Wednesday
June 5
It
was so great to see Sonja, and emotional as I’d just left my good people in
Switzerland, had hardly slept and then was being reunited with my dear friend
Sonja. Poor Sonja broke her ankle while camping in Spain recently but she still
came to meet me at the local café with open arms and excitement. I wrote about
Sonja in my blog for Lithuania in 2015. Sonja worked at an orphanage in
Lithuania for a year and we both studies the same continuation of language
course in Europe Lithuania in Winter, 2015. Sonja’s English can be a bit
delightfully patchy at times which always ends up with us giggling. We have a round
about way of talking about deep conversations, but like similar to Priscila in
Switzerland, we are both people who like to give to others and we love talking
about relationships, politics spirituality and just having a giggle about silly
things. Sonja is beautiful, inside and out, she is intelligent, independent,
strong and incredibly caring.
It’s
very sweet because when Sonja and I were leaving Lithuania, Sonja was showing
me a photo of a boy called Thomas that she ‘thought she liked’. Thomas and Sonja
have now been living together for a year and I’ve been lucky enough to be able
to stay with them in their groovy top floor apartment in Cologne.
Before
I came to Cologne, everyone I would speak to about the city would tell me about
how cool the place was and how nice the people were. It’s absolutely true and
I’ve seen a big shift in culture coming here. I asked a guy politely if I could
call Sonja from his phone as I had no wifi, he was so obliging. I offered to
pay and he declined and smiled ‘it is absolutely my pleasure’.
Don’t
get me wrong, I talked before about men always approaching you when you are a
female traveler. But here, people are too polite to be directly sleazy. Here I just feel flattered, people go out of
their way to help and hang out with you and you get cuddles, kisses invitations
and people saying they would like to travel for 3 hours to visit you, I like
that.
The
people in Cologne are just so friendly and the backdrop is made up of lovely
cafes with street graffiti, trees and people riding their bikes. Good job
Cologne.
Thursday June 6
Today I made a day trip to Aachen, a little university town
(about the same size of Canberra in population), to see the place but mainly to
see my friend Sandra. I signed up to couch surfing just before I left for
Europe this year. I thought it would be best to help someone outspend time with
someone in my own city as I was hoping to use couch surfing in Europe. Sandra
was studying a part of her PHD in Canberra and posted to see if anyone wanted to
hang out. We went to the fireworks
together in Canberra and Sandra also came to see me present a case study for
Psychology at the Australian National University where she was studying. Sandra is great, she loves to travel, is
positive and is up for anything really.
The cool thing about Aachen is that it Borders other countries very closely. I spoke with a guy who studied in Aachen who said that he and his friends would cycle to the Netherlands from Aachen to do their shopping when Germany had a public holiday and the shops were closed. Aachen also borders Belgium. Aachen is one of the leading Universities in mechanical engineering and because of this, is known for having a large young male population.
The cool thing about Aachen is that it Borders other countries very closely. I spoke with a guy who studied in Aachen who said that he and his friends would cycle to the Netherlands from Aachen to do their shopping when Germany had a public holiday and the shops were closed. Aachen also borders Belgium. Aachen is one of the leading Universities in mechanical engineering and because of this, is known for having a large young male population.
I like Aachen, as it reminds me in many ways of Canberra.
There are lot of parks here, it’s not too crowded, people are nice and there
are lots of cool cafes and restaurants. It’s not too big, I feel at home here.
As Sandra had to work until the evening, I met up with
‘Bennie’ someone who replied to my hang out request for Aachen on couchsurfing.
Bennie is actually originally from Turkey but has lived here for many years. Bennie took me to the Aachen Cathedral, town square, we had lunch and went to Katholische Hochschulgemeinde ( it is basically a religious society for young people). Benny is not religious but taught himself how to learn piano in the last two years and the people at this religious center are happy for him to come and play.
 |
| Rasa and Bennie. |
Bennie is actually originally from Turkey but has lived here for many years. Bennie took me to the Aachen Cathedral, town square, we had lunch and went to Katholische Hochschulgemeinde ( it is basically a religious society for young people). Benny is not religious but taught himself how to learn piano in the last two years and the people at this religious center are happy for him to come and play.
 |
| Bennie singing and playing the piano. |
 |
| I love these red flowers that you find everywhere in Switzerland and Germany on the balconies of houses and businesses. |
I get the feeling the main reason that Bennie wanted to meet
up was to share his music and talk about music.
He is very talented in teaching himself as an adult to play, read and
write music without even owning a piano at home. I’ve helped him out with some of his lyrics
as the English translation needed a bit of tweaking.
Bennie is keen to send me his lyrics to make sure that they
sounds right in English.
Sandra met me after she finished work and like all my lovely
friends in Europe, it’s great to pick up where we left off. Sandra now has a
different boyfriend from when we were both in Australia together. It feels like
we have caught a bus to each others countries as I last saw Sandra in Australia
in April and here we are together eating sushi in Aachen. Sandra loves
Australia and wants to move there. Sandra’s current boyfriend is from Aachen but is living in Australia, so
who knows!
Sandra took me on this beautiful park walk in Aachen where
Sandra was telling me the folk stories of witches in Aachen. where we shared a
hammock at the top, overlooking the country side. It was all a bit ironic as Sandra was asking me
if I had any dramas on my trip; any major problems or missed connections for
travel etc. I told her I had not. Sandra just got back recently from a camping
trip in Iceland where they nearly ended up missing the last ferry of the day,
and they had to run for it.
Ah the irony Soon enough Sandra was telling me that needed to
hurry to get me to the station. We tried to catch a bus, missed it and got
another bus. Sandra told me that if it all went to plan, then I would be
arriving at the train station with 3 minutes until my train. So we got on the bus,
then there was a dog barking on the bus (the owner as you would guess I think
had a lot of problems). The bus driver tried to get her and the dog off the bus
but she wasn’t moving. Eventually the woman and the dog got off the bus. Then
the bus driver decided to leave the bus to go for a pee (of course). I stated
to Sandra with absolute acceptance, ‘I am not going to catch that train’. Sandra said ‘Don’t lose hope’! We got to the
station and ran to the train. Sandra is so funny, she pressed the door open so
we could get a photo of us showing our victory. Thanks for the adventure
Sandra!
This guy on the train has a giggle as I stumble on to the
train, sweaty and announcing our
victory. He’s super sweet and asks me about my trip and my thoughts about Germany.
He gives me some gum and I am gleeful to see him politely excuse himself to
pick up some study notes from a friend of his through the doors of a train at
one of the stops. He feels shy trying to explain the study notes in English. I
tell him that explaining engineering to a non-engineer in
English is tricky enough I tell him that I am later going to Dortmund and he calls his friend straight away to ask about cool places to see as he gets ready to leave for his stop and gives me a big cuddle.
English is tricky enough I tell him that I am later going to Dortmund and he calls his friend straight away to ask about cool places to see as he gets ready to leave for his stop and gives me a big cuddle.
I’m on the train heading back to Cologne now. I love trains
but the night ones are a bit sketchy. I can’t see any vomit but many areas of
the train sure do smell like it. Everyone tries to keep to themselves, and
that’s probably for the best. There is a man on both trains who opens every
rubbish bin, looking inside each one for something worth keeping, I’m not sure
what he is looking for, but it makes me sad.
I was able to check my
weight for the first time in 2 months. On 2 different scales it showed a 5kg difference. Who knows how much I weigh, but I also don’t
think I care. I also have a giant pimple that seems to have taken permanent
residency on my face, and I still don’t care. It’s good.
I managed to get disorientated with the trains, and while
someone was checking for me if I was in the right place, I missed my tram home.
It’s a weird feeling to be at a train station on your own at night, it’s
probably in equal parts relaxing and peaceful and creepy. I got home at about a quarter to one in the morning and Sonja with her injured leg greeted me
gleefully coming out of the shower.
Friday July 7
I’m not really some-one who sleeps in, and I’m usually in bed
much earlier. However when I am traveling all of my routine changes, and so it
should, you need to ‘go with it’. Sonja
likes to sleep in and so I did too. I went for a jog and returned about 1130am
with fresh bread rolls and croissants from the local bakery for breakfast.
German bread is great. On the way back to Sonja’s apartment, I walked to the
wrong level and tried to work out the key. A friendly pregnant lady opened the
door and I assured her I was not breaking in to her house. People laugh as
though this stuff happens to be every 10 years. It happens to me all the time,
best to embrace it!
 |
| Sonja is such a trooper, happily making morning coffee with a broken foot. |
I love just simply hanging out with Sonja, and that’s what we
did. We chatted for a few hours over breakfast/lunch, I did some work on an
article about my time volunteering in Lanzarote. Having 5 months in Europe is
brilliant, because you can have chill days, especially with people you care
about who live in other countries.
Sonja asked if I wanted to pick berries in the garden with
her neighbour. I asked if this might be the pregnant lady on the level below
us, and I explained that we are old mates now.
Unfortunately all the berries had been attacked by birds, so
we chilled out for hours in the courtyard, chatting. I had a little sleep on
the grass and Sonja could go back to speaking German for a while. It was
brilliant.
 |
| Sonja and I recently bought new glasses that are very similar, and I decided to grow my hair our to my natural colour which is similar to Sonja's, then Sonja cut her hair. So now we also have matching haircuts; twinnies! |
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| Sonja and Mare. |
I made dinner for Sonja and I and we drank fizzy bubbly
mohito style wine and watched Eurovision videos until 1230. It’s been a day
well spent.
Saturday July 8
Sonja wanted to show me around Cologne but that is difficult
with a broken foot and no car. We decided to take site seeing bus. Nothing
makes you look more like a tourist than a sight seeing bus, and that is okay. I had to check my luggage in to this fancy German locker which first takes your money, a door opens, your bag is placed inside the compartment, is taken away and then you are given a ticket. I was so reluctant to do this, and struggled at it wasn't the 'old key and locker' system. When you are given your ticket at the end, you can then pick up your luggage at any luggage storeroom. This is way too advanced for Australians so naturally it took me forever to work it out, I was very mistrusting and nearly missed our bus tour.
Being on any tour bus is a brilliant opportunity to let someone talk about the sites and history to you. You don’t need to think about the time, or getting lost and it was lovely to do this with Sonja. Sonja listed to the audio in German and I listened in English.
 |
| Waiting...waiting... hey I got my bag back at the end of the day. Wahoo! I tell my German friend Nicole, that this system is very 'German'. Nicole says that it is just 'modern technology'. I remind Nicole that not all countries are as up to date as Germany with technology, especially Australia! I talk again with Sonja with enthusiasm about how much Australians love having the German 'Aldi' supermarket' means we have a chance to buy high quality German clothes for cheap, which is huge for us. Sonja feels from my descriptions of Aldi, that Australians might have the 'luxury' version of Aldi. |
Being on any tour bus is a brilliant opportunity to let someone talk about the sites and history to you. You don’t need to think about the time, or getting lost and it was lovely to do this with Sonja. Sonja listed to the audio in German and I listened in English.
Cologne is quite industrial with the background of the Rein
river. Cologne has the most spectacular Cathedral and lots of buskers. I gave money to the school group 'singing for summer camp' (for church I think) and this chalk artist below.
Sonja and I got to enjoy a lovely German meal together, bratwurst, fried potatoes, Kölsch beer and cabbage salad. Sonja thought it was
funny that we have a German Club in Canberra. I discussed that our Polish club
is also very popular in Canberra. We spent more time reflecting on our time
together and the traditions in Lithuania as well as Sonja’s time volunteering
in Cameroon, Africa. We are both open minded and like minded in many ways, I
love this girl.
Sonja talked about the history and culture of East Germany.
Apparently if you ask for Kölsch beer in East Germany ( a traditional beer from
Cologne) you would be asked to leave, amazing! Naturally this kind of reaction
to a beer order stems from a much more difficult and complicated past where a
country was once divided…
Sonja and I asked a 'motor scooter' taxi man with a carriage out the back, how much it would cost us to be taken to the station as Sonja's foot was getting tired. The man told us it would be 6 Euros (it is about a 3 minute journey). We decided no, as that is a ridiculous price. I think he felt sorry for a us and came back and gave us a lift for free. We waved liked the queen to all the crows in the street, which everyone thought was very funny. We will give him a good review, and I gave the driver a koala pin.
Sonja and I asked a 'motor scooter' taxi man with a carriage out the back, how much it would cost us to be taken to the station as Sonja's foot was getting tired. The man told us it would be 6 Euros (it is about a 3 minute journey). We decided no, as that is a ridiculous price. I think he felt sorry for a us and came back and gave us a lift for free. We waved liked the queen to all the crows in the street, which everyone thought was very funny. We will give him a good review, and I gave the driver a koala pin.
My time in Cologne has zipped by, truly. I am thinking about
perhaps meeting Sonja halfway somewhere in Germany, and Sonja might visit
Lithuania when I am there.
I’m on my way to visit Dortmund to visit Nicole, who was in
one of the other Lithuanian language groups in 2015. When I tell people from
Germany that I am going to Dortmund they say:
-Is there anything in Dortmund?
-Dortmund, why would you go there?
-What your bags on the train
-Watch out for the rowdy football fans from Dortmund on the
train
I take after my Dad in this aspect, I believe that every
place you visit has things to experience and to see. Besides, Nicole is there!
I’m lucky that the train attendant told me that we arrived in Dusseldorf. I was so busy typing away that I didn’t realise that the train trip
had ended! I caught my connection to Dortmund with one minute to spare!
It was great to be greeted by Nicole at the station. Nicole, I also met at the Lithuanian course in 2015 where she studied for a semester. As always, we have a lot to catch up on. Nicole is now out of the relationship that she was in while we met in Lithuania, she has nearly finished her Masters degree and hopes to backpack on her own in South East Asia for 5 months when she graduates;what a girl! We spend a lot of time talking about traveling solo as a young woman. Nicole is freaking out a bit, I tell her that this is normal and it's a good thing.
Me, Nicole and Denise, Nicole's sister went for a 10km run through the forest. It's beautiful here, Dortmund should get a better wrap than it does! I get to enjoy the wheat farms, windmills, Dortmund castle , and old cemetary and lot's of green.
We head out to a 'beach bar' in a nearby city ( a bar that has sand on the ground like a beach). This city is apparently the most populated area in Germany and the 6th most populated area in Europe, with something like 6 million people crammed in to a small area. We went out with Nicole's sister Denise, her boyfriend Lars and his sister Vivian. I think that Lars and Vivian can speak some English but they are super shy with using it, so Vivian keeps buying us drinks instead. I forgot that in Germany on many roads there is no speed limit. When Lars hit 240km in the car, I hate to ask him to slow down as I did not want to die in Germany. Denise reassured me that Lars drives for a living for 'Europcar' and that this is normal here. I say again that I don't want to die in Germany! We went out with Nicole. Well, it didn't feel too crowded but we had fun, drinking and dancing.
If you bring back your bottle, you get 50 cents back! Next time I'm going to just collect peoples drinks until I am drunk and then cash in the rest, like a proper bogan. :)
Sunday July 9
I am happy to be with someone who loves exercise and being outdoor as much as me! Nicole lent me a mountain bike and took me on a 30km bike ride. It was beautiful. We even got to see the The Henrichenburg boat museum which famously includes a lift that facilitates a change in elevation of the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal in Waltrop-Oberwiese.
When I arrive back we are greeted warmly by Nicole's family who have made me about 8 potatoes worth of mashed potato, scotch fillet steak, sauerkraut and half a lire of beer. I can't refuse any of it, Nicole's father is so excited to be 'sharing' one of his favourite beers with me (that he ended up pouring in a huge glass for me to drink. It's lovely to be a part of a family here. I feel like it's Christmas! and with no further ado, I nap hard and am not sure where I am when I wake up ( a feeling I am getting used to and now enjoying very much).
In the evening Nicole, Denise and I head to Westfalen Park in Dortmund. It's such a beautiful evening. We head up to the TV tower to check out the views. Flamingos live here which is random and awesome. The park is huge, packed with markets, botanical gardens, bird life, ponds and amazing play equipment for adults and kids. Dortmund reminds me a bit of Canberra, it gets a bad wrap but it's lovely, especially if you love being outside. It's great to get out of big cities, you are away from the chaos and the tourists and you can really enjoy local life.
Monday July 10
Today I am writing and chilling. I finally got a good night's sleep last night, and it's good to have free time. Nicole is procrastinating with her study and we meet for chats, meals and a run in the morning. This afternoon we will cycle to another museum. I can't believe I'll be in Lithuania on Wednesday. I'm feeling a bit nervous about Lithuania, feeling like I'll be in Kindergarten again, making new friends and hoping that my language ability has not gotten worse since 2015...Life is so exciting right now, I just don't want this to end.
Nicole and I cycled down to the old coal mine museum, but it was closed... Nicole taught me about the coal mine through the fence. I spoke to my Grandad today and he actually lived in Dortmund for 6 months during the war, working in a garage. It was not an easy time though as he was about 19 years old, was fleeing danger and had been separated from his parents.
Tuesday July 11
Another chilled day today. I went for a jog, have done some trip research and am feeling very reflective about where life will take me after my trip. It makes me nervous, I actually want to stay in Europe. I'm so removed from life at home now that returning to it makes me feel a bit anxious. I'll work it out. If only there was a way I could combine all of my friends and family and life in Australia with that in Europe...
Tonight we are heading out to a bar in Dortmund where my lovely friend Sandra is jumping on a train to come and see me also,I'm so blessed!
I got to have a great night out drinking cheap cocktails with Nicole and her friends and Sandra and her boyfriend. It was nice to speak with Nicole's friend Victoria, who spoke about taking a 'gap year; to Australia for a year and returning to Germany with all these amazing experiences and feeling far removed from her previous life. Victoria found her way again in life in Germany, although it was hard for her at first. I found this reassuring. I loved Victoria's example 'I came back to Germany with a backpack full of experiences and could not fit my old shoes. 'But what could I then do with this backpack full of experiences returning to my old life?'
Sandra, her boyfriend Christoff and I had a giggle when this very confident English lad decided to come and chat to use about his various opinions of our birthplaces and rabbit on for half an hour. This is where I live the German communication. This English bloke told Sandra, when she said she was from Frankfurt, that Frankfurt had no soul. Sandra said assertively , 'that is not true'. English bloke then states that he knows that Frankfurt has no soul as he lived here. Sandra reminded him that she grew up there most of her life and that he did not know what he was talking about. I got told that Canberran's keep to themselves in the day and go crazy at night, and Chritoff was told that Cologne has culture but that the people who work in the shops are arrogant. I challenged this 'I was told that people in Cologne are some of the most friendliest, and this is certainly what I experienced in my whole 3 days there'. Finally when he stated he wss leaving I said 'Okay have a good night!' He replied 'Wait on girl, I know you Australians, you are trying to shoo me out of the room, it's okay, I am actually leaving'. I had a giggle and stated that I did not know what else to say as he said he was leaving, and my response was normal to anyone who would have said they were exiting the room. Victoria said later 'you were keen to get him out of the room though weren't you?' 'Yes'. I replied.
Sandra and Christoff ended up getting home at 230am as someone apparently had a world war 2 bomb at 'Nuess' one of the connecting stations. Apparently this happens a bit... Everyone was safe though, so that is good.
It was great to be greeted by Nicole at the station. Nicole, I also met at the Lithuanian course in 2015 where she studied for a semester. As always, we have a lot to catch up on. Nicole is now out of the relationship that she was in while we met in Lithuania, she has nearly finished her Masters degree and hopes to backpack on her own in South East Asia for 5 months when she graduates;what a girl! We spend a lot of time talking about traveling solo as a young woman. Nicole is freaking out a bit, I tell her that this is normal and it's a good thing.
Me, Nicole and Denise, Nicole's sister went for a 10km run through the forest. It's beautiful here, Dortmund should get a better wrap than it does! I get to enjoy the wheat farms, windmills, Dortmund castle , and old cemetary and lot's of green.
We head out to a 'beach bar' in a nearby city ( a bar that has sand on the ground like a beach). This city is apparently the most populated area in Germany and the 6th most populated area in Europe, with something like 6 million people crammed in to a small area. We went out with Nicole's sister Denise, her boyfriend Lars and his sister Vivian. I think that Lars and Vivian can speak some English but they are super shy with using it, so Vivian keeps buying us drinks instead. I forgot that in Germany on many roads there is no speed limit. When Lars hit 240km in the car, I hate to ask him to slow down as I did not want to die in Germany. Denise reassured me that Lars drives for a living for 'Europcar' and that this is normal here. I say again that I don't want to die in Germany! We went out with Nicole. Well, it didn't feel too crowded but we had fun, drinking and dancing.
 |
| It's quite funny that we are all aligned in height order my accident. From left: Denise, Nicole, Rasa, Vivian and Lars. |
If you bring back your bottle, you get 50 cents back! Next time I'm going to just collect peoples drinks until I am drunk and then cash in the rest, like a proper bogan. :)
Sunday July 9
I am happy to be with someone who loves exercise and being outdoor as much as me! Nicole lent me a mountain bike and took me on a 30km bike ride. It was beautiful. We even got to see the The Henrichenburg boat museum which famously includes a lift that facilitates a change in elevation of the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal in Waltrop-Oberwiese.
When I arrive back we are greeted warmly by Nicole's family who have made me about 8 potatoes worth of mashed potato, scotch fillet steak, sauerkraut and half a lire of beer. I can't refuse any of it, Nicole's father is so excited to be 'sharing' one of his favourite beers with me (that he ended up pouring in a huge glass for me to drink. It's lovely to be a part of a family here. I feel like it's Christmas! and with no further ado, I nap hard and am not sure where I am when I wake up ( a feeling I am getting used to and now enjoying very much).
In the evening Nicole, Denise and I head to Westfalen Park in Dortmund. It's such a beautiful evening. We head up to the TV tower to check out the views. Flamingos live here which is random and awesome. The park is huge, packed with markets, botanical gardens, bird life, ponds and amazing play equipment for adults and kids. Dortmund reminds me a bit of Canberra, it gets a bad wrap but it's lovely, especially if you love being outside. It's great to get out of big cities, you are away from the chaos and the tourists and you can really enjoy local life.
 |
| These swings are huge! I was a bit hesitant to jump on. Nicole said 'you don't need to worry as these are made for kids too'. I am quite sure you can still break your coccyx bone if you are not too careful. But, as the Sunscreen song would say, do one thing every day that scares you. And this swing is fantastic once you are on. |
Monday July 10
Today I am writing and chilling. I finally got a good night's sleep last night, and it's good to have free time. Nicole is procrastinating with her study and we meet for chats, meals and a run in the morning. This afternoon we will cycle to another museum. I can't believe I'll be in Lithuania on Wednesday. I'm feeling a bit nervous about Lithuania, feeling like I'll be in Kindergarten again, making new friends and hoping that my language ability has not gotten worse since 2015...Life is so exciting right now, I just don't want this to end.
Nicole and I cycled down to the old coal mine museum, but it was closed... Nicole taught me about the coal mine through the fence. I spoke to my Grandad today and he actually lived in Dortmund for 6 months during the war, working in a garage. It was not an easy time though as he was about 19 years old, was fleeing danger and had been separated from his parents.
Tuesday July 11
Another chilled day today. I went for a jog, have done some trip research and am feeling very reflective about where life will take me after my trip. It makes me nervous, I actually want to stay in Europe. I'm so removed from life at home now that returning to it makes me feel a bit anxious. I'll work it out. If only there was a way I could combine all of my friends and family and life in Australia with that in Europe...
Tonight we are heading out to a bar in Dortmund where my lovely friend Sandra is jumping on a train to come and see me also,I'm so blessed!
 |
On our way to the bar in the city, Nicole explained that this piano is left out for people to play. People are not busking, just playing. I love this. |
 |
| Pre dinner ice cream is important in Europe. |
I got to have a great night out drinking cheap cocktails with Nicole and her friends and Sandra and her boyfriend. It was nice to speak with Nicole's friend Victoria, who spoke about taking a 'gap year; to Australia for a year and returning to Germany with all these amazing experiences and feeling far removed from her previous life. Victoria found her way again in life in Germany, although it was hard for her at first. I found this reassuring. I loved Victoria's example 'I came back to Germany with a backpack full of experiences and could not fit my old shoes. 'But what could I then do with this backpack full of experiences returning to my old life?'
 |
| Christoff, Rasa and Sandra. |
Sandra, her boyfriend Christoff and I had a giggle when this very confident English lad decided to come and chat to use about his various opinions of our birthplaces and rabbit on for half an hour. This is where I live the German communication. This English bloke told Sandra, when she said she was from Frankfurt, that Frankfurt had no soul. Sandra said assertively , 'that is not true'. English bloke then states that he knows that Frankfurt has no soul as he lived here. Sandra reminded him that she grew up there most of her life and that he did not know what he was talking about. I got told that Canberran's keep to themselves in the day and go crazy at night, and Chritoff was told that Cologne has culture but that the people who work in the shops are arrogant. I challenged this 'I was told that people in Cologne are some of the most friendliest, and this is certainly what I experienced in my whole 3 days there'. Finally when he stated he wss leaving I said 'Okay have a good night!' He replied 'Wait on girl, I know you Australians, you are trying to shoo me out of the room, it's okay, I am actually leaving'. I had a giggle and stated that I did not know what else to say as he said he was leaving, and my response was normal to anyone who would have said they were exiting the room. Victoria said later 'you were keen to get him out of the room though weren't you?' 'Yes'. I replied.
Sandra and Christoff ended up getting home at 230am as someone apparently had a world war 2 bomb at 'Nuess' one of the connecting stations. Apparently this happens a bit... Everyone was safe though, so that is good.
Dankeshuen to all of my lovely friends in Germany; Sonja, Nicole and Sandra. Germany, you are great.
Until next time.
Guten nacht.
Love,
Rasa
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