Fancy Cologne

Final thoughts

2010-06-05T21:54:00.013+01:00

When I left for Cologne, Germany, I knew very little about the place and was pretty nervous about what was to come. However, I reckoned that even if I didn't have a good time, at least the experience would be 'character-building'.

Luckily I've enjoyed many good times. There have been the bad times too, but I think/hope they have shaped a stronger 'me'.

Here are just a few things I learned about the country and myself through my expat adventure, in no particular order of importance...

Things I have learned about Germany:

It is perfectly okay for dogs to peruse the counters of department stores (Read more...)
There's more rubbish on the streets than I expected, but there are a lot of bin men and road sweepers
There is a surprising amount of beret wearing amongst men of a certain age. It's not just for the French you know
Lederhosen isn't that popular, unless it's carnival time or Oktoberfest
Customer service in shops could score higher and some banks and post offices close over lunchtime, which is just when you need them
The health service is very good and doctors seem to have the resources they need
People are very environmentally aware and it is the norm to take your own bags to the supermarket
There are some lovely customs such as St Martin's Zug and May Day love tokens
It is a land of bread-lovers: bread comes in a huge number of varieties (Wikipedia reckons on around 600 types) and you're never far from a bakery

Things I have learned about myself:

Maybe I need to be a bit, just a teensy bit, less controlling
I am an optimist, not a pessimist (unless things are going wrong...)
I am not too old to try new things and I am not too old to learn new things
Even though I might not enjoy it, I can tolerate a high level of embarrassment
Although I am not great at languages, I am not as bad as I thought when I was a teenager, learning GCSE French. So, on that note, 'Auf Wiedersehen!'

Home

2010-04-27T20:47:00.005+01:00

I've been home a week and am just about unpacked and am slowly settling in. I'm staying at my parents' while we work out what we're doing next - and where we're going to do it. As my folks live in a leafy suburb I am now adjusting to being woken up by wood pigeons instead of sirens.

The last week has been eventful.

On the Monday we were due to leave we went to the Cologne town hall to deregister (it's compulsory to 'sign out' if you're leaving Germany and you're not native). We were a bit crestfallen on arrival when we found that about fifty people were ahead of us in the queue. However, we were only there five minutes when Alexander managed to fall over in the 'soft play area' and cut his head. Interestingly, when I ran to the front desk to ask for help, we were whisked to the front of the queue to complete the de-registration forms. Taking our bleeding son (using the medical sense rather than cussing you understand) to the hospital seemed to be a secondary consideration. The staff were kind though, and ordered a taxi to the hospital after they'd seen all the blood. Alexander was treated immediately at the hospital and luckily only needed to have the wound glued together. He was soon running around as though nothing had happened.

Simon's colleague didn't need a lift in the end - he chose to stay a bit longer. Now travel seems to have returned to normal so I assume he's home now.

Luckily we got our ferry okay. We were interviewed on the boat by the BBC travel expert Simon Calder - he was making a video piece about travel via Norfolk Line ferries for a business conference. He asked us what we consider are the benefits of travelling from Dunkirk and we could only really think it's cheap and punctual (which are pretty good reasons), but I suspect he was angling for more.

On Sunday April turned three. It was great to be able to celebrate her birthday with all grandparents, aunts and uncles as that was never possible before. She even got two chocolate birthday cakes as both Nanas baked: so one for elevenses and one for afternoon tea!

I am still in a bit of a headspin at the moment and it will take some time to mull over the relevance of the last three and a half years spent as an English lady abroad. I plan to write one more post, giving a round up of thoughts and comments. Auf Wiedersehen!

Erupting

2010-04-18T20:41:00.001+01:00

In Germany it is quite normal for a rented apartment to come without a kitchen and in that case it is the tenant's responsibility to fit one on arrival and then remove it on leaving. We have no need of a kitchen where we are going so we managed to find a willing buyer who came to pick it up today.

In a strange twist the buyer for the kitchen works for the European Aviation Safety Agency which has just moved to Cologne. Given the current ban on flying over Europe due to the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, I cannot help wondering how busy he is right now.

One of Simon's English colleagues and friends is currently stranded in Cologne due to the volcano. As he was at a loose end he helped us to deconstruct our kitchen yesterday. In return we're going to squeeze him into our car tomorrow and drop him at Lille, where he can catch the Eurostar. Our small car will be rammed with three crumpled adults and two little people. Goodness knows what the pressure build up is going to be like inside and how long before one of us explodes.

Last night we popped round our neighbours' place for a drink. We'd just arrived and started on the prosecco when we heard fireworks so we watched the impressive display from their large balcony. A perfect and unplanned moment.

Last Friday

2010-04-16T13:25:00.003+01:00

It's my last Friday here.

Just so you know, I did cry on Wednesday when I said goodbye to my friend and her family. It's hard when you meet wonderful people and the path you want your life to take is different from theirs. It is hard for my friend too, as she has made a life here and has seen so many of her expat friends come and go.

April and Alexander leave their playgroup today. I pick them up in half an hour. April has been going twice a week for nearly two years - a long time. I think I am set for another emotional goodbye so I'll take some tissues just in case.

Last week in Cologne

2010-04-14T13:02:00.006+01:00

I will be leaving Cologne and Germany next Monday and returning to my home town. I've been here nearly 3 and a half years!

We spent a lovely weekend with Simon's best man and his family, doing all the tourist highlights: the cathedral, the Roman Museum, the Museum Ludwig, the zoo and the Rhine. Without visitors we probably wouldn't have taken this much needed pause to soak up some of the atmosphere of this great city.

When we were standing by the west door of the cathedral the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne came out, leading a procession. Seeing what she thought of as a parade, April did what any toddler might do - and clapped. This caught His Eminence's attention so he came over to bless each of us in turn. It turns out that the Archbishop is a bit cheeky though - as he was leaving we heard him muttering to his attendants that we were 'quite normal for English'. Hmm.

This week has been very busy so far and it's only going to get busier. We're saying goodbye to good friends we have made, tying up loose ends and frantically packing. (Nb packing is not easy when you have a baby and a toddler who like to inspect everything as it's boxed up.)

Today April had her three year check up at the doctor's, but she wasn't in the mood. She was mute for the entire time. Questions like, 'What can you see on this chart?' and, 'Tell me what this animal is,' were met with stony silence. The doctor asked if April could jump to which I said yes - but of course April refused to show us. So the doctor could not perform a sight test; ascertain April's language ability; or check her gymnastic skills. I tried not to be mortified by the experience. On the way home April chatted noisily, jumping along the road like a kangaroo.

This afternoon we are off to say 'Auf Weidersehen' to a dear friend and her family. There is a very real chance that I will cry.

Frohe Ostern...

2010-04-03T14:44:00.008+01:00

...or 'Happy Easter'!

It is thought that the 'Easter Bunny' tradition - where a magical rabbit leaves eggs for children who have been good - emerged in Germany and Alsace.

So it's no surprise that Easter eggs are a serious business here. As well as the usual array of chocolate eggs on sale, you can also buy dyed hard-boiled eggs known as 'Bunte Eier' (colourful eggs).

We bought these ones but were too chicken (ahem) to eat them.

More about the Easter Bunny...

Weyerstrasse

2010-04-02T19:25:00.011+01:00

My street is called 'Weyerstrasse' and it is where I have lived all the time I have been in Germany.

Weyerstrasse is in the Griechenmarkt ('Greek Market') quarter of Cologne (although there's sadly no longer a Greek market here - I am sure it would have been interesting to see). It's near the centre of student nightlife and also a short walk from the town high street. It's a funny mix of residential, offices, bars and shops.

Facilities here range from the sublime to the ridiculous:

A jazz club which has been going since the 60s and which describes itself as 'interjazzional' (mmm, nice)
The oldest pub in Cologne
A centre for Rosicrucian study/worship (don't know what this is, but given that I have never seen anyone enter or leave, maybe nobody else does either)
A leather corset emporium
Water bed shop
Vegan supplies shop
Further Education college
An alternative hairdresser's which has scary Goth dolls hanging by their necks from the window
A club for expat Brits which is never open
A club for expat Russians which is never closed
Portuguese restaurant
And your usual run of takeaways, bakeries, grocery shops and a very nice florist

The people that I have encountered walking up and down the street are always friendly and keen to say 'hallo' and engage the children in conversation. Cologne is a diverse and absorbing place with many facets - and nowhere is this more evident than in our little corner of the city.

Roll up, roll up

2010-03-13T20:51:00.009+01:00

The circus is making its annual visit to Cologne so I took April along to today's matinee. It was a special treat for the girls of the household.

(Alexander is growing his first molars - a situation which isn't pleasant for him or anyone caring for him. So today I ~~escaped from him~~ left him with his Dad.)

April was extremely excited. But I think I may possibly have been more so. I remember being taken to the circus when I was little by one of those ladies I called 'Auntie', but who wasn't really. I recall that it was very good and that I was entranced by a group of acrobats in sequinned green outfits. (Hang on, maybe that explains a lifelong fixation with sparkles?)

It took some time for everyone to get seated in the 'Big Top'. Before the show started April declared that she'd 'Like to go home now' but I managed to convince her to wait for the performance. A few minutes later, coinciding with the opening drum roll, she declared that she needed a wee. Hmmm.

Anyway, after these niggles we were able to settle down and enjoy ourselves. Television and books have taught April to expect the following acts from a circus: jugglers, acrobats and clowns. Luckily we saw all three today: there was a juggler who managed to keep six balls on the go at once, sometimes even throwing them behind his back; there were lithe acrobats who formed human pyramids and flipped their bodies into all sorts of unfeasible configurations with apparent ease; and there was a clown who turned a member of the audience into a goat* - the symbol for the city's beloved FC Köln.

We left at the interval because a full show - at nearly three hours long - would have been too much for a toddler. As we left I inhaled the glorious smells coming from the popcorn and sausage stalls. Although April is too young to remember this day, I shall think of it with fondness. In fact, I want to go again already!

*No people or animals were hurt.

Carnival Sunday

2010-02-14T14:30:00.037+01:00

Tomorrow is the day of the nationally-televised Cologne 'Rosenmontag' parade, and today is the less-crowded warm-up event, which takes the same route through the city and represents local schools and districts (Schull und Veedelszög parade). We decided to brave the snow and take the opportunity to have a look.

The schools that put on a really good display today are chosen to parade again tomorrow: this is a hotly-contested gig.

As it's Carnival, even the people watching the parade are expected to dress up - so we went as a Prisoner, Little Devil, Bird and Showgirl. Sometimes it's hard to know who is meant to be parading and who's just a bystander.

Children come to the parade clutching big, empty bags, which people from the parade fill with sweets. April got into the spirit of the parade, as you can see in the photo (bottom right).

PS - Several bystanders turned up with ironing boards (see photo, middle left), which they used as tables for their beers and snacks. Ingenious.

Carnival photo collage

2010-02-11T19:47:00.010+01:00

Some photos I took today...

Top row: me with some clown musicians; wigs on sale in a fancy dress shop; a carnival clown cake

Bottom row: carnival street sign; party bus; carnival folk in front of the cathedral

Kissed in Cologne!

2010-02-11T11:45:00.019+01:00

It's 'Karneval' once again! Today is the start of 6 days of partying and 17 parades through and around the town. There will be an estimated 1.5 million people attending the big 'Rosenmontag' parade on Carnival Monday.

This year's carnival motto is 'Kissed in Cologne' which I am guessing was chosen because Carnival Sunday happens to fall on Valentine's Day. There is also a custom on Carnival Thursday (known as 'Weiberfastnacht', which roughly translates as 'Women's Carnival Day') which allows women to go up to any man wearing a tie and give him a kiss in exchange for cutting off his tie. I expect bargain tie shops will be doing a good trade today.

Braving this morning's sub-zero temperatures, I headed into town to take some photos of the chaos. Here I am at the main train station. I saw this band and asked to take their picture. They persuaded me to be in the photo instead, for the price of a kiss. My carnival experience is living up to this year's motto!

Here are crowds of early revellers, spilling out of the main station and making their way into town.

More revellers. Note the 'Yippee'!

More about carnival...

January

2010-01-30T19:37:00.012+01:00

January. Oh January. What a disappointment you've been to me. Here's a quick summary:

Week 1: April and Alexander contract the winter vomiting virus. It snows a lot.
Week 2: Me and Simon contract the winter vomiting virus and the kids get coughs. It is very cold.
Week 3: The lift breaks and it takes ten days to fix - and we live on the 4th floor. It is very, very cold.
Week 4: It snows again and I am just too cold. How is one supposed to keep the spark going in a marriage when it's necessary to wear socks in bed to retain body heat?

I'll be glad to see the back of January. (Though I am pleased to have found that having to wear a hat outside the house has put paid to 'bad hair days'.)

Today I took some photos of the snow when out buying the groceries. Here's a photo taken of our local Zülpicher Platz church.

Schneemann

2010-01-10T13:56:00.004+01:00

Today April and I built a happy snowman. It has eyes made out of cake candle holders, a toy carrot nose, chopsticks for arms and a button mouth.

It's been very cold here - I don't think it's got above freezing all week.

Queasy

2010-01-03T21:03:00.014+01:00

We've been away in England for Christmas and it's been pleasant, as it always is. We arrived back in Cologne about 3 hours ago and are enjoying being back on our sofa and surrounded by all of our things.

We split the journey back to Cologne over two days, with a break in a Dover hotel last night, prior to our Channel crossing. That was meant to make the journey more pleasant. Hmm.

Precisely 6 minutes before we got to the hotel April was violently sick. Poor little thing. When we arrived at the hotel I had to get her out of the car and shake her down. Bits of part-digested tangerine, orange squash and all - making a nice fruit cocktail for the urban rats. This was not stylish travel.

She was ill again when we were in our hotel room; a room all four of us were sharing. With vomit-covered sheets and clothes the room soon became a bio-hazard and I was worried that we'd all be ill by dawn.

Luckily Simon, Alexander and I were okay this morning, but April threw up her breakfast. Of course, it occurred to us that a nauseous child and a cross-channel ferry in winter seas might not be good. We boarded with some anxiety.

In the end, the worst thing that happened on the ferry was that April had a very loud tantrum about not wanting to put her boots on. It was public mortification for me, but not as bad as her being sick again.

Now we're home April is fully recovered but I am mentally scarred!

Travelling with children? Just DON'T.

St Nicholas Day

2009-12-06T19:37:00.020+01:00

Before I came to Germany I didn't realise that here - and in many other European countries - Saint Nicholas is celebrated with a feast day held on 6th December.

In the Christian church St Nicholas is the patron saint of children, merchants, sailors and pawnbrokers. During his lifetime (270-346) this bishop of Myra (now a part of Turkey) was said to have given generously, and secretly, to the poor.

Here in Germany children put out their shoes on the eve of December 5th, hoping to find them filled with small gifts, such as chocolates or nuts, in the morning.

April decorated this bushy-faced St Nicholas figure at her German playgroup. On the quiet, the playgroup ladies filled it with goodies for today. Of course, April was delighted this morning when she found out that her figure had been turned into a receptacle for chocolates and they were all for her.

Our neighbours hold a 'St Nicholas Brunch' every Sunday closest to St Nicholas Day. So, once April was suitably high on sugar, we headed next door where we enjoyed great company and fabulous food. I think the boozing started before midday too. Cheers St Nicholas!

My first Christmas market this year

2009-11-25T22:10:00.029+01:00

The Christmas Markets open this week. There are six to choose from. I took April and Alexander to our local one today, which stands in front of the medieval gate known as the Hahnentor (one of three medieval gatehouses which remain from the late 12th Century city fortifications). This market is based in the square known as Rudolfplatz, which I always think is a very appropriately named venue.

April had a go on the carousel - in fact she had it all to herself as we got there quite early. After that we shared some chips. April managed to get ketchup on her hands, face, coat, gloves and the pram.

The market here is known as the fairytale market - it is distinguished by large fibre glass fairy tale characters on top of the stalls and there is a reading by a 'fairy' every afternoon. See the slightly tipsy dwarves atop of the stall to the far left of this photo: they've been at the glühwein early.

Find out more about this year's Christmas markets...

Post about the Neumarkt Christmas market 2007...

Video about the Medieval Christmas market 2007...

St Martin's Zug

2009-11-07T13:48:00.050+01:00

April goes to a little German playgroup two mornings a week and it was through this that we were invited to join in a German custom - the 'St Martin's Zug' (Zug = Train).

Every year the young children of each neighbourhood gather with their parents at twilight, carrying lanterns. Here is April with the colourful tissue paper lantern she made at playgroup.

At the appointed time we met with the other parents at the local church, perplexed as to what might happen next. While we waited for whatever was going to happen, to happen, Simon had a conversation with a bold young German girl (about 8 perhaps?) who wanted to practise her English by asking the vocab for different 3-dimensional shapes.

I stopped listening in when I looked up and was surprised to see a man dressed as a Roman soldier, riding towards us on a white horse. Apparently, he represented 'St Martin' of the 'St Martin's train'.

Soon our number was swelled by parade guides carrying flaming torches, a police escort and the city's official brass band.

When everyone was assembled we formed a very long column and we began to parade down the middle of the road. We heard music, laughter and people singing the song, 'Laterne, laterne' (Lantern, lantern). We did this for about half an hour, snaking around the block.

Eventually we arrived at the local park where a massive bonfire had been set alight. A man spoke about the importance of St Martin and led a prayer. Then the band started up again and people were invited to partake of the mulled wine.

By this time our little ones were shattered, so we headed home, pleased to have been involved in this event and very proud of April for her lantern-bearing duties.

More information:

St Martin was a Roman soldier who supposedly shared his cloak with a beggar during a snowstorm. He is also known as 'Martin of Tours'. St Martin's Day is celebrated on 11th November in Catholic parts of Germany. There are also many other celebrations across Europe to celebrate St Martin around this date. More about St Martin...

Video of the St Martin's Train Cologne 2008...

Video of the Laterne, laterne song...

Here is my description of the St Martin's Festival 2008...

Seasonal photos

2009-10-31T09:55:00.018+01:00

Yesterday we collected leaves in the park and April made a couple of collages with them. Here's one. Needless to say, we are still wiping glitter off our faces.

This week Simon, April and me made a pumpkin head. Simon did the design (of course); April helped by removing individual seeds as Simon scooped them out; and I was face carver. It was the first time Simon had seen inside a pumpkin. He admitted to being surprised that it wasn't a solid mass, but a cavity full of seeds and a bit of flesh.

Here the Devil contemplates the enormous Halloween 'To do' list.

A world in a grain of sand

2009-10-30T13:12:00.026+01:00

This morning was good.

Well, it started a bit sooner than I'd like, with Little Man crying 'Mmm, Mum, Mhm' at 6:15. Ouch. However, as we were all up and dressed so early I decided to make the most of the time and took the kids to the park.

The playgrounds here are built on sand, which means that if you go equipped with a bucket and spade it's possible to build sandcastles, which is just what we did. We dug some lovely holes and built some interesting structures which we decorated with autumn leaves. When we dug one hole we found a tiny green bucket that someone must have left behind - some exciting treasure for April!

The park was particularly beautiful today because it was completely covered in a carpet of leaves. The sun was low and shining and it caused the dew-spotted leaves to sparkle. There were so many leaves falling down that it looked like the sky was snowing gold.

In the trees there were rose-ringed parakeets (they can be found living wild all over the city) and on the ground we saw two foraging jays.

April also said she saw some worms. She was very pleased with this nature 'spot'.

One of few pieces of poetry I can quote is the opening stanza of William Blake's 'Auguries of Innocence':

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

Full version here...

I like to think we followed Blake's advice today, by drinking in all the small details around us.

We came, we saw and we had pizza

2009-10-26T13:33:00.034+01:00

Simon's younger brother came to visit this weekend. We thought we should show him something of the city so we took him to the Romano-German museum in the centre of town. I hadn't been there for over two years so it was lovely to have an excuse to go again.

This collage shows some of the interesting exhibits we saw: including a fabulous Dionysian floor mosaic from around 200 AD (top right); the reconstructed tomb of legionary infantryman Poblicius (bottom left); and some fantastic glass animals (bottom right).

If you ever find yourself in Cologne I really do recommend taking in this museum, as it is packed full of fabulous artefacts.

Afterwards we continued the vaguely Italian theme by stopping off for a pizza. Though whether the ancient Romans would have understood the concept of a 'Hawaiian' is anyone's guess.

Read about my previous visit...

Find out more about the museum...

Birthday monkey fun

2009-10-23T12:09:00.031+01:00

Well yesterday was my birthday ('Geburtstag') and so I moved another year closer to 'The big ticket birthday'. The main thing is that I am not there YET.

I decided that the best way to cling to my youth was to act like a kid - so I spent my birthday with Simon and the children at a monkey park an hour's drive from here. We saw monkeys, reptiles, exotic birds and meerkats. (The photo is of a squirrel monkey. I only had my camera phone to hand, so it's not the best quality.) The park was laid out over a huge area of German forest, amongst steep hills of firs, giving it quite an Alpine feel.

There were also lots of un-manned rides at the park and these provided many opportunities for cheeky monkey fun - Heath-Robinson contraptions such as a small carousel powered by one person on a bicycle; or a cable car operated at your own risk by the insertion of 50 cents; and a circular multiperson bicycle that just went round and round and round about its centre point.

More about the monkey park...

Oktoberfest by proxy

2009-09-19T19:26:00.017+01:00

This morning I went to the supermarket to buy a chicken to roast for tomorrow's lunch. There was one lonely chicken left and it was labelled as an 'Oktoberfest' chicken. (It didn't look particularly festive, unless you count being covered in spices as something to party about. And, hang on, isn't it still only September? And isn't Oktoberfest in Munich?) My brain. My brain!

In the afternoon I took the kids to the park as Simon had to work. He'll be kicking himself for not coming. I went by tram and it was rammed full of women in revealing dirndl wench dresses with hair in plaits. Incidentally, there was a good quota of lederhosen-clad men too. It was 3pm and they were all off to start drinking.

This evening I've been asking the web to account for my Oktoberfest encounters.

#Where?
Now I always thought that Oktoberfest happened in Munich. Apparently not: there's also been one in Cologne since 2004.
#When?
Although it is called Oktoberfest, it starts in September.
#How?
How does one celebrate it? Drinking. Lots. And eating grilled spicy chicken.

Tomorrow I shall be entering the spirit of the event when I eat my chicken. Maybe I'll have a drink. I'm telling you now that I shall not be dressing up as a wench to do so*.

*Though if I were to do so, I'd be getting my costume from the local C and A.

*Note: the image is courtesy of iStock Photography - because I didn't have the guts to ask if I could take someone's photo!

Oh yeah mate, build you one of them in an evening, no probs

2009-09-12T13:51:00.069+01:00

We went to a very impressive exhibition of Lego models this week, held in the 'Rhein Centre' shopping mall. All the models are by a very talented group of Lego fanatics called the 'Modellbaufans Rheinland'.

There were recreations of whole towns and villages as well as models of the Taj Mahal, the Whitehouse, Eifel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral. The one that really stood out for me was a 2.9m high version of Cologne Cathedral. It is by a man called Jurgen Bramigk and it took him 2 years to make.

If you look at the amount of work in this close up then I think he did amazingly well to finish it in just two years.

The features of the original have been lovingly recreated. There is an amazing attention to detail. For example, the dark and light grey tones of the bricks used really do give the impression of the real building, which is very sooty and grimy due to its great age.

In the close up above you can see a couple of little painted Lego men posing as decorative grotesques, as well as two small pigeons for authenticity.

Jurgen's masterpiece inspired me to make my own cathedral. Luckily Simon had been given a cardboard kit of Cologne Cathedral as a birthday present - which lay unopened on a shelf. I opened it for him. Well, we're married so what's his is mine and all that.

Inside there were 47 numbered pieces to remove from their cardboard sheets and then fold and slot all together. (See all of the bits laid out ready to join up.)

I managed to construct my version of the cathedral in a couple of hours last night. With Eastenders on in the background and other quality start-of-the-weekend TV shows.

This photo shows me mid-build. Witness a master mason at work! (Ahem)

Nave, transepts and apse completed and roof on, but no towers or spires yet. What you cannot appreciate from the pic is that at this point I was swearing and red faced because the buttresses were refusing to slot into the holes. And there were A LOT of buttresses.

The wine helped with the build process but may have contributed to the wobbly (jolly?) style of the finished project.

Ta da! Here's the finished model. I've added the twin spires at the front, which are Cologne Cathedral's most recognisable motif (and indeed, of the city). Incidentally the arrangement of the two spires side-by-side means that Cologne Cathedral has the widest façade of any church in the world.

Here's something to think about: My model took a mere 2 hours; the cathedral itself took from 1248 - 1880 (with some interruptions) - which is over 600 years!

More info about the cathedral:

Website of Cologne Cathedral...

Wikipedia entry for Cologne Cathedral...

Info about the Lego exhibition:
Modellbaufans Rheinland...

Bake in foil

2009-08-20T12:15:00.006+01:00

It is 34 degrees today!

That would be okay if I were by a pool, my needs being tended to by waiters carrying trays of icecream sundaes and refreshing cocktails. It is not quite so comfortable when you live in an apartment that has lots of large windows and no natural shade.

To try to keep out some of the heat I have covered the windows in baking foil. I expect I probably looked quite odd to the people working in the office block opposite, as I was taping up strips of foil, but I'd rather lose my dignity than my cool.

PS - the fridge freezer got fixed last week, so I have a stock of Magnum lollies at my disposal if my foil plan turns out to be a folly.

Englishmen in the midday sun

2009-08-02T12:17:00.021+01:00

It's been very, very hot this week and the freezer remains broken (hopefully to be fixed in 8 days time). With no ice lollies to keep us cool the heat seems to be affecting our brains...

April has created an imaginary friend. This friend is called 'Pae-ya!' (always said with exclamation) and is, apparently, sometimes cuboid, sometimes pyramid-shaped, with blonde hair and a green face.

Yesterday we received polling cards allowing us to vote in the upcoming election for the mayor of Cologne. There are five candidates to choose from. I know nothing about politics in Cologne so I was initially concerned by this unexpected responsibility. However, the worry was taken away when Alexander ate the polling card and regurgitated it in bits.

It is wasp season and the little bu$$ers are thriving. When they go near April and Alexander I have to try to hide my panic and claim 'There's nothing to worry about!' while doing a crazy mad woman jig to flick them (the wasps, not the children) away.

Simon has found an ingenious way to deal with wasps: a vacuum cleaner. Here he is doing a bit of light 'wasp extermination' yesterday afternoon (al fresco).