Start to Karneval and visiting the Harry Potter Exhibition

The German equivalent to Mardi Gras, Karneval, officially kicked off on November 11th at 11:11 am in Cologne. Karneval is only celebrated in the Rhineland region of Germany, where the city of Cologne is the 'capital'. It's here where all of the festivities, bands, and major costume parties take place. One of my German professors cancelled class on this day so that we could all make our way to Cologne to celebrate, noting that we had to wear a costume to kickoff the season of Karneval. I had a friend from my language school days, Chris, who still lived in Cologne, and we decided to meet up and walk around the downtown area of the city. I woke up earlier than usual to catch a train from Bonn to Cologne, and the streets were empty as I walked from my apartment to the train station, all the while sporting my pair of lederhosen and Bavaria-esque shirt (this is a typical costume for Karneval. Lederhosen attire in southern Germany, Bavaria, is pretty common, but everywhere else in Germany it remains to be a special-occasion costume of sorts). Needless to say, my walk through the city to the train station was filled with odd sights from business men and women on their way to work; I was definitely the odd man out, but as soon as I reached the train station I became part of the majority. Hundreds of similar-minded students were decked out in random costumes waiting for the train to Cologne. Once the train came around, we packed into the aisles like sardines and made our way to the city. It was only 9:30 in the morning and people were already on their third or fourth beer, but it made for a fun environment. Everyone in the train started joining in on German drinking songs and classic Karneval tunes. Unfortunately I didn't know any of the lyrics or else I would have joined in too, but what a funny act to be caught up in the middle of. I joined Chris and we made our way to the downtown portion of the city. You would have been hard pressed to find anyone who wasn't in a costume, and that is why it was so much fun! We saw some Mario and Luigis, monks, clowns, safari men, zoo animals, and more. Chris and I walked around, killing time until it was close to 11:11 am, at which point Karneval season is officially opened. Everybody drinks and sings the whole day through. We grabbed a drink and found a group of drummers in a market square.

Group of Karneval drummers wearing typically colorful attire

Unfortunately Chris and I both had to cut our Karneval festivities short; Chris's heating had gone out and had a meeting with a technician, and I had to get back home for another course at the University which hadn't been cancelled! The real celebrations come in February where things get ten times crazier than what we saw today, so neither of us felt too bad leaving prematurely. At least we got to help kick off the season!

Later than week I went on another long bike ride. The weather has been postponing getting too cold, so I've been taking advantage of all of the outdoor time I can get. Instead of going north along the river like I had become accustomed to doing, I decided to ride south as far as I could (or until the sun gave out). I rode through little villages and train stations, all the while riding along the Rhine river, which surprisingly opened up once outside of the city limits. The topography of the city is flat, but as soon as I got out 30 minutes from the city, the landscape changed to valleys and hills all along the river. Looking out across the river into the landscapes I could see the steady toll of a chilling temperatures; much of the landscape was brown or gray.

View of the Rhine river

 

Rare glimpses of sunlight hitting hills across the river

I kept going further and further with the bike, pushing to see new villages and landscapes. Due to the short winter days and small amount of daylight, I  had to turn back around after 30 km in one direction and make my way back home before it got too dark. I was hungry and needed more energy to get myself home, so I stopped off at a little cafe along the river and ordered a coffee alongside a waffle covered with Nutella and powdered sugar.

Mhmm.....sugar........

It was refreshing, delicious, and just what I needed to get home. By the time I stepped out of the cafe I realized I had only one hour of sunlight left (it gets dark around 4:30 now)--one hour to make a 1.5 hour bike ride! I didn't have any lights with me so I sprinted the whole way home. I got home exhausted and ready to spend the rest of the night in my bed. To date, it was the longest and most tiring bike ride, but worth it!

Later than weekend I re-united with one of my old classmates from the language school, Synthia, in Cologne. The city was hosting the international Harry Potter Exhibition, and well, both of us being Harry Potter fans, we decided to meet up and see what it was all about. It was great! We got to see props and costumes from the movies and read descriptions about each article. The exhibit had fans of every age group represented, but it was especially cool to see the little kids' eyes light up over every detail.

Exhibition goers could pull up potted Mandrakes 

Quidditch uniforms 

Synthia and I left the exhibit and parted ways, agreeing to meet up again in each other's cities to play tourist. It was a great day catching up with a not-so-old friend in a city we both had the opportunity of living in for two short months.