Day 1 - Cologne, Germany: 2019-06-28, Rendezvous with lieblilngs, teil einz!

After surviving the bitter colds and sleep-deprived conditions while fighting the War of Manspreading Aggression, I magically arrived in Dusseldorf!  From there, I had to navigate to Cologne to see the sweeties :)

Thankfully for the first of 4 times in Europe, my cards actually worked!  I just used them in the ATM and the nice robots gave me special colorful Euro-money.  This was a big help - I had a bunch of USD with me, but didn't really want to change it over.

It's good to be back!  Even for a non-speaker like me, most of the trains are well-organized and pretty easy to figure out.

I was expecting this to be a bit more of a challenge than it was - there were a couple hiccups, trains actually breaking down (I don't remember this happening in Germany?  I do remember it in Italy...).  Also, there were a couple times when the schedules didn't really match reality.  Just before getting to Cologne, I asked 4 people which train/time/track to take (2 of them employees of Deutsche Bahn) and I got 4 answers...  Luckily, I chose the right one!

A familiar sight!  I remember the last time we passed through here in 2013, Spamalot was advertised heavily on the nearby buildings.

While we 3 are trying to locate each other, why not fuel up?

With one of my favorite people!  It was SO GOOD to see Amy and Maya.   

My favorite person - back together!

Just like the last time we all flew in, the first stop is for CURRYWURST

Maya is a monkey sometimes

Everything's going great!  I'm hearing about their time in England with Lisa and her family (they had a *blast*), we're checking out the unreal cathedral (seriously, amazing!), taking it all in.  But I can feel my body shifting down...  I'm running on adrenaline, love, and espresso, but even that powerful cocktail has its limits.  It's a beautiful day, but soon I'll be reduced to a zombie stumbling around with luggage - not looking for brains, but rather a place to sit down.  Consciousness is funny sometimes.  (consider this foreshadowing)

Cologne Cathedral, a gothic masterpiece.  Gothic architecture always seems to me like it's going through an "angry emo" phase.

This gargoyle cracked us up - Maya said that's the face you make when you find out it's "half-price apps"  🤣🤣🤣

The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is real!

Cobblestones - they are everywhere!  I guess it makes sense that they're more durable than asphalt, they just seem so *old*, and therefore maybe inferior.  But I can tell you, although it isn't as smooth, some of these things have been around for hundreds of years.  Coming from a land that is CONSTANTLY under construction for asphalt, having a bit of a rougher road that doesn't need to be replaced every 5 years is very appealing to me.

 Remember the foreshadowing above?  This is a picture of the aftermath - I think I konked for 3 hrs under their watchful eye :)  The part you don't see is where we were waiting for the apartment check-in for a couple hours, and we were sitting down by the River while Maya told me stories and showed me pictures.  Both of them were rubbing my back, I thought I may have died and gone to heaven.

Only problem was that I don't remember any of it (other than "oh man, this is the best!").

Sweet sweet annata.  I am non-self, and it's a good time right now.  I'll be back though!

Who among us has not had a party-fahrten?  Sometimes the German language only reinforces the point that I am a 12-year old.