We also presented today our final project for the language school phase - an individual presentation on a topic of our choice, in German of course. As you might have noticed from the endless pictures of historical architecture on this blog and the detailed captions that accompany them, I like old buildings. So naturally I spoke about Cologne's most historical structures.
And now for the usual blast to the past, since I'm still about 4 weeks behind on pictures - on August 23, a number of us in Cologne traveled to Frankfurt to crash a CBYX (our program) alumni barbeque. We met some real live Germans who just came back from their stay in the U.S. (which they all loved, if you had any doubts), including one who briefly lived with a host family in... FOOTHILL RANCH! (For the uninformed, Foothill Ranch is a part of my small hometown of Lake Forest, CA). What are the chances? She legitimately enjoyed our suburban paradise. We also met the U.S.-German Consul General for Frankfurt, Kevin Milas, and his wife. It always feels nice to get some recognition from the U.S. State Department, which is our program's ultimate administrator.
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| I love a good group picture |
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| See? Modern. I've never seen so many skyscrapers in one place during my time in Germany until now |
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| Frankfurt hosts the seat of the European Central Bank |
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| Due to past experiences, Germans are cautious and skeptical when it comes to nationalism. You hardly ever see German flags or hear the national anthem. You also hardly see EU flags, so seeing both in the same place called for a picture |
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| The Kaiserdom, Frankfurt's cathedral, which was built in the 13th century and witnessed the crowning of many German kings and emperors |
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| Inside the Kaiserdom |
Another Frankfurt landmark is the area's Apfelwein, or apple wine. After navigating around the scores and scores of boisterous soccer fans watching the Frankfurt team on TV as it played its first game of the season, we managed to get our hands on some. It tastes like slightly alcoholic apple cider with a hint of beer.
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| Gotta look in the eyes when you Prost (cheers) to avoid bad luck |
Fast forward after a few days of class. After we got out of school and fueled up with a döner, of course, we decided we had to enjoy the uncharacteristically sunny day and check out Cologne's sculpture garden and Seilbahn (cable car). Sun has been scarce this summer here, so we knew we had to soak up our share of Vitamin D while we could.
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| The Seilbahn soars over a park, then the Rhine, then directly over a nude spa club, and finally lands on the other side of the river |
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| But first - time to appreciate some art |
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| This art is not easily accessible. It must be good! |
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| Intriguing |
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| Reflective sculptures are the best sculptures |
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| Neat geometry |
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| Of course, the view from the cable car high above the Rhine river was amazing |
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| I feel like I could be on a tourist brochure for the city |
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| On the Hohenzollern Bridge, the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany and the same one that plays host to the love locks |
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| Another look at the City Hall. Due to my research for my presentation I gave earlier today, I can tell you auswendig (off the top of my head) that it is the country's oldest city hall, and the tower you see here is in the Gothic style and was built in 1414 |
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| Hedgehogs are fairly common as wild animals here, which I find amusing. I guess I never considered that they could be anything other than a pet. This one lives outside my friend's window. His name is Fluffy |
That's all for now! I'm going to Dusseldorf (for the 2nd time) tomorrow, then most likely to the Rhein valley on Saturday, moving to Berlin Sunday, and then finally registering for classes from Monday to Wednesday. So life is about to get even more hectic. See you on the other side!
