Our Köln Blog..

End of the Road...

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:26:44 +0200

Hey All!

It’s the end of the road for us.....only here in Germany, though. We start a new adventure, or join our regularly scheduled program life that has been on “break” since we left.

Thanks for sharing our memories with us. We had such an amazing time, and are looking forward to settling back in....

I won’t be posting anymore, but will keep the site up for awhile longer. Maybe a new blog is in order to document my new planned “chicken farmer Corey”.....

We cannot wait to see all of you again.......

Any requests for items from here should be submitted SOON!! 
**grußes,
Corey und Allen

Keeper of the Tap....

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:49:53 +0200

Last Thursday, I was “asked” (ie: told), that I would be working at the Duisburg Citibank 5K run. Eurest was providing the beer services, and help was needed. What was I to do ( the actual work)? Who knows, I am always the last to find out.

Well, my friends........let me tell you.

As with all the things I have done work related here, I just kind of go with it. I have learned not to sweat not knowing the details, not to sweat the waiting around, and not to sweat what I am thrust into; even as the shock of what I am expected to be doing crosses my face like the sun setting across the greek sky....

So it was this night. Brief summary: 4000 runners, running 5k. 1000 spectators. Beer tents, 3. Thirsty people - LOTS AND LOTS.....English? huh? What the hell is that??

Suffice it to say, I did a f*&^ing bang up job. Here is a pic of my tent in the distance...

I asked, or was told, to be the tap guy. You know, pour the beer, No problem. We had on tap ‘Königs Pilsner’, a local favorite. We also had ‘Sinalco’, akin to our Pepsi (as they also have Coke, but no Pepsi). Weird, I know....

Soon thirsty people started showing up, and we needed a seller in one of the corners of the wagon. I was told to go, so I did. hmmmmm.....several things....

“Kopi”: what a local calls a Königs Pilsner, I assume some cute abbreviation of those two words.....(**cute said with a grimace, not a “ohhh, look at the cute dog” face)

‘Alster’: debatable...normally means Fanta (orange soda) with the Pilsner. (*see Radler)

‘Radler’: a mix of Sprite and Pilsner ( this I am familiar with). aber...can also mean the above, or vice versa.....

‘Alster’: a mix of Sinalco and Fanta, a lovely soda cocktail of sorts. Is this REALLY what it is called? NOOO. Does it SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME????YES YES YES.....Does it piss people off when you give them the other and they say “Was ist das?” YES, YES, and YES.......

‘Kreuzberg’: a mix of Cola and Beer, also called a ‘dreksak’ in Cologne. If you want to be a bitch, just say “ein dreksak”, as you put it down....then see above for customer answer :):):)

Ahhhhh....my friends.....with 30 people clammering for a drink at my corner, waving cash, tickets, and cups......who really has the power in their hands????

That’s right - ME!!!!

haha, You get your beer when I am damn good and ready to wait on you.....looking down at you from my throne, I, “König”, keeper of the tap!!!

Okay, so it wasn’t all that bad, in fact, it was really fun.....AFTER I worked my jitters out. It did get a bit crazy, and I did work from 3pm to 2am in the morning, but it was fun. The confusing part was you could pay in these tickets (worth .50cents), or in Bargeld, cash that is. You also had to pay 1E Pfand for the cup (it is germany after all). So between trying to add up the amount to pay, subtract the tickets, subtract the incoming cups pfand, and then spout it back in German, it was a bit of a challenge. Oh yeah - the band was quite loud, so it was hard to hear...and as you have just read, that is ONLY if I have gotten the order right. We did, after all, have to make all the mixed concoctions ourselves......

I did amazing, I thought anyway. I did however when it got busy have to count out loud in English to myself, and then translate the amount in German. I mean, I know my numbers real well, but I can count 20x faster in English, and make less mistakes....

I had trouble with a few people, but it worked out okay. We ran out of beer about 11pm. I guess it was already more than they had had last year. Half hour later a truck came with more, and I manned the last tent alone, had a beer myself, and chatted with a group of Irish guys eating an “American” style hamburger (that looked awful!!)

So, did I have fun. totally. Did I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment after I did it...Hell yeah...Did I panic...no, what good would that have done?...Did I revel in that power of being ‘keeper of the tap’......oh yeah baby.......Now, what was it that you wanted?????

The Killers

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:43:19 +0200

A couple weeks ago on Saturday night, we went to ‘The Killers’ concert. It was part of a three day music fest ‘Music Unlimited’, and they were the headliners. The stage was set right next to the Dom, and what a great time...

There was standing room only, and we got to a great place where we could see real well. If you don’t know the Killers, they are a Las Vegas band that has gained popularity in the last five years, and their music is a mix of soft rock, a touch of harder rock, mixed with all kinds of things. I am by no means a music critic, all I can say is that I really like their music. In October, we are going to Jason Mraz with Nadja and Tucker in Frankfurt, and that should be a great concert as well.

Allen got some good video, so I’ll have to do a youtube post on that, but here are some shots of the stage. I like the photos because it was really cool to party in front of the Dom....

Cool huh.....

Kölner Dom, part II

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:10:32 +0200

The photo above is the bridge that all the outgoing trains leave by, crossing the Rheine river. No cars allowed, but you can walk across if you like.

The blue building in the photo below is the hall where large musicals are staged. It is not the Koln arena, which is where concerts like Madonna and Elton John play, like Madison Square Garden..

The ‘webbing’ you see is the top of the train tracks, where you wait to catch the train.

Below next is a good shot of the symphony hall.

Across the river is ‘Deutz’, a large suburb of Cologne, and is where the ‘Messe’ is. That is the large trade fair center, where shows are held. In Deutz you can find many ethnic neighborhoods, such as the Turkish section, with a large market on Saturdays.

Below is a great shot of the Altstadt, or the old city. Much of Cologne was bombed out during the war, yet the Dom remains because it was used as a focal point for incoming planes. There are many amazing photographs from after the war that show the destruction around the Dom. With that said, our guide also told us of the re-building effort on the front of the Dom after the war, as many corner pieces were damaged by flying debris. When you look at the Dom, you can see these clearly, as they are not as ‘black’ as the rest of the Dom. Unlike Notre Dame in Paris, which was recently cleaned and restored to its original shine, the Dom remains covered in 1000 yrs of grime, adding great character to its Gothic architecture. Somehow, it just wouldn’t evoke the same feeling all white and shiny. In fact, it is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world.

back to the Altstadt...

In the Altstadt there are many great restaurants and bars with outdoor seating, and the view of the river with it’s bustling walkway is a great place to people watch. You can read more on one of the restaurants here, from a previous post.

Another nice shot of the city...

Here is a shot of the Media Park, with its very tall tower that houses various business. We live about half a mile from here...

A few shots of the river....

After hearing the bells toll right below us......

we continued down into the Dom itself, and got a great view of the outside....

The beautiful twin towers at the front....

We couldn’t get a full picture of them........

Inside walking down the tiny staircase for what seemed like miles....

We stopped again right above the door, and were able to see the whole inside of the church. What a sight. Here’s a few highlights....

After the tour, we all headed to ‘Früh’, a landmark restaurant ‘Braurerie’, where you can get some delicious traditional German cuisine, as well as Kölsch, of course, it is ‘Früh’ kölsch......

Since we were doing a Cologne night, I decide to get “Himmel und Äd”. This is a very famous dish from Cologne, and is fried blood sausage with mashed potates and roasted apples. Sometimes the apples are in the potatoes, but in my dish the roasted apple slices were on top and layered throughout....God, that sausage melted in my mouth.....

Don’t knock it till you try it!!!!

Be sure to check out the albums page for all the photos....

A Tour of the Kölner Dom

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:39:45 +0200

Wow - I am finally getting around to posting after a small hiatus. Sorry bout that.

A few weeks ago, Allen took his employees for a behind the scenes look at the Kölner Dom, or the massive cathedral that is the central focus of the city. The tour is only offered a few times a year and we were very lucky to get a slot, and I so very lucky to be invited along!!

The entire tour was conducted by a gentleman who actually makes the replacement pieces for the outside. His knowledge of the Dom was incredible, and though I did okay, I couldn’t understand the whole tour. I was able to discern some interesting facts, and the rest Allen translated for me.

The Dom was started somewhere in the year 1200, and finished 600 years later. Here is what is posted inside the Dom .......

Of course the Dom is under constant renovation, and the molds for all the replacement pieces have to be formed from hand, and are never actually quite the same. I believe our tour guide said the same of that period, that each piece although similar is not exact.

A good example is this piece here, which took 2 months to build. Although it looks small from where we were standing, it is actually about 3 feet high, and very heavy...

Old piece on the left, new on the right.

The other interesting fact is that from the ground it all looks the same. I mean, look at the difference up close.

We started our trip up to the top in a rickity elevator, and came out onto a platform that led into the roof. Here’s a few shots from the platform, and the roof, as well as the Hauptbahnhof, which is right below us....of course, you can fond all the photos on the albums page.

The roof is made of lead tiles, and also has constant upkeep. We’ll get a sneak peek inside soon. Up close the detail was amazing, and you could really see the age of the building.

Inside, we got a good look at the roof, and the amount of wood that it is made of. The updated fire code required that the internal stairs were to be replaced with metal, as well as a water tank on hand to extinguish fires.

The roof tiles are very heavy, so there is alot of support in the inside. We headed up an old staircase to one of the turrets. The view was spectacular!

We were at this spot.....(as seen from below)......

The Dom is located very close to the Rheine, and the overview of the city breathtaking.... we better move to a new page and I can point out some areas of interest...