so i've been busy...

...too busy experiencing german life to email or post blogs, and for that, i apologize. it just leaves me with a lot of catching up to do.

so friday... we first began the day by going to an electronics store to get a converter, as the one i had is compatible in some parts of europe, but not germany. along the way, we were caught in a downpour of sorts, so we waited it out under the bridge until it had let up a bit. we also looked in a few record stores and kept walking until we ended up heading down to st. peter's cathedral and going inside. i realize the citizens of köln are probably or possibly not all that interested in seeing it for it is certainly, by now, rather commonplace to them, but i was overwhelmed and amazed to be in a place with such history and beauty. construction of the cathedral began in 1248, and wasn't completed for hundreds of years, and is constantly undergoing renovation and such. most recent was the addition of a new stained glass window, which features colourful pixels throughout.

and don't get me started on the organ, which is absolutely astounding! i only wish i could hear it played. but perhaps the highlight of the whole thing is the bones (or what's left of the bones) of the three kings (you know, the ones of orient) which are housed in gold shrine-like "boxes" in the cathedral (clearly, my descriptive prowess fails me). i had no idea, but i guess that's sort of the motivating factor for people to visit. so awesome! we also happened upon a crazy person talking to himself and johannes wanted to make fun of him, but i was a bit upset because i won't tolerate others talking bad about my teammates!!

next, we saw some museums housed around the cathedral, then walked along the marina and river front, all the way to the schokoladen museum! according to johannes, it is a bit boring, so we just went inside and looked at all the various types of chocolate available. we continued our walk until we reached a train stop, of which one direction would take us to the suburbs and the other, which would take us back to our resting place.

we got back and had some time to wind down, so we had dinner and then began the pillaging of my hard drive over a couple beers. before too long, it was time to head

down to another venue, stereo wonderland, (across the street from the one the previous night) to see darren hayman from hefner. the bar was small and intimate, but quite nice, and it was my first time seeing darren or hearing any of his music really, but i loved it. he's quite a natural entertainer (and i'm glad he spoke english otherwise i would have missed a large part of the concert experience, i fear).

after the show ended, we walked back and wound down the day watching "serenity" which is an altogether interesting and peculiar movie. then off to bed to prepare for our next day.

first day!

two awesome things happened this morning. one: i awoke to find my suitcase sitting outside my bedroom door. hooray for clean clothes and such. two: i walked into the kitchen to find a bag of gummibärchen on the table. ftw. needless to say, i'm in a relatively good mood.

yesterday morning, we took to exploring the city, walking about until we reached the city museum. we went in and spent an hour or two learning about the history of köln and seeing all sorts of interesting things. it was a great, quirky introduction to staying here. next was lunch...turkish pizza...which is kind of amazing. i had my first taste of cheese in weeks and it was delicious, although my stomach has been upset with me for eating dairy again, so i'm trying to avoid it when possible.

after lunch we came back to johannes' place, and he did a fine job procrastinating on doing real work :) while i did reading, caught up on my journal, and took an incredibly delightful nap. i spent most of the evening doing crossword puzzles, and spent some time chatting with his roommate, eva, over her dinner. then we had dinner and headed outside. it was sprinkling a bit, but i don't mind; i'll take that over the heatwave set to hit the north bay this weekend.

we walked down to the blue shell, a bar/venue that was celebrating its 30th anniversary with a cover band, silk rabbits, performing. it was equals parts fun and amusing, and the crowd was a particularly eclectic mix of people, which made for some good teamage...speaking of which, johannes is (so far) kicking my ass at the your team game.

i have also been learning useful german phrases... "prost" (a german version of "cheers"), "ranzig" (similar to how i would use the term "janky"), and arguably the most important phrase, "zwei kölsch" (for ordering beer).

after the show, we walked back and watched some videos on youtube and finally i got to see some pictures from johannes' trip to southeast asia. totally awesome, but the squemish person in me is uncertain if i'd want to visit a place rampant with snakes and leeches and strange/bizarre/giant bugs. still, intriguing pictures and stories nonetheless.

tonight's plan is to go out see darren hayman, the former singer of hefner...i have never heard his solo music before last night, so it should be rad. we have also been invited by eva to join her in eating quiche that she is preparing tonight. in the meantime, i might be doing some solo exploring while j. gets work done.

i was telling johannes earlier that i am so accostomed to what europe is like, based off movies and such, and it has turned out to be exactly what i expected here in germany... and it feels almost as if i am watching it or experiencing it in an out-of-body sort of way. hard to explain, but the energy here is very fresh and very real.

unrelated, thanks to everyone who has sent me text messages; now that i have my phone charger i can read them all. it is nice to wake up to so many nice messages from everyone, and rest assured, i am having an excellent time, although i miss you all (and especially team catfish).