Peep meet Cologne - Susan and Josef in Germany....

Andiline · 05-04-2009

Well, Mastequila and Susango are on a trip through Germany these days and that trip brought them to Cologne yesterday. Unfortunately the 'closest by'-peeps Teezet and Jo were not able to join us (can you believe that I have to meet Jo in person yet???). But sunday is a good day for me to have free time at hand...

Josef had written that they would arrive with the ICE (InterCityExpress = high speed train) and so I was at the train station at 1 PM to wait for them. The minute I saw the train arrive on the track I saw a familiar figure. Wait a minute... 'JOSEF!!!! What are you doing outside this train, you are supposed to be INSIDE!'

Josef and Susan had been joined by friends at their previous destination and therefore they had driven to Cologne instead of taking the train. We wished the friends a good trip home and then we went to Susan's and Josef's hotel to get rid of their luggage.

Since it was close to the cathedral and Susan wanted to see it (it's always part of the tour anyway

) we went over to the cathedral.

That was the first try of going inside. Bad luck: service going on. Okay, we will come back and visit later. Susan was hungry so after a quick glance at the roman 'Dionysos mosaic' which is dated about 200 before Christ and is still at the original place we went to the brewery 'Sion' which has been built in 1318. Jacko and Teezet know it since we had sausages there when they were here. Josef's first Kölsch (local beer):

After that we went back to visit the cathedral. But - bad luck, service going on. But it was different this time. I know the cathedral well enough to know that something special was going on. The main door was open and inside the 'holy guys' were waiting for something. So I asked Susan and Josef to come outside with me since obviously someone important would soon come into the cathedral. We went outside and when I looked where the guys with the cross had gone who had just left the cathedral through the V.I.P.-door I saw a taxi stop and a figure dressed in red get out. It was the cardinal from Cologne. He's been here for about 20 years but I don't think I ever saw him 'live'. Never tried though since people in Cologne don't like him that much:

Since we couldn't visit the cathedral while he was doing what he was supposed to do we went to cross the river. This is something new that has been imported from a bridge in Rome: putting locks as sign of eternal love on a bridge:

Not sure how long couples have been doing that but I first read about it last year. This is a train like the one Josef and Susan were supposed to take to arrive in Cologne:

At the other side of the river there is a tower with an observation deck. From there you have a great view over Cologne:

Btw. I work in the grey tower in the back.

Once we had enough we took the elevator down and took another bridge back to the 'right' side of the river (actually the wrong side is the right side and the right side is the left side of the river...

) Walked around more, passed at the Hard Rock Cafe and finally Susan looked tired. Since I knew that Josef loves icecream we went to an italian ice cafe and both Josef and myself had a spaghetti ice:

After that we went back to the hotel since Susan was cold and needed to change. After that we went to the cathedral again to visit it. BUT .... service... I asked and got the info that there was no way that we could still visit that day. So we gave up. Then only the 'small tour'-part was left. This is Josef trying to take pics of the 'Cologne eagle' on the flags close to the city hall.

Another 'must' on the tours with me is visiting 'Tuennes und Schael', two guys who are known to all the children in Cologne. They are figures from a traditional theater working with puppets on sticks. There are puppets that appear in every show they have and outside the theatre they are very well know as well.

After that we walked around in the old part of town some more and finally ended up in a thai cocktail bar (the name is 'Caribbean' - fits doesn't it?

). Here are our drinks... they were as good as they looked:

I didn't realize that time was flying by so since it was already after 8 PM we went to another brewery for dinner. When we came inside we suddenly saw something that we had to take a pic of. This is for Sctx: The big boys table!

I didn't take pics of the food but Josef did so you'll have to wait till they get back to the States for that.

After dinner it was sort of late and I was tired so I left them close to the cathedral.

Thanks guys for stopping in Cologne, it was a pleasure to have you here!

playa4eva · 05-04-2009

Oh wow, that is great! I wondered what those two were up to. They are an adorable couple. Can't wait for their pics when they get back.

That spaghetti ice looks awesome! It really looks like real spaghetti. I was confused.

Thanks for sharing!

Jacko · 05-04-2009

Wish I was there...

Vivi1225 · 05-04-2009

Those are beautiful pictures. I don't know who took them, but the food looks fantastic.

Eileencc · 05-04-2009

Glad you three managed to meet up. I too LOVE the spaghetti ice cream! I have never seen that before. Love to see how that's done. Well done, Andrea!

**SunKneeMarie** · 05-04-2009

Oh awesome! Hi Andrea! Hi Josef and Susan!!

Spaghetti ice cream... please tell me this is ice cream shaped like spaghetti and not spaghetti treated like ice cream... I'm channeling the movie Elf and getting a little nauseous.

syl · 05-04-2009

that is soo cool i want to do that!!!

sounds like agreat and busy day!!!

Andiline · 05-05-2009

Vivi, I took the pics (which is why I am not on them

).

Susan was confused with the spaghetti ice as well but Josef knew what it was.

Mine was vanilla ice with whipped cream below and the red sauce is raspberry sauce. Cheese is white chocolate. Josef's spaghetti ice was chocolate ice cream but I saw that kind for the first time. The 'classic' one is the one I had.

**TeeZet** · 05-05-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacko

Wish I was there...

Me too...
Fond memories, huh?!

Those sausages at brewery Sion were REALLY good... (not to mention the beverages we enjoyed during our stay).

There were already some reasons why I couldn't make it, but a last minute one would've been this virus

that I've been fighting for the last two weeks (at home). I'm getting better now, fortunately.

Looks like you guys had fun, Andrea!
I'm curious to see Josef and Susan's take on their trip to Europe.

Andiline · 05-05-2009

Josef took a pic of a sausage as a couple on the table next to ours had one.

aaron · 07-27-2009

how easy is it to find the bridge with padlocks on?

I am getting married shortly and my new wife and i are going for a short honeymoon break to Dusseldorf and Cologne( we are taking friends and family on our main honeymoon to Playa later in the year)

thought it would be cool to leave a padlock there ourselves to celebrate our marriage.

Dijo · 07-27-2009

what a gracious person you are!

Andiline · 07-27-2009

Thanks Dijo.

Aaron, the brigde is easy to find, it is right behind the Cologne main train station and the cathedral. If you want to look it up it is called 'Hohenzollernbrücke'. Let me know if you need any more info on Cologne...

Andrea

aaron · 07-28-2009

Thanks Andrea

TAPPY · 07-30-2009

Wow - lucky for them they had such a great tour guide !
Thanks for the pics...it was great seeing both of them !!!

05-04-2009	#1 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 9,871	Peep meet Cologne - Susan and Josef in Germany.... Well, Mastequila and Susango are on a trip through Germany these days and that trip brought them to Cologne yesterday. Unfortunately the 'closest by'-peeps Teezet and Jo were not able to join us (can you believe that I have to meet Jo in person yet???). But sunday is a good day for me to have free time at hand... Josef had written that they would arrive with the ICE (InterCityExpress = high speed train) and so I was at the train station at 1 PM to wait for them. The minute I saw the train arrive on the track I saw a familiar figure. Wait a minute... 'JOSEF!!!! What are you doing outside this train, you are supposed to be INSIDE!' Josef and Susan had been joined by friends at their previous destination and therefore they had driven to Cologne instead of taking the train. We wished the friends a good trip home and then we went to Susan's and Josef's hotel to get rid of their luggage. Since it was close to the cathedral and Susan wanted to see it (it's always part of the tour anyway ) we went over to the cathedral. That was the first try of going inside. Bad luck: service going on. Okay, we will come back and visit later. Susan was hungry so after a quick glance at the roman 'Dionysos mosaic' which is dated about 200 before Christ and is still at the original place we went to the brewery 'Sion' which has been built in 1318. Jacko and Teezet know it since we had sausages there when they were here. Josef's first Kölsch (local beer): After that we went back to visit the cathedral. But - bad luck, service going on. But it was different this time. I know the cathedral well enough to know that something special was going on. The main door was open and inside the 'holy guys' were waiting for something. So I asked Susan and Josef to come outside with me since obviously someone important would soon come into the cathedral. We went outside and when I looked where the guys with the cross had gone who had just left the cathedral through the V.I.P.-door I saw a taxi stop and a figure dressed in red get out. It was the cardinal from Cologne. He's been here for about 20 years but I don't think I ever saw him 'live'. Never tried though since people in Cologne don't like him that much: Since we couldn't visit the cathedral while he was doing what he was supposed to do we went to cross the river. This is something new that has been imported from a bridge in Rome: putting locks as sign of eternal love on a bridge: Not sure how long couples have been doing that but I first read about it last year. This is a train like the one Josef and Susan were supposed to take to arrive in Cologne: At the other side of the river there is a tower with an observation deck. From there you have a great view over Cologne: Btw. I work in the grey tower in the back. Once we had enough we took the elevator down and took another bridge back to the 'right' side of the river (actually the wrong side is the right side and the right side is the left side of the river... ) Walked around more, passed at the Hard Rock Cafe and finally Susan looked tired. Since I knew that Josef loves icecream we went to an italian ice cafe and both Josef and myself had a spaghetti ice: After that we went back to the hotel since Susan was cold and needed to change. After that we went to the cathedral again to visit it. BUT .... service... I asked and got the info that there was no way that we could still visit that day. So we gave up. Then only the 'small tour'-part was left. This is Josef trying to take pics of the 'Cologne eagle' on the flags close to the city hall. Another 'must' on the tours with me is visiting 'Tuennes und Schael', two guys who are known to all the children in Cologne. They are figures from a traditional theater working with puppets on sticks. There are puppets that appear in every show they have and outside the theatre they are very well know as well. After that we walked around in the old part of town some more and finally ended up in a thai cocktail bar (the name is 'Caribbean' - fits doesn't it? ). Here are our drinks... they were as good as they looked: I didn't realize that time was flying by so since it was already after 8 PM we went to another brewery for dinner. When we came inside we suddenly saw something that we had to take a pic of. This is for Sctx: The big boys table! I didn't take pics of the food but Josef did so you'll have to wait till they get back to the States for that. After dinner it was sort of late and I was tired so I left them close to the cathedral. Thanks guys for stopping in Cologne, it was a pleasure to have you here! __________________ Life is better in flip flops! Underwater pics Pics from my trips/trip reports

05-04-2009	#4 (permalink)
Vivi1225 sandflea Join Date: May 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1	Besides The Point Those are beautiful pictures. I don't know who took them, but the food looks fantastic.

05-04-2009	#7 (permalink)
syl añejo Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: santa ynez Posts: 7,380	that is soo cool i want to do that!!!sounds like agreat and busy day!!!

07-27-2009	#12 (permalink)
Dijo añejo Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southwestern Ontario Posts: 1,811	Wonderful Andiline..... what a gracious person you are!

05-04-2009	#2 (permalink)
playa4eva way into it Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 244	Oh wow, that is great! I wondered what those two were up to. They are an adorable couple. Can't wait for their pics when they get back. That spaghetti ice looks awesome! It really looks like real spaghetti. I was confused. Thanks for sharing!

05-04-2009	#3 (permalink)
Jacko añejo Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 30,889	Wish I was there...

05-04-2009	#5 (permalink)
Eileencc añejo Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: North of Boston, Mass Posts: 7,354	Glad you three managed to meet up. I too LOVE the spaghetti ice cream! I have never seen that before. Love to see how that's done. Well done, Andrea!

05-04-2009	#6 (permalink)
SunKneeMarie character encapsulator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 32,808	Oh awesome! Hi Andrea! Hi Josef and Susan!! Spaghetti ice cream... please tell me this is ice cream shaped like spaghetti and not spaghetti treated like ice cream... I'm channeling the movie Elf and getting a little nauseous.

05-05-2009	#8 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 9,871	Vivi, I took the pics (which is why I am not on them ). Susan was confused with the spaghetti ice as well but Josef knew what it was. Mine was vanilla ice with whipped cream below and the red sauce is raspberry sauce. Cheese is white chocolate. Josef's spaghetti ice was chocolate ice cream but I saw that kind for the first time. The 'classic' one is the one I had.

05-05-2009	#10 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 9,871	Josef took a pic of a sausage as a couple on the table next to ours had one.

07-27-2009	#11 (permalink)
aaron beachaholic Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Northants,England Posts: 253	how easy is it to find the bridge with padlocks on? I am getting married shortly and my new wife and i are going for a short honeymoon break to Dusseldorf and Cologne( we are taking friends and family on our main honeymoon to Playa later in the year) thought it would be cool to leave a padlock there ourselves to celebrate our marriage.

07-27-2009	#13 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 9,871	Thanks Dijo. Aaron, the brigde is easy to find, it is right behind the Cologne main train station and the cathedral. If you want to look it up it is called 'Hohenzollernbrücke'. Let me know if you need any more info on Cologne... Andrea

07-28-2009	#14 (permalink)
aaron beachaholic Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Northants,England Posts: 253	Thanks Andrea

07-30-2009	#15 (permalink)
TAPPY añejo Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 21,148	Wow - lucky for them they had such a great tour guide ! Thanks for the pics...it was great seeing both of them !!!

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