Backpacking (Central/Eastern) Europe

Cologne, Germany:

"We are in Cologne! Already, being in Germany (any part) has already been a much better decision than being anywhere in Budapest. Maybe we didn't give it a fair chance or whatever, but I just know right off whether I like something or not-- and, being in Budapest for 4 days would've been HELL.

After our (miserable) night train with seats so uncomfortable that at one point, 'high school boy' crawled underneath them for a proper rest, followed by Adam, while I invaded 3 seats and laid down with a blanket, read Jane Eyre til 2am before finally falling asleep."

After arriving into the city, and luckily, there were available rooms at the hostel, we brought our stuff upstairs, put on some clean shirts, showered, then got ready to have lunch. Great China looked really good so Adam and I each had a huge plate of their fried rice with chili garlic, and I, some wonton soup. It truly hit the spot!

After a hearty lunch, we went to the Dom Cathedral--hiked the 502 ft up to the tower (a 30 minute walk straight up the narrow, steep steps to the top) and enjoyed the lovely, albeit, scary view of Cologne city.

Then, descending down 300 something odd steps, we walked around the main square to 4711 (see below for history)

We love the Crypts!

Back upstairs to the church...

It's tower time!

The bell rings....

...and back up the stairs some more...

FINALLY, we are at the top!

Beautiful Cologne!

After the church, it's back to exploring the outside.

People don't really seem to mind the yellowjackets over the pastries!

A very annoying thing...

Bathroom attendants that charge tourists to use the restrooms, even when we are PAYING CUSTOMERS.

"At the beginning of the 18th century, Italian expatriate Johann Maria Farina (1685-1766) created a new fragrance and named it Eau de Cologne (Water from Cologne), after his new residence, Cologne. In the course of the 18th century the fragrance became increasingly popular. In later years, and under pressure from court battles with the Farinas who produced the original Eau de Cologne, his grandson Ferdinand Mülhens chose a new name for the firm and their product. He chose the number 4711, a number that the city of Cologne had assigned to Wilhelm Mülhens' future residence on the eve of the French Revolution."

The 4711 perfume fountain gave me a headache!

"Piss, sh*t, vomit, trash, debris, cigarette butts, noise, glass shards! We spend 15,000 euros of private funds to keep our place clean and our flowerbeds fresh. WE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! <An arrow depicting Urinal 30 meters away>"

Finally, we get some grub at Päffgen- Das Brauhaus!

Paffgen Beerhall

The rule of the house: non-stop beer is filled into your glass until you cover it with a coaster!

After a nice meal, an evening stroll and playing hypothetical games of "Would you rather sleep with <insert hideous person here> or 3-way a cat and dog?" (to which Adam said 'the cat and dog'), we arrived back at the hostel for some shut-eye.