Danke Germany

Germany, a trip that consisted of 2 non-German speakers, bratwurst, doners, no WiFi, crazy hostels, and tons of laughs.  

Our trip began on a rough start. It wasn't as if anything went wrong though. Our flight Friday morning left at 7:10. Getting there two hours before means we had to be there at 5 and good ol' London tubes aren't open yet. We had to leave our dorm at 3 in the morning to take 1 bus and 2 cabs to another bus that would drive us to the airport. Needless to say neither one of us really slept the night before. (I didn't sleep at all.) Once we finally landed in Germany I don't think either of us really knew what we had gotten ourselves into. "Lost in translation" has never fit so perfectly. We got extremely lucky, I'm talking God was on our side, and guessed the right train that led us into the heart of Cologne. We finally got to our hostel and although it wasn't exactly what we expected we were determined to make the best of it. We didn't want to let our exhaustion, our unfortunate hostel, and our lack of understanding German bring us down.

The rest of Friday we spent exploring the city. My favorite part of the day had to be the chocolate museum. If there's one thing that can turn my day around it's chocolate. We were in heaven. We watched how Lindt chocolate was made, all the way from the growing of the cocoa bean to the packaging of the finished product. It was probably the best museum I've ever been to. We even got a free sample!! We decided to turn in early that night, grabbed McDonald's for dinner (don't judge), and passed out.

Saturday morning we started bright and early for a day full of adventure. Apparently we were feeling adventurous, or stupid, and decided to climb the 533 steps to the top of the Cologne Cathedral. I’d be okay with never seeing a spiral staircase again in my life. Between my burning thighs, shaking legs, and heaving breathing I thought I was going to collapse on the stairs and Allyse would have to come back for me later. Clearly I’m out of shape. Dramatic Nicole aside, the view from the top was completely worth it. We were able to see the city for miles and were also able to get a better look at the intricate details of the Cathedral. It took 600 years to complete this thing and they're constantly working on it. It was beautiful. From there we grabbed lunch, which included our first local German meal, a doner. (Pronounced due-ner.) I have to say the Germans know what they’re doing. Allyse and I know when a meal is good when the talking between us stops. Minus the drink, which tasted like salt water, the meal was perfect. After lunch the true nerd in me came out. We were in Germany so of course we had to go to a war museum. (I blame you Dad for my fascination with WWII history.) The museum was actually housed inside the old Gestapo headquarters, known as the El De House. The basement was an old prison that had the tiniest cells. The Gestapo would put over 20 people in these things. There was writing all inside the cells. It included poems, writings to loved ones, calendars marking their days inside the cell, and inscriptions wishing the Americans would arrive soon. That was very cool to see. The top floors of the museum featured a timeline of Hitler rising to power all the way to the final days of the war. I’m already planning my next trip to Germany that’ll basically be a WWII tour. Ready Dad? Allyse and I were exhausted and hungry afterwards so we went and ate Italian for dinner, (I know I know), and crashed in bed.

Sunday, we did a little souvenir shopping and tried to kill time before our flight left. We ate a bratwurst for lunch, which again was delicious, and wandered around the shops a little. The greatest thing about traveling with Allyse is the fact that even though we were both exhausted and didn’t really feel like walking anymore, we were able to have the greatest time. We walked around the Cathedral taking pictures and laughing at our dumb selves. It was great.

When it was finally time to say goodbye to Germany we gladly left our hostel and hopped on a train to the airport. At the end of each trip I began asking Allyse to rank it on a scale of 1-10. While I would give Germany a 6ish, I wasn’t crazy about the overall city, I would give the trip a 9. I had an amazing time getting lost in the German culture and will definitely go back. (I’ll just pick a new city.)

Our hostel room..

Auf Wiedersehen!