So when Adam's band was invited to play the c/o pop festival in Cologne, I jumped at the chance to come along. Oh, and our amazing families volunteered to look after Hannah so I could go.

To sum up our week: I love Germany. The people are so nice. The food is so good (even if you don't eat meat). The buildings are so beautiful. The transit system is so punctual. And the beer, the beer is so good.

Sorry for the truncated post, but I had so many pictures to share. Click through to see them and to hear more about our trip!

We took an overnight flight to Frankfurt and caught a fast train to Cologne. Between the lack of sleep and all the damn bags, Adam accidentally left his pedal bag on the train (a pedal bag is a bag full of guitar effects pedals, btw). Guitar effects pedals are both valuable, in the sense that they cost a lot of money, and invaluable, in the sense that you can't play a (good) rock show without them. So, not the best way to start the trip, but we decided not to let that ruin things. The picture above is of their last known sighting :( Oh, and that's me on our apartment's rooftop patio after 12 hours of travel. I'm happy because, rooftop patio and beer, obviously.

That evening we went to see fellow Haligonian, Jenn Grant, perform at the festival's opening event. It was in a beautiful gallery that somehow also sold Dyson vacuums (no, seriously), and there were free drinks and snacks, so it was a great evening.

After a temporary downpour and some terrible pizza (it happens), we went to see Kelis perform (the photo on the right is a view of the show as we were walking in). Oh, and we got to see the Cologne Dom at night. Bam!

The next morning, before heading out to deal with Pedalgate, we stopped by one of the cafes our host recommended. The owner was so friendly, and so obviously loved what he was doing. His latte art? Impressive. His breakfast sandwiches? Delicious. Think crusty bread, pesto, tomato, arugula, mozzarella and a fried egg. And now I'm drooling.

We didn't have any luck recovering Adam's pedals, but a local music store agreed to rent Adam everything he'd need in time for his show that evening.

That's a happy man with a bag full o' rented guitar pedals. Actually, relieved is probably more accurate - that rental wasn't cheap.

That night, Adam's band played their first show of the festival. Side note: Germany treats its bands well. Green rooms, free beer, full catering...it was lovely. The show was great and we got to meet a couple of really nice bands from Germany and France, and party well into the night. Second side note: staying up late is WAY more fun without a toddler to wake you up at 6 am.

The next day, Adam and I visited Cologne's famed Gothic cathedral, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It was incredible. My photos don't even begin to capture the sheer size and beauty of the interior. And then there was the tower.

If your city has steps leading to a scenic view, I will climb them (as proof, see: every vacation I've ever been on), so of course I insisted on climbing the 533 steps to the top of the cathedral's south tower. Now picture an incredibly narrow set of winding stone steps, with people travelling in both directions - and only one handrail. It was dizzying. About halfway up, I realized that fresh air was at least 250 steps in either direction and started to panic. While Adam tried to figure out how we was going to carry me out of the tower, I managed to coax myself up the rest of the way.

Annnd, of course I needed some photographic evidence at the top.

You guys, that's the tower we climbed. It's massive, no? My legs were shaking so badly afterwards that we had to regroup with a coffee and a Berliner. Had to.

That night, we had dinner at a sushi place recommended by our host. And you know I had to have my picture taken drinking beer on the street. Because you can do that (and it's kind of the best thing ever). After dinner, we caught the end of a show at a cool venue/concert hall in a city park. The photo above is of Denmark's KillJ, who has super cool hair and is just generally badass.

The next day, Adam played an earlier show and we eventually ended up at an industry BBQ with more amazing food, free drinks and general good vibes. I was exhausted after so many late nights, so I headed home around midnight while the boys went out dancing till the wee hours.

Despite Adam's hangover the next day, he dragged himself out of bed to join me for some serious sightseeing. We started with a cable car ride over the Rhine river, which was tons of fun and well worth the 4.50 EUR.

The ride drops you off near Rhinepark, and from there it was a beautiful walk to the Hohenzollern Bridge. Like other 'love locks' bridges, Hohenzollern is know for the padlocks that lovers put there to ensure everlasting love - before throwing the keys into the river.

After walking across the bridge, we decided to have lunch in the city's Old Town, then check out some modern art at the Ludwig Museum. With our big river cruise planned for the next day, we had a late dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant - again, recommended by our host - and turned in for the night.

Stray observations:

• Complimentary blankets at restaurants need to become a thing here.
• For a country that is perhaps best know for its sausage, Germany is surprisingly veggie-friendly.
• A six-pack of Becks was something like 3.60 EUR. In Nova Scotia, a six-pack of Becks is $14.69. We were in heaven.
• I'm pretty sure everyone drives either a BMW, Mercedes or Audi. I know they're German, but it still doesn't seem fair.
• The weather was generally lovely, but more fall-like than summer (I bought tights!). Also, apparently no one in Cologne wears sandals.
• A shopkeeper apologized to me for not speaking better English. To me, who only knows a handful of German words, in Germany. I hate myself.