Today I was off early to venture to Cologne. I was so excited because I would be seeing my friend from home Natasha and her family. Traveling alone has been nice but familiar faces from home would be a good change and would give me a nice sense of home in this foreign country.
After a 6 hr train adventure, I finally made it to Cologne. It was an easy trip with only a slight delay. Once I arrived I was on the hunt for wifi since my German SIM card chooses to work when it wants. When I met Natasha it was as if I was no longer in Germany, I was in Manhattan Beach.
I lost most of my day on the train and it was later in the afternoon. We headed to their apartment and had a quick turn around before we headed to a relatives house to watch the soccer game. It was Wales vs. Belgium.
We were served the common German food, bratwurst or some sort of wurst and bread with other condiments. There was also this meat dish that consisted of raw meat which looked like hamburger meat on a plate that you put on bread and then add onions for flavor. Although it was a German favorite and I am all for trying new things, this was one I was not willing to test. I just started eating cooked meat again and I don’t think the raw meat would have gone over very well.
Before the game Natasha “showed me around the neighborhood” which translated to took me to the bars for a couple drinks. It’s funny how the culture is so different here. At age 16 you’re able to drink beer and wine and at age 18 you can drink hard liquor.
I was learning about the different beers and how each city has a specific beer that is brewed. Within the city there are many different breweries that brew the same type of beer but each is different. The two different bars we went to had the same beer but each tasted different. They had their own twist.
Wales ended up winning the game after Belgium was pronounced to be the favored for the game. Eurocup 2016 was a tournament that was shocking the world and making history. Smaller teams had made it farther than they ever had and they were/are surprising the whole European region.
kaelarenae.com 