Cologne
So this last weekend i went to cologne, and it was pretty awesome. The trip started with me leaving early from work on friday, which was a nice reprieve, since friday i was given a lot of actual work to do...and, needless to say, i was unable to do it. I don't have but half the programs i need, and don't know the clients the way that everyone else does, so i was able to do about half of what they gave me. They were all very understanding, however, and didn't mind taking it all back when i left, though i'm sure they wished i'd told them earlier that i was leaving, but i told steve, my boss, and so he's the only one who matters.
So, i made it out to my flight, which ended up being delayed by a half hour, which wasn't the hugest deal, since my plans for that evening were as follows: 1) Check into the hotel.
That's it. So, i made it there, wandered around the COMPLETELY EMPTY airport in cologne/bonn, and got a train ticket to central cologne. Once there, i wandered around, a german kid asked to wear my hat...so i let him? Got it back, and wandered listlessly throughout the city. I stumbled upon the hotel pretty much accidentally, where i turned the corner, and saw it reaching high above other buildings.
Checked in, watched the end of independence day in german, and promptly went to sleep.
My dad showed up at like, 10:30 the next morning, and we went out to lunch at this nice place that served real italian pizza, and then wandered around a bit, before beginning the process of making it to the Rheinenergie Stadion. The atmosphere was incredible. It was like walking to the dean dome on duke night. We hopped on board a FULL train, shoulder to shoulder, ZERO extra room, but everyone was in good spirits. "Is there still any room?" "There's ALWAYS more room." and then the people near the door'd smoosh in to try and give more space.
Or at least, those were the people going to the game. Those who were just trying to take the trian from one point to another, they were a little less accepting of so many people. And they grumbled and griped about the overcrowded train. But we're going to ignore them for the rest of the trip, since they were a handful, and we were many. But there was cologne music playing in the background, a group of hooligans singing along to all the songs, it was pretty much as if, on the way down to the dean dome, someone started singing, and then EVERYONE around joined in. Something i feel like you'd never see at an american professional sporting event. So, arrived at the train stop, followed the crowd towards the stadium. Dad and i both picked up cologne scarves (Since EVERYONE has one, and you are the odd ball out if you go in without, and they were only FIVE EUROS), and walked up to the ENORMOUS open field that...surrounds the stadium?
It was the oddest use of space i think i'd ever seen. There were MASSIVE open fields surrounding the stadium on ALL sides. And the pathway to the stadium, through all these fields, were dozens upon DOZENS of vendors selling cologne beers. It was pretty awesome, since that is the best kind of beer, and it was everywhere, really cheap. Dad and i had a glass, as we finally made it up into the gates. Where they have a full security pat down, and ask if you have any lighters (They apparently no longer allow them in stadiums? There's no smoking rules in place, but that doesn't stop approx. half the stadium from lighting up). So we find our seats, and we about 10 rows from the top, in the VERY left corner, it'd be as if we were sitting behind the jumbotron in the dean dome.
And so we just kind of goofed off and hung out until gametime, which is when we learned that, if you don't have a scarf, you CANNOT take part in the action. The song of 1.fc koeln was played (All in the cologne dialect, so it doesn't make any sense) with everyone swaying back and forth raising their scarves high (Very Hark-the-sound-esque), where everyone got fired up towards the end. Behind one of the goals, was the equivalent to a risers section, where it was standing room only, they had flags and drums and they were the group that knew ALL of the chants, and all of the songs, and really enforced the cheering and jeering of the crowd. I grabbed a short little video to demonstrate what i'm talking about in this regard. there was a lot going on, and it was hard to notice each individual thing while watching the game as well. It was awe-inspiring. And then the game took place, and cologne, well, they played like a team in almost last place would play. Ended up losing 1:0, and after the game a lot of the players and coaches talked about how it was one of the worst games they'd played all season, and how they were all really disappointed in how weak they were. After the game a lot of fans started whilsteling (The german equivalent to booing), and there really were a lot of opportunities that were blown during the course of the game, but....what can you do? Hannover wasn't a terribly strong team either, so i'm glad it was only 1:0 loss, but then we grabbed the train back into town, where we found a nice restaurant on the rhine and ate up there.
We ended up finishing everything and getting home at about 9ish, 10ish. We then proceeded to sleep until 12:15 so...14 to 15 hours of sleep. So..that kind of blew away any plans of doing anything on sunday, which is okay, i suppose. We made our rounds, saw a lot of the city, got some waffles at this little shop, saw the cathedral, saw the bones of the MAGI, and a lot of street performers, which i wish we had more of here, kind of. There was this really cool guy playing the piano right in front of the cathedral, and it was some really rocking music. I'm sure it's something famous, but my uncultured self has no idea. We also ended up wandering down by the chocolate museum (Lindt), and stopped by there shortly, as well as this really cool little art museum. And the roman dig site that wasn't too far from that.
After a while we ended up getting on our separate trains to go to our different destinations (dad, to Essen, me to the airport), where i arrived at ~5:35ish for my flight at 6:15. Thus begins the part of my trip where i was hassled by EVERYONE: So, the woman checking me in, informs me that i'm "rather late" and how "Normally, economy class isn't even ALLOWED to check in if it's less than 40 minutes to take off. I ask her how long til take off, she looks at her watch, and it is at least 37 or 38 minutes til takeoff, and she looks me in the face and tells me 35. So, after standing around listening to her hassle me for five minutes, i'm like, yes yes, next time more careful, yes yes, GIVE ME MY TICKETS SO I CAN MAKE AFOREMENTIONED FLIGHT. I make it to my gate, where i get on the flight, and surpise surprise, the flight isn't even full. There's so much room, in fact, that i get two seats, the guy near me gets two seats, the guy behind me gets a seat for himself, for his GUITAR, and then yet another seat. I mean seriously lady, if the flight were overbooked, fine.
Then i landed in england, filled out my lttle paperwork that i ALWAYS have to fill out while i'm there (Country of origin, passport info, how long will you be staying, where you will be staying, i swear to GOD no other country makes me do this). Anyway, sometime while sitting in a drawer for two years, my passport seems to have been exposed to some Mold. As a result, it is SLIGHTLY moldy, mostly on the last page or two, and other than that, it just looks a little old and dirty. And i mean, it is over three years old now, so it has seen a little wear and tear. But since becoming moldy it has been to the following: RDU, London - Heathrow, Cork, London - Heathrow, Cologne, Cologne (They check it on exit as well), London - Heathrow. And only on the VERY LAST STOP in the VERY LAST PLACE was it an issue. I then had to STAND there for five minutes while this man got on his soap box, and informed me that the passport does not belong to ME, it belongs to the us government, and how i should treat it with proper respect, and blahblahblah. All this after i told him, yea it seems to have gotten moldy, then i used lysol and let it air out. I mean seriously? I feel like he was bitter because he just had to check out 20 japanese people (ALL OF WHOM, i might add, he let pass without more than a glance at the passport). He also grilled me about the last time i was in London: "Umm...friday?" "Before that." "Uhh...the previous friday." "Before that." "Summer 2007." I mean...really?
Finally i got on my way, and was riding the train back to the flat i'm staying in. During the trip, i'd discovered i didn't have my room key anymore. Figuring i'd lost it, i thought i'd have to pay about a hundred pounds to get a new one (I think i'd read it somewhere in my contract that replacement keys are EXPENSIVE). So i walk up to the guy at the desk and say, "I think i left my key in my room. Or lost it. Can i get another?" He asks my name and room number, which i provide, and proceeds to swipe me a new key for free. Cool, right? Except for the fact that i gave him zero identification, all i did was walk up and go, My name's matt, i'm in room 91, trust me. and he gave me a new card to get in. Sooooo i'm going to be locking my door from now on.
But anyway, that was more or less my weekend, it was spectacular and lovely and fun and already i miss it. The pics are already up on fbook, and i'm going to go to bed since it's almost midnight and i have work tomorrow.
So, i made it out to my flight, which ended up being delayed by a half hour, which wasn't the hugest deal, since my plans for that evening were as follows: 1) Check into the hotel.
That's it. So, i made it there, wandered around the COMPLETELY EMPTY airport in cologne/bonn, and got a train ticket to central cologne. Once there, i wandered around, a german kid asked to wear my hat...so i let him? Got it back, and wandered listlessly throughout the city. I stumbled upon the hotel pretty much accidentally, where i turned the corner, and saw it reaching high above other buildings.
Checked in, watched the end of independence day in german, and promptly went to sleep.
My dad showed up at like, 10:30 the next morning, and we went out to lunch at this nice place that served real italian pizza, and then wandered around a bit, before beginning the process of making it to the Rheinenergie Stadion. The atmosphere was incredible. It was like walking to the dean dome on duke night. We hopped on board a FULL train, shoulder to shoulder, ZERO extra room, but everyone was in good spirits. "Is there still any room?" "There's ALWAYS more room." and then the people near the door'd smoosh in to try and give more space.
Or at least, those were the people going to the game. Those who were just trying to take the trian from one point to another, they were a little less accepting of so many people. And they grumbled and griped about the overcrowded train. But we're going to ignore them for the rest of the trip, since they were a handful, and we were many. But there was cologne music playing in the background, a group of hooligans singing along to all the songs, it was pretty much as if, on the way down to the dean dome, someone started singing, and then EVERYONE around joined in. Something i feel like you'd never see at an american professional sporting event. So, arrived at the train stop, followed the crowd towards the stadium. Dad and i both picked up cologne scarves (Since EVERYONE has one, and you are the odd ball out if you go in without, and they were only FIVE EUROS), and walked up to the ENORMOUS open field that...surrounds the stadium?
It was the oddest use of space i think i'd ever seen. There were MASSIVE open fields surrounding the stadium on ALL sides. And the pathway to the stadium, through all these fields, were dozens upon DOZENS of vendors selling cologne beers. It was pretty awesome, since that is the best kind of beer, and it was everywhere, really cheap. Dad and i had a glass, as we finally made it up into the gates. Where they have a full security pat down, and ask if you have any lighters (They apparently no longer allow them in stadiums? There's no smoking rules in place, but that doesn't stop approx. half the stadium from lighting up). So we find our seats, and we about 10 rows from the top, in the VERY left corner, it'd be as if we were sitting behind the jumbotron in the dean dome.
And so we just kind of goofed off and hung out until gametime, which is when we learned that, if you don't have a scarf, you CANNOT take part in the action. The song of 1.fc koeln was played (All in the cologne dialect, so it doesn't make any sense) with everyone swaying back and forth raising their scarves high (Very Hark-the-sound-esque), where everyone got fired up towards the end. Behind one of the goals, was the equivalent to a risers section, where it was standing room only, they had flags and drums and they were the group that knew ALL of the chants, and all of the songs, and really enforced the cheering and jeering of the crowd. I grabbed a short little video to demonstrate what i'm talking about in this regard. there was a lot going on, and it was hard to notice each individual thing while watching the game as well. It was awe-inspiring. And then the game took place, and cologne, well, they played like a team in almost last place would play. Ended up losing 1:0, and after the game a lot of the players and coaches talked about how it was one of the worst games they'd played all season, and how they were all really disappointed in how weak they were. After the game a lot of fans started whilsteling (The german equivalent to booing), and there really were a lot of opportunities that were blown during the course of the game, but....what can you do? Hannover wasn't a terribly strong team either, so i'm glad it was only 1:0 loss, but then we grabbed the train back into town, where we found a nice restaurant on the rhine and ate up there.
We ended up finishing everything and getting home at about 9ish, 10ish. We then proceeded to sleep until 12:15 so...14 to 15 hours of sleep. So..that kind of blew away any plans of doing anything on sunday, which is okay, i suppose. We made our rounds, saw a lot of the city, got some waffles at this little shop, saw the cathedral, saw the bones of the MAGI, and a lot of street performers, which i wish we had more of here, kind of. There was this really cool guy playing the piano right in front of the cathedral, and it was some really rocking music. I'm sure it's something famous, but my uncultured self has no idea. We also ended up wandering down by the chocolate museum (Lindt), and stopped by there shortly, as well as this really cool little art museum. And the roman dig site that wasn't too far from that.
After a while we ended up getting on our separate trains to go to our different destinations (dad, to Essen, me to the airport), where i arrived at ~5:35ish for my flight at 6:15. Thus begins the part of my trip where i was hassled by EVERYONE: So, the woman checking me in, informs me that i'm "rather late" and how "Normally, economy class isn't even ALLOWED to check in if it's less than 40 minutes to take off. I ask her how long til take off, she looks at her watch, and it is at least 37 or 38 minutes til takeoff, and she looks me in the face and tells me 35. So, after standing around listening to her hassle me for five minutes, i'm like, yes yes, next time more careful, yes yes, GIVE ME MY TICKETS SO I CAN MAKE AFOREMENTIONED FLIGHT. I make it to my gate, where i get on the flight, and surpise surprise, the flight isn't even full. There's so much room, in fact, that i get two seats, the guy near me gets two seats, the guy behind me gets a seat for himself, for his GUITAR, and then yet another seat. I mean seriously lady, if the flight were overbooked, fine.
Then i landed in england, filled out my lttle paperwork that i ALWAYS have to fill out while i'm there (Country of origin, passport info, how long will you be staying, where you will be staying, i swear to GOD no other country makes me do this). Anyway, sometime while sitting in a drawer for two years, my passport seems to have been exposed to some Mold. As a result, it is SLIGHTLY moldy, mostly on the last page or two, and other than that, it just looks a little old and dirty. And i mean, it is over three years old now, so it has seen a little wear and tear. But since becoming moldy it has been to the following: RDU, London - Heathrow, Cork, London - Heathrow, Cologne, Cologne (They check it on exit as well), London - Heathrow. And only on the VERY LAST STOP in the VERY LAST PLACE was it an issue. I then had to STAND there for five minutes while this man got on his soap box, and informed me that the passport does not belong to ME, it belongs to the us government, and how i should treat it with proper respect, and blahblahblah. All this after i told him, yea it seems to have gotten moldy, then i used lysol and let it air out. I mean seriously? I feel like he was bitter because he just had to check out 20 japanese people (ALL OF WHOM, i might add, he let pass without more than a glance at the passport). He also grilled me about the last time i was in London: "Umm...friday?" "Before that." "Uhh...the previous friday." "Before that." "Summer 2007." I mean...really?
Finally i got on my way, and was riding the train back to the flat i'm staying in. During the trip, i'd discovered i didn't have my room key anymore. Figuring i'd lost it, i thought i'd have to pay about a hundred pounds to get a new one (I think i'd read it somewhere in my contract that replacement keys are EXPENSIVE). So i walk up to the guy at the desk and say, "I think i left my key in my room. Or lost it. Can i get another?" He asks my name and room number, which i provide, and proceeds to swipe me a new key for free. Cool, right? Except for the fact that i gave him zero identification, all i did was walk up and go, My name's matt, i'm in room 91, trust me. and he gave me a new card to get in. Sooooo i'm going to be locking my door from now on.
But anyway, that was more or less my weekend, it was spectacular and lovely and fun and already i miss it. The pics are already up on fbook, and i'm going to go to bed since it's almost midnight and i have work tomorrow.