Cologne - Middle-Aged People, Moustaches & Lots of Smoke

Cologne isn't the liveliest of cities. It seems like a high percentage of the population are aged between 55 & 70, have moustaches (even some of the women), & smoke continuously.
Just across from my hotel, there was a cute pub that sold fantastic schnitzel & was rockin with 80's pop classics. I was surrounded by middle-aged people both times I wandered in there for a couple of beers, which were served in the smallest beer glasses I've ever seen (a commonality in Cologne). And smoke is everywhere - people are lighting up as soon as they've finished their last one.
The one full day I had in Cologne I headed towards the Dom, this magnificent cathedral - the biggest in Germany. Very impressive indeed! I stumbled on the surreal ceremony celebrating the patron saint of chefs, & 5 chefs were knighted with a sword. There were chefs in hats everywhere.
Then outside the dom there was this drum festival going on - love drumming!
But after that, not much else to do but people watch.

From Fulda to Cologne (Koln)

Pretty boring little train trip really. Only took a couple of hours of listening to Eckhardt Tolle's, The Power of Now, on my ipod & I was there.
Finding my hotel ended up being a bit of a nightmare. Firstly, finding someone who could tell me where to head, & then getting there.
Walking for 30 mins with a 18-20kg backpack on my back on a very warm day isn't my idea of fun. The budget hotel ended up being down the back end of the city. And when I got there, my little single room was located up 5 flights of stairs that I had to walk up with my pack - crap!

A Bigger Little Town Called Fulda

Anne & her sisters, Maria & Catherine, took me for a visit into Fulda one day. We had a really long lunch, then went for a stroll to the cathedral, then on in to the local park, which was beautiful.

Seemingly, Fulda's really quite a conservative part of the world, so I tried to blend in as best as I could & refrained from my any unusual public outbursts.

A Walk up Kleinhassen

Anne suggested we go for a walk up a pretty little hill about 20 mins drive from Mackenzell. So we did. There were quite a few locals about, even though it was midweek, as there are lots of walking trails in the area.

Nevertheless we were able to enjoy the pleasant walk to the top with a couple of photo opportunities along the way.

When we reached the top, there was a little oasis - a cute cabin that served chilled beer. Ahhh...we did deserve a beer after the walk, so we indulged.

Anne toyed with me about the famous 'bogs' in the area where if you fell (or were pushed) you could be swallowed up like quicksand. Lucky there weren't any around here.

Nordic Walking - The In Sport in Mackenzell

I found it hard to believe that Anne was hooked on a 'sport' I considered was restricted to older people that couldn't move much anymore. But, she was. And I had to witness this startling phenonmenon.

So, she offered to demonstrate her nordic walking skills & did just that. Although I can't honestly say that I was bowled over & wanted to race out & buy some nordic walking poles, I did gain a great deal of amusement in watching her demonstration.

Maybe something to reconsider when I'm 65.

Off to Mackenzell on Anne's Birthday

After my chilled out time in Weimar, I couldn't wait to catch up with my new friend, Anne, in her hometown Mackenzell, near Hunfeld.

It was Anne's birthday the day I caught the train from Weimar to Fulda, about 20mins from where she lived. And it was great to see her when I got there. I was a bit worried when she had trouble driving & speaking English, but she soon got the hang of it.

When we got back to her home in this tiny country town, it was filled with people that had come to wish her a happy birthday. I never had any big family gatherings (always wanted to though), & so being a part of this was so pleasantly overwhelming for me.

We ate, ate & ate some more. Anne's Mum is blessed with superior cooking skills.

Anne & I went for a late night walk through the town & out into the (very dark) fields - beautiful. It was just so soothing being back in the country breathing clean air & living the simple life.

A Walk in the Weimar Woods

Ahhh, it was lovely to stumble upon a natural little paradise just at the back of Weimar. I walked around the woods for a while, then found a little park bench & lay there looking up through the trees. No one was around; it was heavenly. I fell in & out of sleep & was there for well over an hour & a half.

Just wonderful!!!

Weimar - Cultural Capital of Germany

Located in the state of Thuringia, Weimar has been home to many cultural legends in its time. It was voted the European Capital of Culture in 1999. Goethe, Schiller, Bach & even Nietsche have lived here at some stage, making it a town for pilgrimage from the artistic community members & intelligentsia across Europe.

It's a small town with a small town feel. Quite a nice alternative to the big town atmosphere that has been the key focus on my trip so far. But it another respect, it's a bit too sleepy, & the only site I was motivated to check out was Goethe's house. And that's it.

Buchenwald Concentration Camp is also located just outside the town, but I opted not to go. But Obama was here only a couple of months ago to visit the site.

A Scary Hostel Room in Weimar

When I arrived at my hostel in Weimar, I checked in, got the keys & headed to my room. I opened the door & was taken aback when these scary monster pictures were drawn all over the walls.

Ooohhh...I have trouble sleeping at times, & I also have a tendency to sleepwalk. Luckily, I managed to get a couple of good nights of sleep regardless of my room mates.

Some French Folk on the Train Trip to Weimar

On the train to Weimar, I met Guillaume & Celine, two friends travelling together from Strasburg, France. They’d been to Romania, Prague, Hungary in search of the wildness in the East of Europe. Even though they were once attacked by a dog, & found travelling around Romania devoid of tourism elements (semi-wild), they were surprised to find that the places they’d visited were fairly similar to towns in Western Europe.
We had a wonderful conversation the whole trip, discussing everything from whether to buy residential property in the current economic crisis, to the continuing plight of Australian Aboriginals, to where we’d been on our travel journeys. Best of all, we had some great laughs. It was just a pity I couldn’t have continued the train trip with them to Frankfurt. I did enjoy their company.

A Coffee Incident in Dresden

When all else fails, go grab a coffee. So I went to a nice little café & ordered a latte. The women didn’t know what I meant, so I explained what a latte was & she said that what I wanted was, in fact, a latte macchiato. Who knows? Each country has different names for the same type of coffee. She’d said the coffee costs 1.80 euro. The coffee was weak - more like a hot milkshake. And when I went to pay, she said the price was now 2.60 euro. I asked “why the increase”? And she got quite narky - “coffee shouldn’t be made with milk; it’s not real coffee; you should go back to America if you want to drink that coffee”. I was gob smacked. I told her that what she’d served me wasn’t really coffee - it was crap. And made clear to her, in no uncertain terms, that I wasn’t an American. She seemed a bit stunned afterwards. I paid & left.
And as I walked down the street, more than ready to get out of this town, I heard some beautiful classical but funky sounds emanating from this little alley. A small group of three - a violin, an oboe, a clarinet - belting out some great tunes. I gave a tip & walked away smiling.

One Night in Dresden

I finally managed to find my way to the A&O hostel I’d booked. Fairly near to the station (500m), it was a good location for a one night stay.
Up till 12:30 writing on my notebook, I still managed to get up fairly early for breakfast. I planned to spend about 3 hours in the old part of town before my train trip at just before 2pm.
So, off I went, jumped on a tram, & found myself amongst old buildings in about 10 mins. And all I did then was wander. There were heaps of tourists about, many of them looked retired - it was as if Dresden was one big retirement village.
I bought a postcard from a little shop & the guy was a complete grump & yelled at me when I asked him how much it cost. I told him he should cheer up & not be so grumpy - his look said he didn’t like me.
Again, another town with extensive renovation work going on in peak tourist season - just don’t get that at all. And many of the sites were either closed or had a quite expensive entrance fee.

Train to Dresden

The train was 30 mins late. When it did arrive I realised most people had a reserved seat & I didn’t. A walk through the crowded first train car & no seats were available, with many people scrambling to find a free seat themselves.
Finally at the end of the next car, I found a single seat. I turned on my ipod, & watched the gorgeous Czech countryside go by to the tunes of Missy Higgins & Norah Jones. Beautiful & relaxing!
I don’t know how it managed to do it, but the train gained the 30 mins to make it to Dresden just about on time - amazing.

Alexanderplatz

It was early evening on my last full day in Berlin & I still was keen to visit the famous Alexanderplatz, a large square where many had gathered as news of freedom spread in 1989.

It's a thriving, bustling place with so much going on at any one time. People busking & lots there to just hang out with their friends or watch the crowd. The World Clock, a famous landmark, was also located there.

So, if you want an authentic Berlin tribal feeling, head off to Alexanderplatz.

Cool Graffiti Art on the Old Wall

There was a large piece of the Berlin Wall that had remained intact down on the East side that was well worth a visit.

2009 is the 20 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This part of the wall was now branded the ‘East Side Gallery’ as artists from around the world had been invited to paint their art on the wall. IThis piece of the wall probably ran for about 800-1000m, filled almost completely with art, although some blank spaces were left for new art. The east side of the wall had been painted first as it represented the overcoming of the repression of artistic & cultural freedom.
The wall was originally raised to stop mass emigration of the people to West Berlin. But many of the people, after having left East Berlin that night in 1989, came back home within a week. They didn’t really want to leave their home - what they did want was the freedom to be able to travel & leave if they so desired. I kinda like that freedom too.