First Impressions of Cologne

I have arrived safe and sound in Cologne! My flight from Mpls to Amsterdam was nice and quick, especially compared to my previous flying experience to India. I had the chance to ride on my first prop plane from Amsterdam to Cologne. It was tiny and there were only about 30 people on the flight.

I arrived in Cologne early in the morning on Tuesday. The school set me up with a "buddy" to help me get acclimated to the city, and Vitalijus was nice enough to pick me up from the airport. He is from Lithuania and has lived in Cologne for the past 5 years. He was pretty excited to get matched up with someone from the states which works out well for me! Before I left MN, I asked him if he would like me to bring him anything from the states, and he told me "something Timberwolf". Unfortunately, the size large shirt I bought him is probably not big enough as he is about 3 inches taller then me!

My roommate seems nice so far. Her English is pretty good so we are able to converse. We will have pretty different schedules, so I'm not sure I will get the chance to see her very much. I imagine it is pretty weird to have a stranger from a different country to come live with you. I figure the more I stay out of her way the better. :)

I spent the entire day on Tuesday walking around Cologne (Koln as it is referred to here). It's a quaint, clean, and beautiful city. It is relatively new by European standards because of the war. The Rhine flows through the middle of the city, much like the Mississippi flows through Mpls / St Paul. It's huge! Much wider then the Mississippi, Thames, or Seine, and it moves pretty well. I was really tired by the time the day was over. I walked 5-6 miles easy and had been up for 31 hours. I crashed hard at the end of the night which helped me adjust to the time difference fairly quickly.

The language part can be stressful at times, and many people I meet are amazed I would come to Germany for such a long period of time without knowing a word of German! I tell them that is one of the main reasons I wanted to come here. I wanted to be in a country where I didn't know the language and where I was a minority. Appearance wise I blend in pretty well. It's only when I open my mouth do I stick out. :)

For the most part though, the population knows English. I have found that the younger the individual, the more English they know. The only really tough place is the grocery store. The cashier at the one by my flat definitely got annoyed when she asked me a question about the apple I was trying to buy and I just stared blankly back at her. I think she may have been asking if I knew the price of it, but who knows.