Walking around Köln

On Wednesday I left Berlin around lunch and went to Köln. I was unable to find a couchsurfer so I stayed in a Hostel. I settled in and then walked around just a bit. I got a 4 person room all to myself which was very nice but the next day I had to move to a different room because they had a lot of big groups. Thursday I walked around Köln after eating the breakfast buffet at the hostel. It is a very beautiful city and would've been a lot more fun if it hadn't felt like winter the whole time. It rained and was in the 30's and 40's all day so my pictures weren't very pretty. I got to see most of what I wanted to though and got some small souvenirs. I started out at the Kölner Dom (of course) since that was the main thing I wanted to see. It was beautiful inside and, since it was really early not many people were there. They had half of it closed off because they were either doing a private tour or there was a church related event going on. Everyone was very quiet and respectful inside and I got some cool pictures. I really wish I had bought a video camera for this entire trip. I really regret it but oh well. After that I just walked around with my free map from the hostel and saw a few of the many churches as well as the shopping area, pretty statues and cafes, and then I made my way to the Stadium. Hunter likes the Köln Fußball team so I got some pictures of the FC shop and the empty stadium. I then went back to the Dom and took some pictures of the areas that were closed that morning. By that time it was packed. I don't know why but there seem to be annoying teenage American brats at all these touristy sites (I'm guessing on their rich parents money) and most of the time they are being disrespectful and loud. There were some teenage girls swearing inside the Dom...They thought it was funny because they were in a church. Thanks for perpetuating the stereo-type that Americans are loud and stupid. I would've loved to just walk around more and maybe find a local band playing that night but I couldn't find much since it was a Thursday night other than hip-hop and pop club events even though Köln has a pretty big gothic/metal scene. Plus walking around in the cold and rain had really worn me out so by 6pm I was ready for a hot shower and bed.  I didn't sleep much that night because, guess what?! I had annoying, teenage rich American girls in my room! Yay! They got drunk and came back at 2am (since the drinking age is 18 here). The next day I packed up and walked around Köln a bit more but then took a 45 min ride to Düsseldorf for Japantag. I took a LOT more pictures than this but there is a limit on blogger to how many you can upload a month. So more pics on Facebook if you're on my friends list ^_^ Enjoy.

 Früh am Dom Brauhaus

 Back inside the Dom

Berlin

On Monday I walked around the Wave-Gotik-Treffen till lunch time and then took a train to Berlin where I met my tandem partner Karen and her friend. They were really sweet and gave me a "Berlin at night" tour haha Then the next day we were really lucky and had nice weather to go sight seeing. It was a very rushed experience since I wanted to see as much of Berlin as I could in only one day. I think I did pretty well though since I got to see the Berlin wall, the Brandenburger Tor, Siegessaeule, Museumsinsel, Lustgarten, and a lot more. I was about to pass out after looking at the museums so we went home a bit early. Karen's friend was so sweet and bubbly and made us dinner and breakfast. I had to pop that disgusting blister on my foot and then could barely walk for the next couple days. That's what I get for wearing heels all day. I had a lot of fun with Karen and her friend and it was very good for my German. I got to learn lots of new words over this trip! Mostly slang haha It's so hard for me to understand people my age speaking German because they talk so fast and use slang that I don't understand. But I've learned that if I can figure out the meaning of "doch" I'll be fine. They use it SO much and it's really hard to translate. I kind of have it figured out, but not quite. I would love to go back to Berlin for a concert or something and spend some more time there. It was so nice when you weren't in the touristy areas where it was packed.

 These guys were amazing. I couldn't stand still for that long.

 In my rush I took a lot of sideways pictures...*sigh*

Wave-Gotik-Treffen

Wow I have so much to blog about! I went on a trip around Germany this past week. My first stop was the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig. It is a huge 5 day long Gothic music and art festival. There were 175 bands playing throughout the city on different days. I mostly walked around and took pictures of the beautiful people and buildings. I did go see Abney Park on Friday night because I love them and then I went to the big concert on Sunday night with Noisuf-x. I love the high of being at a concert, surrounded by people dancing and singing. It's wonderful. I think that was the most fun I had at WGT. The costumes were amazing of course. I was able to dress up a tiny bit but I didn't have room in my suitcase to bring too much. I started at 7am on Friday and got to Leipzig around 3pm. It was so chaotic that first day because I had to take another train to Halle to meet my couchsurfing hosts, then find Lintu and Thomas and view what little was left of the Victorian Picnic, check in to get my wristband for the events, and then I was finally able to go to the Abney Park concert. My first mitfahrgelegenheit (German carpool system) was really good, I had nice people and they got me to Leipzig pretty fast. My first time couchsurfing was also a lot of fun. I stayed with a couple who lived 30 minutes outside of Leipzig. Their apartment was really nice with a great view over Halle. They made me a huge breakfast every morning I was there (which I was not expecting!) and we watched some movies and just talked over coffee a lot when I wasn't at WGT. I got to meet up with Lintu and Thomas on the first day I was there but after that I'm not sure what happened. They just decided to ignore me the rest of the weekend. I have no clue if  I did something or what. They just wouldn't reply to my texts or calls so when I called them on Sunday and got no reply I just gave up and hung out with random people where ever I went, which was also cool. It really helped my German haha I was dumb and wore 6inch heeled boots on Saturday so now I have a terrible blister under my toe >_< They were super cute while I was wearing them though! Pretty much everyone I met was super nice and the bands/vendors were great. I didn't do much shopping since things are always way over priced at these events but I did get a hat and a t-shirt. Overall, very fun (minus the being ignored for no reason thing) and tiring weekend. I took about 180 pictures (yikes!) but because this blogging site has a monthly limit I had to really be picky. So these are just a very few of the costumes and building pictures. I have about 133 on facebook too so go check there if you're on my friends list ^_^

 Abeny Park

 so cute ^_^

 Incubite