Volume 2, Days 61-64
Before checking out of the A&O Hostel to head to Cologne, I needed to run to the supermarket to cash in my collection of empty water bottles. Though I did my best to cash them in for a yogurt and some q-tips, I ended up getting some cash back. It still feels weird to me to go up to a register, hand the cashier a slip of paper, and receive money. It’s a complete inversion of the script, but I didn’t want to spend money just for the sake of spending money.
Though the regional train was more expensive than a Flixbus from Aachen to Cologne, it was still the better choice as both hostels were train station adjacent while the bus stops were some distance away. It was a pleasant ride and not very crowded. As soon as we were out of town, the conductor came by to check tickets. I noticed he gave all the foreign-looking students a lot of extra scrutiny.
As soon as you step out of the central Cologne station, you are confronted by the city’s enormous cathedral, which was reportedly the tallest structure in Europe prior to the erection of the Eiffel Tower. I glanced at it, but hurried over to the hostel to pay for my reservation though I was too early to check in. Its not a bad hostel. They gave me a discount off the list price and there are good perks like a secure luggage room and free padlock rentals.
After stowing my luggage, I had some time to kill and wondered a bit around the old town to learn the layout. Central Cologne is not too big and mostly very commercial and touristy. When my stomach started growling, I began looking for some cheap German street food, eventually trying a frikadella (small hamburger patty) with potatoes and a vendor outside a food court attached to a supermarket.
Needing a coffee, I wondered over to the Starbucks in the train station. Like the Starbucks in England and Belgium, they do give a small discount for using your own tumbler, which brings the coffee price more in line with the standard (though Starbucks portions are significantly larger). It wasn’t a great environment to hang out in, so I was back at the hostel promptly at 2pm to check in and even took a quick nap.
In the late afternoon, I decided to walk around town a bit and check out the cathedral. The plaza in front of the cathedral is always swarmed by tons of tourists to the point that one sometimes has to even queue to enter that church. There is neither a fee for admission nor any charges for taking photos, which is surprising as that seems to be the standard in Germany. The inside was awe inspiring, and my timing was perfect to enjoy the stained glass with the bright afternoon sun. After making a circuit around the cathedral and popping down into the crowded crypt (with nothing to see), I went around the corner from the entrance of the church to buy a ticket to go up the tower. It was a good climb, and I stopped on the way up (and down) to look at the bells with perfect timing to hear their thunderous roars. While I would definitely recommend paying the money for the stair climbing session, I couldn’t help being annoyed by so many people who don’t seem to understand how to move in narrow spaces.
After visiting the church, I changed into exercise clothes and enjoyed a short (6km) jog along the Rhine as far south as the Chocolate and Sports museums, before showering, and going to the Penny discount supermarket to source a healthy dinner. In order to fill myself up, I bought two bags of salad and sprung for a package of “salad seeds” which contain a mixture of sunflower, pumpkin and pine nuts. I walked over to a small green space between the terrace cafes and the Rhine to eat my meal with a backdrop of a million street buskers.
| Pfand return | -0.07 |
| Regional Train | 18.1 |
| Hostel (4 nights) | 68 |
| Frikadelle mit Kartoffeln | 5 |
| Starbucks coffee | 2.39 |
| Cathedral Tower | 5 |
| Two salads | 5.46 |
| Total: | 103.88 EUR (810.3 RMB) (USD 114.76) |
Running Total: 23255.8 RMB (USD 3293.7)
Daily Average: 381.2 RMB (USD 53.99)
In the morning, I decided to spring the for hostel’s “small breakfast,” which included a bowl of muesli and yogurt and one cup of coffee at a third the price of the all-you-can-eat deal. I hung around the hostel most of the morning working on stuff before eventually deciding to go out to one of the city’s many museums. Taking the scenic route, I decided on the fly to grab a small sandwich in a pretzel-y bun from one of hundreds of always crowded bakeries.
Arriving in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, I was stopped from buying a 9 euro single ticket by the advertisement for a 18 euro City Museum Pass. Stopping to look up the terms and conditions, I discovered that the Museum Card was a really good deal, covering the handful of museums which had caught my eye and being valid for two days. Having already wasted half the day, I needed to shift all my museum going to the following two days in order to extract maximum value.
So, I headed back to the hostel to hang out and rest and work and what not. At one point, I went out of my way to go to a fancy little espresso shop that made really good coffee (and sold a wide range of espresso machines in retail). In the late afternoon, I went for a longer run (8 km), cross two bridges across the Rhine. It rained slightly after I finished, so although I bought a pair of salads from the Penny, I decided to eat in the dorm room rather than outside. I feel its a real crummy move to eat food in a shared space like that, but one of my roommates had brought in takeout the previous night.
Actually the living situation is quite weird. It appears that my five roommates are all long term residents. Two of them are around the room most of the day, watching videos or playing games on their mobile devices. The others only show up to sleep, one of whom comes and goes dressed for business. Another one made the strangest sounds in the middle of the night–a loud, rhythmic rubber squeaking. Being awoken by the loud sounds, I was a little freaked out that some kinky shit was happening, but I could never figure out exactly what caused it. It would come and go.
| Breakfast | 2.5 |
| Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwich | 3.2 |
| Doppio Macchiato | 3.7 |
| Salads | 3.99 |
| Total: | 13.39 EUR (104.4 RMB) (USD 14.79) |
Running Total: 23360.2 RMB (USD 3308.48)
Daily Average: 376.8 RMB (USD 53.36)