Busy few days...
Sonntag, 08.10.06
After updating the journal on Thursday, I met up with the Glaswegian lot plus Roger (from Valencia) and headed off on a trip to Düsseldorf. The German rail ticket system with a group ticket for up to 5 persons costing only a few Euros more than a single person ticket meant that for 6 of us, it was around 6,50€ each. Walking from the Hauptbahnhof [main railway station] through the beautiful Könisgallee, to the Altstadt, and finally to the river promenade where we walked south towards the Frank O ‘Gehry buildings. Although it is a similar story with Köln by the town being heavily destroyed during the Second World War, I found there was more modern architecture here. This was apparent in the bridges, office buildings and the overall open space although you can escape this modernity back in the Old town with the exception for the odd tram weaving around the tight corners. We had a traditional German meal consisting of a pork burger layered with onions and topped with a fried egg alongside some fried potatoes which was washed down with the rival Düsseldorf Altbier. Next stop was the Brewery where we had ‘Halb und halb Bier’ which was apparently Altbier mixed with Malt Bier but we thought it tasted a little like Altbier mixed with Cola; which is the popular mixer here rather than Lemonade. During that time, we noticed that the people from the adjoining table left behind a Peek & Cloppenburg [an expensive shop!] shopping bag behind. Jen, who was sitting the closest to the pink bag looked first to see it contained a pair of trousers, the second time to see it was Hugo Boss, and the third in an attempt to see if it was a male or female pair. In the end, Roger took the bag under the table to find the receipt for 109€! Right at that moment, the woman came rushing back and we swiftly waved to say we found her bag. We then went to another bar to meet the friends of the Glaswegian lot who visiting in town. I chatted briefly to Carlos, who used to teach at Central St Martins before he moved to Glasgow. What a small world! Shortly after, we had to head back to the station after realising there weren’t actually many trains back since the timetable had 32 exceptions. A brief jog later to work off the beer, we were on the way back to Köln where the rain welcomed us. I will be back to explore Düsseldorf more, especially the Japanese Quarter where I’ve heard there are good restaurants!
Friday morning was the German test [30 multiple choice questions] to determine which class we will attend next week. Not surprisingly, I’m starting at the bottom! I didn’t know what most of the vocabulary let alone trying to decipher the meaning of the sentences. That evening, 9 of us went to see the Kölner Haie [Cologne Sharks] play the Eisbären Berlin [Berlin Polar Bears] in Ice Hockey at the Köln Arena on the other side of the Rhein. It was great fun, with heaps of excitement and anticipation, seeing the arena and having photos taken with the mascots! The Haie won the game 4-1 and it was just like it is on TV with the crushing of players against the rink boundaries.
Saturday was housework day; doing the laundry, food shopping, cleaning. Although I was still recovering from a slight cold, it had to be done since nothing here seems to operate on Sundays and college gets into full swing from Monday. Later that night, after waiting for my turn to use the washing machine and going out to the Laundrette to dry my clothes, I went to visit Max’s new student crib in Sülz. His room was on the 23rd floor with a great Easter view of the city and porter service who had to call on the intercom to confirm he was expecting guests! Although we didn’t stay for long, I was glad I made the trip as on the way back I stumbled across a bike that was left unlocked. Apart from the seemingly half eaten seat, it was in good condition and it also had a pump! Pretty lucky compared to my friends who are always on the lookout for bikes that have been yellow tagged by the council. It is to signify that they have been abandoned, and consequently will be taken away and destroyed. It isn’t particularly legal to take these bikes; they are often chained to a stand and most of them have something broken anyway.
After updating the journal on Thursday, I met up with the Glaswegian lot plus Roger (from Valencia) and headed off on a trip to Düsseldorf. The German rail ticket system with a group ticket for up to 5 persons costing only a few Euros more than a single person ticket meant that for 6 of us, it was around 6,50€ each. Walking from the Hauptbahnhof [main railway station] through the beautiful Könisgallee, to the Altstadt, and finally to the river promenade where we walked south towards the Frank O ‘Gehry buildings. Although it is a similar story with Köln by the town being heavily destroyed during the Second World War, I found there was more modern architecture here. This was apparent in the bridges, office buildings and the overall open space although you can escape this modernity back in the Old town with the exception for the odd tram weaving around the tight corners. We had a traditional German meal consisting of a pork burger layered with onions and topped with a fried egg alongside some fried potatoes which was washed down with the rival Düsseldorf Altbier. Next stop was the Brewery where we had ‘Halb und halb Bier’ which was apparently Altbier mixed with Malt Bier but we thought it tasted a little like Altbier mixed with Cola; which is the popular mixer here rather than Lemonade. During that time, we noticed that the people from the adjoining table left behind a Peek & Cloppenburg [an expensive shop!] shopping bag behind. Jen, who was sitting the closest to the pink bag looked first to see it contained a pair of trousers, the second time to see it was Hugo Boss, and the third in an attempt to see if it was a male or female pair. In the end, Roger took the bag under the table to find the receipt for 109€! Right at that moment, the woman came rushing back and we swiftly waved to say we found her bag. We then went to another bar to meet the friends of the Glaswegian lot who visiting in town. I chatted briefly to Carlos, who used to teach at Central St Martins before he moved to Glasgow. What a small world! Shortly after, we had to head back to the station after realising there weren’t actually many trains back since the timetable had 32 exceptions. A brief jog later to work off the beer, we were on the way back to Köln where the rain welcomed us. I will be back to explore Düsseldorf more, especially the Japanese Quarter where I’ve heard there are good restaurants!
Friday morning was the German test [30 multiple choice questions] to determine which class we will attend next week. Not surprisingly, I’m starting at the bottom! I didn’t know what most of the vocabulary let alone trying to decipher the meaning of the sentences. That evening, 9 of us went to see the Kölner Haie [Cologne Sharks] play the Eisbären Berlin [Berlin Polar Bears] in Ice Hockey at the Köln Arena on the other side of the Rhein. It was great fun, with heaps of excitement and anticipation, seeing the arena and having photos taken with the mascots! The Haie won the game 4-1 and it was just like it is on TV with the crushing of players against the rink boundaries.
Saturday was housework day; doing the laundry, food shopping, cleaning. Although I was still recovering from a slight cold, it had to be done since nothing here seems to operate on Sundays and college gets into full swing from Monday. Later that night, after waiting for my turn to use the washing machine and going out to the Laundrette to dry my clothes, I went to visit Max’s new student crib in Sülz. His room was on the 23rd floor with a great Easter view of the city and porter service who had to call on the intercom to confirm he was expecting guests! Although we didn’t stay for long, I was glad I made the trip as on the way back I stumbled across a bike that was left unlocked. Apart from the seemingly half eaten seat, it was in good condition and it also had a pump! Pretty lucky compared to my friends who are always on the lookout for bikes that have been yellow tagged by the council. It is to signify that they have been abandoned, and consequently will be taken away and destroyed. It isn’t particularly legal to take these bikes; they are often chained to a stand and most of them have something broken anyway.
posted by elaine at 16:35
1 Comments:
how cool is that...find a bike that's been left (tagged) and you can take if you want! for free! haha! nice idea =]
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